Keeping Up with Cybersecurity Curriculum
Cybersecurity curriculum has changed significantly over the last few years. At one time, cybersecurity was a series of courses in computer science. Now, the field of cybersecurity has grown into a complex and ever-growing field essential to protecting organizations of all sizes from cyber-attacks. As the field of cybersecurity grows, so must cybersecurity curriculum to train new cybersecurity professionals to be successful in the industry. Cybersecurity curriculum must also become more available to the growing number of students interested in studying the field.
CyberKnights is an online portal that supports training providers and educational facilitators of cybersecurity curriculum to reach new students and more effectively manage their cybersecurity courses according to the industries’ needs. Through our online portal, these educational providers can better plan and facilitate cybersecurity courses, as well as update the cybersecurity curriculum according to the industries’ developing standards. Register with CyberKnights today to connect with the industry and increase student enrollment!
Developing Effective Cybersecurity Curriculum
Continual Growth
For individuals to become experts in the field of cybersecurity, they must be educated about key cybersecurity techniques, taught to understand the growth of the field, and how to continue to educate themselves, as well as given the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience. Educational providers must develop a cybersecurity curriculum that trains and equips individuals to become experts in the ever-changing field of cybersecurity while providing growth opportunities even after graduation.
Continuous Education
Cybersecurity curriculum may be organized as a formal cybersecurity degree, a shorter cybersecurity certification program, or a cybersecurity training program that allows students to practice what they learn or refresh their knowledge about certain topics. When developing an effective cybersecurity curriculum, educators must ask themselves if they are providing students with opportunities to practice and continuously grow in their knowledge of cybersecurity.
The Skill of Innovation
A key aspect of cybersecurity is innovation. Cyberattacks are becoming more advanced, and protecting organizations is more than simply defending against current cyberattack techniques. Cybersecurity professionals must think innovatively to proactively protect organizations from future cyberattacks. Cybersecurity curriculum must allow students to develop this innovative way of thinking to create professionals that are capable of thinking proactively instead of reactively.
Using the NICE framework is also essential when developing an effective cybersecurity curriculum. The NICE framework was developed by the National Institute for Standards and Technology to provide a reference for educators to develop cybersecurity curriculum, training programs, courses, seminars, and exercises or challenges that cover the knowledge, abilities, skills, and tasks necessary for cybersecurity professionals. For more information on the NICE Framework, visit our NICE Framework page!
How to Improve Student Enrollment and Retention
Marketing the Job Market
The cybersecurity field needs more professionals to fill the thousands of unfilled jobs, and now colleges and universities have an added pressure of enrolling more students in cybersecurity courses. Enrolling more students and retaining students through graduation can be difficult in a field that is still relatively new. So how can educators improve student enrollment and retention rates?
One of the most important ways to improve enrollment rates in cybersecurity courses is to be more active in marketing the benefits and growth in the cybersecurity field. Because cybersecurity is relatively new compared to other career fields, young students often don’t understand the benefits of a career in the industry. Talking with high school students, young professionals, and individuals looking to change careers about the growth of cybersecurity is an important first step in improving enrollment rates.
Employer Relationship
Creating relationships with employers is another great way to improve student enrollment rates in cybersecurity courses. Businesses are constantly looking for ways to improve their cybersecurity workforce. If they can enroll workers in cybersecurity courses, they can develop an internal cybersecurity force using employees who already understand the companies’ values, and benefit from their employees’ new expertise in cybersecurity.
A Clear Career Path
To improve student retention rates, educators need to focus on offering more than just cybersecurity curriculum. Students need to understand how the cybersecurity curriculum applies to real-life scenarios, and they need to be equipped with the knowledge of how to begin their careers after graduating from a course. Offering students the opportunity to develop their career path, and providing them with the resources and networking connections to begin a cybersecurity career after graduation is important for improving retention rates.
CyberKnights is an online portal designed to support training providers and educational facilitators of cybersecurity curriculum. Through the CyberKnights portal, educators can connect with potential students and cybersecurity employers to help improve enrollment rates in cybersecurity courses. Through the career path development tools and NICE framework support, educators can also help students to prepare for their future careers in the cybersecurity industry and improve retention rates.
Cybersecurity Curriculum Benefits through CyberKnights:
- Reach more students and employees in need of cybersecurity educational services.
- Create relationships with employers in need of cybersecurity curriculum for their employees.
- Create cybersecurity curriculum centered around KSAT and the NICE framework.
- Have your cybersecurity educational program mapped in our career journeys for individuals to include your offerings in their career planning.
- Connect with students and see how they are progressing in their education and career.
- Increase student job placement.
- Leverage the metrics in CyberKnights to plan future course offerings to meet demand.
Many cybersecurity educational providers offer excellent cybersecurity courses but don’t know how to specifically tailor these courses to the practical needs of employers and employees. CyberKnights work as a link between cybersecurity educational providers, employers, and their employees to provide up-skilling and re-skilling opportunities. Using the CyberKnights platform, educational providers can map their cybersecurity curriculum according to the NICE framework. When employers have employees who need further education in specific areas, employers can easily search and find the cybersecurity curriculum their employees need utilizing the NICE Tasks, Knowledge, and Skills (TKSs). By effectively organizing and publishing the cybersecurity curriculum to the CyberKnights portal, cybersecurity educators not only increase the span of their educational services but also their effectiveness.
Educational providers that subscribe to CyberKnights can connect with students through the system and learn about the different student capabilities. This information provides educators an understanding of how students are progressing through their education and if the existing course offerings foster an increased learning environment.
Schedule a demo with CyberKnights to learn more about how our online cybersecurity portal can benefit your educational provider’s needs.