Strategies for Integrating Two-Year Information Technology and Cybersecurity Programs

Abstract

To meet the high demand for trained Cybersecurity professionals, many two-year colleges which have been offering degree programs in Information Technology (IT) are expanding or revising their course offerings to include Cybersecurity courses. The increasing importance of Cybersecurity skills has led to an increase in Cybersecurity requirements for IT majors. Due to considerations related to competency overlap, vendor-based academy content, government designations, faculty qualifications, general education requirements, enrollment capacity, and other factors, two-year colleges are evaluating various options for how to effectively offer both IT and Cybersecurity content. Options include separate IT and Cybersecurity degrees, IT and Cybersecurity concentrations using a common core of general Computing courses, and multiple IT degree concentrations based on a common IT core. Colleges should evaluate the competencies expected of completers to determine how to best structure their programs.