opens PDF file The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), in partnership with Microsoft, developed a community of practice for community colleges to expand and bolster their cybersecurity programs and train the next generation of security professionals. From 2021-2024, three cohorts of 14 colleges took part in the Cyber Skills for All: Community Colleges Lead the Way program. AACC is grateful for Microsoft’s support of this work and the community college sector.
Cybersecurity is a critical issue facing communities and businesses across the United States. It is in demand both as a stand-alone academic discipline and as a cross-cutting set of skills and competencies needed in other sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture, business, accounting, engineering, criminal justice, healthcare, and many others.
To support Microsoft’s goal to develop a pipeline of students from 2-year institutions with cybersecurity skills into a variety of professional opportunities, AACC identified 42 community colleges with leadership and faculty that prioritized this work. Each college received funding to advance projects of importance in their area, including recruiting students, developing hands-on and job experience, and training faculty. Each cohort also met monthly to share best practices with each other and receive technical support as needed. AACC is pleased to present this collection of promising practices to community colleges across the country.
In addition to the Cyber Skills for All initiative, Microsoft has a collection of resources and supports for educators in the cybersecurity, IT, and computer science spaces that include training for educators, and certification and scholarship supports for both students and faculty.