Rose State College has become the only two-year institution in the country to offer national certifications for the Cyber Security program. The program currently has more than 50 students enrolled and predicts that number to increase to 75 this fall.
According to Ken Dewey, director of the RSC Cyber Security and Networking programs, approximately 100 colleges and universities across the country have at least one of the five certificates issued by the National Security Agency (NSA). The College has received three of five certificates available to higher education institutions and will apply for the final two this semester.
Students have the potential to earn the certificates in 12-18 months. Although they can receive a certificate without graduating with an associate's degree offered, they are encouraged to complete the entire program.
The NSA reports that students with the federal certifications have an earning potential of $10,000 more per year than those without the certifications.
From now through 2010, employment of computer support specialists is expected to increase 97 percent and employment of network and computer systems administrators is expected to increase 82 percent. The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium projects that the number of information security professional worldwide will be 2.1 million in 2008, up from 1.3 million currently.
For more information on the program, contact Dewey at (405) 733-7977.