Catalyzing Computing and Cybersecurity in Community Colleges (C5) was a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project supported and enlarged the network of community colleges across the nation that are excelling in cybersecurity education, producing more and better prepared graduates, and ultimately leading to a more secure nation.   

The Catalyzing Computing and Cybersecurity in Community Colleges project expanded upon previous Whatcom Community College (WCC) NSF grants with two goals:

• Strengthen and expand the number of colleges across the United States that meet national standards in cybersecurity education (CAE-CD)
• Develop and disseminate instructional materials to enhance computer science and cybersecurity courses

In partnership with the National Security Agency (NSA), the C5 Mentee Program helped U.S. colleges and universities prepare high-quality applications for the designation of NSA/DHS National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAECD). Mentees worked with a qualified mentor to complete their application. Funding was available to support these efforts, through the NSA Application Assistance Program  to support mentors and the C5 program to support mentee institutions.

C5 brought together computer science faculty and cybersecurity educators from across the nation to develop instructional materials that integrated the two disciplines. C5's contemporary cybersecurity materials consist of seven individual curriculum modules that can be seamlessly incorporated into existing courses: 

• Applied Cryptography
• Secure Scripting
• Responsible Software Development
• Cybersecurity Principles
• Cyber Threats and Countermeasures
• Securing Data from Risk
• Cybersecurity and Society

The project was a significant success, spanning seven years and creating hundreds of partnerships with and among higher education institutions and government agencies, expanding the national leadership capacity of community college cybersecurity faculty, and strengthening and standardizing a growing number of community college cybersecurity programs with the CAE designation. The project also succeeded in providing and exposing high school and college instructors and students to significant cybersecurity curricular resources and providing a new cybersecurity pathway for high school students through the creation and launch of a new Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles: Cybersecurity course endorsed by the College Board.   

• The C5 Mentoring Program became the national model adopted by the NSA and allows for high-quality applications with high success rates of approval.

• CAE2Y/CAE-CD application supports are available for free on the NCyTE Center website, including availability of the new CAE Application Tool which supports easier submission of applications.

• Cybersecurity curricular materials, including instructional modules and lessons and an integrated cybersecurity course that scaffolds the instructional modules into a semester-long course are available for free on the NCyTE Center website.

• A new AP Computer Science Principles: Cybersecurity course is available for free to high schools.

• A third JROTC cybersecurity academy pilot was completed in 2022 exposing over 125 cadets to cybersecurity curriculum and pathways. Academies were hosted at eight different universities across the United States. Cadets had the opportunity to earn college credit and an industry certificate. (The 2022 academy was funded by the C5 grant and two other NSF grants.)

• Relationships between the C5 leaders, NSA, high school teachers, and college faculty members were developed or strengthened during the duration of the grant, resulting in additional prospects for collaboration and grant opportunities.

The economic impact of the CAE can be substantial to the designated institution and surrounding region. A recent study documented one college's CAE designation contributing toward a cumulated $16.3M in earnings and 948 jobs.  Achieving the CAE also ensures security standards at institutions, and cross-campus/cross disciplinary cybersecurity education for staff and faculty. 

Most importantly, the project contributed to strengthening cybersecurity education throughout the nation through faculty development, mentoring and industry connections, and providing enhanced curricular resources ultimately impacting the quantity and quality of the cybersecurity workforce.  There are currently over 700,000 job openings in cybersecurity.  NCyTE will continue efforts to support the over three hundred institutions that currently have the CAE designation and will continue to update and expand curricular resources for high school and college faculty. These institutions, as well as some 100 more in the pipeline, will graduate thousands of students trained to national standards aligned to recognized industry cybersecurity work roles, thus helping to fill the workforce gap and secure the nation.

Through the development and offering of the AP CSP: Cybersecurity course, high schools now have the ability to offer cybersecurity as part of an existing AP course, creating pathways for high school students and increasing the number of students exposed to cybersecurity as a potential career.  The JROTC academy, if continued, is another effort with great potential to introduce diverse, motivated high school students to cybersecurity education pathways and careers. The C5 lessons and AP CSP: Cybersecurity course enable high school instructors to augment their courses with cybersecurity topics and to expose students to concepts that will help them to live more secure daily lives. 

Funded by National Science Foundation Grant #1548315. Catalyzing Computing and Cybersecurity in Community Colleges (C5) is administered by Whatcom Community College.