Cybersecurity is in demand both as a stand-alone academic discipline and as a cross-cutting set of skills and competencies needed in every industry. Microsoft and AACC’s Cyber Skills for All initiative will build a community of practice among community college workforce and economic development executives aimed at skilling people for participation in the digital economy. AACC will elevate attention and traction of these skills in groups that have historically been excluded from technology and cybersecurity pathways.
AACC competitively selected the first cohort of fourteen (14) community colleges to join the community of practice early in 2022 and two additional fourteen-college cohorts will be added during the next two years. A total of 42 community colleges will be coordinated during this initiative. AACC and Microsoft have structured a request for proposals (RFP) with critical categories including target population impact, historic cybersecurity efforts, and both institutional and student outcomes. Each selected college will receive $20,000 to participate and will guarantee two executives for active participation in the community of practice. The ideal college partners in this community of practice will have the motivation to engage with like-minded peers, to build high-quality and industry-relevant cybersecurity programs within community colleges for economic opportunity.
Each community of practice member will receive direct technical assistance from AACC. Additionally, AACC will host monthly webinars on critical topics for college leaders to embed and prioritize cybersecurity within their college’s talent preparation efforts. These webinars will also be an opportunity for community of practice members to elevate promising and best practices in program design and delivery for replication, adaptation, and scaling at other institutions across the country.