Many community college students aspire to build further credentials at a four-year institution, but some face geographical constraints due to work, family or other factors.
Now, with the help of an $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Capitol Technology University is launching a scholarship program that enables place-bound cybersecurity students to transfer in and complete their bachelor’s degrees online.
Each year, students finishing up their associate’s degrees in cybersecurity (or in computer science, with an emphasis in cybersecurity) will be eligible to apply for the Capitol Cyber Transfers Scholarship Program. Students selected for the program will be awarded scholarships enabling them to transfer into Capitol to take the upper-level classes needed for a bachelor’s degree.
They will be able to complete their Capitol coursework online, forming a “virtual cohort” that interacts via the school’s innovative distance learning platform.
“Students often choose to attend community college because they’re place-bound,” said Melinda Bunnell-Rhyne, Dean of Student Life and Retention. “They’re not able to leave where they are now, and live away at college in the traditional way. This program will allow them to complete their degrees at a distance. At the same time, it will create a cohort of students, so that the distance learning experience will be less isolated.”
“It will involve the building of a network of students going through the same experience of pursuing this degree,” Bunnell-Rhyne said.
She added that it is designed to accommodate not only young people but learners who may be enrolling in college at a later age, resuming their studies after a break, or making a career change.
The NSF grant is part of a nationwide push to boost cybersecurity education, an increasingly critical field in which demand for professionals continues to outstrip supply. The program is also aligned with Capitol’s strategic goals, which include enrollment of more non-traditional students.
William Butler, who chairs the cybersecurity department at Capitol, stressed that the program does more than deliver content online; it strives to replicate key aspects of the traditional college experience.
The university has always sought to ensure that its virtual learning environment is as rich in content, quality and interactivity as a physical classroom environment, he said.
“Capitol specializes in providing students with a quality education via a synchronous, live distance learning platform,” Butler said. “They’ll be virtually connected to the campus and activities at Capitol. We’ll be designing activities specifically for this group. We also offer virtual labs. They’ll have the opportunity to conduct research and undertake projects collaboratively, like we do in our regular labs and classes. So they’ll have a sense of being part of a university community.”
While opportunities for online learning are expanding rapidly, a degree from Capitol – a longstanding leader in the cybersecurity education field – packs extra punch, Butler said.
“Capitol has well-established relationships with employers and government agencies, and we’re an NSA-designated Center for Excellence. Our faculty consists of professionals working in the field. They can provide insights and exposure to current trends that the students won’t get elsewhere,” Butler said. “As a result, a Capitol education increases students’ chances of success as well as their earning potential.”