Two Colorado community colleges are among just 10 colleges and universities across the country that will receive yearlong technical support through a new federal initiative to create stackable, industry-recognized credentials incorporating noncredit and traditional degree programs.
The Community College of Aurora and Colorado Northwestern Community College, selected to receive technical assistance after securing a spot in the U.S. Department of Education’s highly competitive Pathways to Credentials project, will focus their efforts on cybersecurity career and degree pathways. The two colleges, while distinctly different in their geographic locations, share a common interest in ensuring that their cybersecurity programming is relevant to industry needs and in providing degrees, certificates and industry training that resonate with adult learners seeking to enhance their skills and advance professionally in their respective communities.
CCA will look to combine several existing components — including competency-based courses and prior-learning assessment tools, fast-track noncredit courses and other information technology programs — into a more deliberate and cohesive set of stackable credentials in cybersecurity.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen as one of only 10 teams in the country to participate in this highly competitive project,” said Janel Highfill, team lead and CCA’s associate vice president of workforce, partnerships and resource development. “We expect that by next year, we will have redeveloped our program to better ensure that our students are ready for well-paying jobs in cybersecurity.”
For CNCC, the primary task will be to glean best practices and strategies to support a strong launch of a new cybersecurity associate degree program and inform priorities for subsequent next steps.
“When Colorado’s attorney general funded the development of a cybersecurity program at CNCC, we knew we needed to design an exemplary offering to meet expectations for excellence and address the growing need in our extraction industry-reliant communities for training in high-tech, location-neutral industries,” Sasha Nelson, CNCC’s director of workforce training and community programming. “This opportunity provides us access to some of the best coaches, experts and resources in the nation. As a result, we’re better positioned to develop a highly competitive cybersecurity program.”
Led by the nonprofit organization Center for Occupational Research and Development and partner organization Social Policy Research Associates, Pathways to Credentials will provide technical assistance services at no cost to the participating colleges from May through July 2021. The colleges will be coached individually but also benefit from interactions with the entire cohort, providing a peer group with which to exchange ideas and solutions.
The participating colleges will benefit from:
• Monthly coaching from a dedicated coach, targeted support from additional subject matter experts to address local challenges, webinars and an online community to share resources and best practices
• A curated collection of toolkits and tutorials designed to address the professional development needs of cohort team members
• A two-day Technical Assistance Institute program to learn from leader colleges and national experts
The winning proposal offers an opportunity for CCA and CNCC to build on an already strong working relationship.
“CNCC is actively initiating meaningful partnerships across the Colorado Community College System to innovatively leverage the power of our 13 colleges,” said CNCC President Ron Granger. “We believe we provide stronger programs when we work together and I’m delighted to join CCA in accepting this prestigious opportunity.”
Said CCA President Betsy Oudenhoven: “The work proposed by the CCA and CNCC cybersecurity program development team exemplifies the kind of innovation that helps make our Colorado communities so great.”
PRESS RELEASE | Special to the Herald Times
