Member School Projects
Blue Ridge Community College
Enrollment in the cybersecurity program increased by 58% this year. The College hired a third faculty member and, with support from the CCN, upfitted two labs to support the cybersecurity program. Blue Ridge Community College's cyber competition team, the HIVE, participated in the National Cyber League Team Game for the first time, placing 394th out of 4680 teams. Blue Ridge plans to construct a fully-automated greenhouse that will be utilized to provide training for the automation component of greenhouse management and provide awareness training pertaining to cyber security and the food supply.
Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute
This year, CC&TI’s cybersecurity program incorporated RangeForce cyber range to provide students with hands-on experiences in simulated environments. This technology has enabled students to gain practical experience in a safe and controlled environment. The program also added a new instructor.
Catawba Valley Community College
With a grant from the CCN, CVCC hired a Director for the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, as well as a Cyber faculty member. In addition, the College developed a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship pathway, providing students with hands-on experience and industry exposure to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world application.
Cleveland Community College
Cleveland Community College is in the second year of its cybersecurity program. With a grant from the CCN, the College is creating new courses and course materials, providing professional development for faculty, upgrading a lab, and funding scholarships and work-based learning opportunities for students.
Fayetteville Technical Community College
Fayetteville Tech is redesigning the cyber curriculum to meet industry needs to include the addition of courses in Cloud Security and Critical Infrastructure Security. A student lab is open throughout the week, all year, to provide space for students to work on assignments and study for exams. The lab is staffed by faculty and student lab tech. With support from the CCN, Fayetteville Tech is providing certification exam vouchers to help student earn certifications required by employers.
Forsyth Technical Community College
Forsyth Tech won the National SecureUS Collegiate Cyber Challenge Exercise for CAE-C Institutions in September 2023 and finished 6th in the Center of Academic Excellence Community Outreach Competition. In addition, Forsyth Tech added three new recipients of the Cyber Corps Scholarship for Service. These students complete their AAS degree and Forsyth Tech and transfer to UNC Charlotte to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science with a cybersecurity concentration. As a requirement of the scholarship, upon graduation, students commit to three years of service in government cybersecurity roles.
Gaston College
Gaston College’s Networking and Cyber Defense program has been experiencing a steady growth in enrollment with a 123% increase from Fall 2017 to Fall 2023. This year, the College is renovating, designing, and equipping new cyber-labs on all three of its campuses. With support from the CCN, Gaston College was able to get much-needed human resources support in the form of a consultant to assist with room designs, furniture selection, equipment procurement, and more.
Isothermal Community College
Isothermal joined the CCN in 2023. This was also the first year of their cybersecurity degree program. The College hired its first full-time cybersecurity instructor who is working to build a program aligned with the criteria required to be designated a Center for Academic Excellence by the NSA. ICC also offered its first Online Safety Fundamentals course through continuing education and is developing a Cybersecurity Pathway Certificate for dual credit high school students to begin in Fall 2024.
Johnston Community College
Johnston celebrated the first graduates of the cybersecurity program in 2023. A grant from the CCN allowed Johnston to create a satellite Security Operations Center to provide students a realistic training environment.
Montreat College
Montreat College is actively involved in shaping the re-designation requirements for the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (NCAE-CD) by participating in the Careers Preparation National Center and the 'NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct' Initiative to develop materials for “Student Professionalism.” Kelli Burgin is the cochair of the 'NCAE-C Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct' Initiative, which developed the Student Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct during 2023. This code of conduct will be a model for all CAE-designated colleges and universities. In the Spring of 2023, Montreat hosted Jim Weaver, North Carolina’s Secretary and Chief Information Officer, and his staff to tour the College’s cyber facilities and the Carolina Cyber Center Security Operations Center. Montreat also hosted CCN’s Spring convening and held its 9th annual Cyber RETR3AT.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
This year, NC A&T enhanced an undergraduate cybersecurity course, Applied Network Security (Comp420), by incorporating hands-on attack-defense demonstrations. Students directly engage with the processes of launching various cyber-attacks, as well as gaining practical insights into methods for potential detection and mitigation providing them with the skills and knowledge required for the competitive and dynamic cybersecurity job market.
Piedmont Community College
Piedmont Community College is partnering with Vance-Granville Community College to share resources, facukty expertise,, and instructors to increase the focus on cybercrime and cyber investigation in the 5-county area served by the two colleges. PCC and VGCC have established a Level-Two Instructional Service Agreement (ISA) that begins in January 2024 to jointly offer courses.
Richmond Community College
Richmond experienced record enrollment in its 14-week continuing education course focused on Network+ and Security+. In addition, a new course was developed to provide cybersecurity training as a part of SCADA knowledge systems for students enrolled in the Electric Utility and Substation Relay Technology Program. This course will cover the fundamentals of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and their security implications to equip students with the skills and knowledge to protect critical infrastructure from cyber threats.
Stanly Community College
Stanly Community College's (SCC) Cisco Academy Support Center/Instructor Training Center (ASC/ITC) earned the Premier+ Award by Cisco Systems, Inc. The Center provides Cisco Network Academy instructor training in various formats, including online, blended, and distance learning. In addition to instructor training, SCC offers Fast Track testing and classes for those pursuing Cisco certifications, including the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP).
University of North Carolina Wilmington
UNC Wilmington launched its BS degree in Cybersecurity in 2022-2023 with 20 students. This year, enrollment ballooned to 141. A new maritime cybersecurity concentration is planned for 2025-2026. Two courses for this concentration were offered for the first time this year: Maritime Cybersecurity and Industrial Systems Control Cybersecurity.
Wake Technical Community College
In 2022, Wake Tech received a sub-award from the CCN to support a redesign of the Security Capstone course to align it with the CompTIA CySA+ certification, provide student internships, and expand faculty certifications related to cybersecurity. In addition, the grant will support Cyber Aware events aimed at engaging students, industry partners, and the broader community in the realm of cybersecurity. The events will culminate with a cybersecurity competition.
Wayne Community College
Enrollment in Wayne Community College’s cybersecurity program has increased by 26% over the last two years. This year, faculty updated the curriculum, adding EC-Council for CompTIA certification courses and creating more hybrid courses to accommodate growing enrollment.