CyberCorps Mentoring and Scholarship Program (CMSP)

德雷塞尔大学计算与信息学院将建立网络军团指导和奖学金计划（CMSP），以招募、培训和指导17名CMSP学者在联邦、州、地方或部落政府组织中担任网络安全职位。该项目将制定一项网络军团服务奖学金（SFS）计划，通过增加完成网络安全学位并在政府机构任职的本科生的数量和多样性，为改善网络安全做出贡献。CMSP的目标是通过加强招聘和留住多样化的网络安全劳动力来加强国家网络安全。Drexel的CMSP的核心重点是成功招募、留住和支持女性学生、代表性不足的少数民族学生和退伍军人。该项目通过多种形式的指导来解决这些群体的问题，并以一种称为验证理论的学生发展方法为指导。验证理论旨在系统地理解验证在未被充分代表的大学生的转变、坚持和成功中所起的作用。CMSP的组成部分包括师生指导、每月队列会议、课外研讨会和其他旨在验证学生的活动。这些活动对招募和留住妇女、代表性不足的少数民族和退伍军人特别有用。学生们还将被要求参与将课堂学习和现实世界的专业经验相结合的合作教育体验（co-ops）。该项目还将为验证理论作为理论框架的优势和劣势提供进一步的实证支持。现有的仪器，以了解验证理论的影响将扩展到CMSP计划。还将开发一种新的定量工具，以评估学生在课堂内外对验证的看法。这些产品将与网络安全教育界共享，以支持学生招聘、指导和就业安置领域的知识建设。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Drexel University's College of Computing and Informatics will establish the CyberCorps Mentoring and Scholarship Program (CMSP) to recruit, train, and mentor 17 CMSP Scholars to transition into cybersecurity positions within federal, state, local, or tribal government organizations. The project will develop a CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) initiative that can contribute to improving cybersecurity by increasing the number and diversity of undergraduate students who complete cybersecurity degrees and then take positions within government agencies. The goal is for the CMSP to strengthen national cybersecurity by enhancing both the recruitment and retention of a diverse cybersecurity workforce.A core focus of Drexel's CMSP is the successful recruitment, retention, and support of students who are women, underrepresented minorities, and veterans. The project addresses these groups through multiple forms of mentoring, guided by an approach to student development called Validation Theory. Validation Theory aims to provide a systematic understanding of the role of validation in the transition, persistence, and success of underrepresented college students. Components of the CMSP include faculty-student mentoring, monthly cohort meetings, extracurricular workshops, and other activities designed to validate students. These activities are particularly useful for recruiting and retaining women, underrepresented minorities, and veterans. Scholars will also be required to engage in cooperative education experiences (co-ops) that interleave classroom learning and real-world professional experience. The project will also provide further empirical support for Validation Theory's strengths and weaknesses as a theoretical framework. Existing instruments to understand the effects of Validation Theory will be extended for the CMSP program. A new quantitative instrument will also be developed to assess student perspectives of validation in and outside of classrooms. These products will be shared with the cybersecurity education community to support knowledge building in the areas of student recruiting, mentoring, and job placement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.