Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement

The Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement is designed for students who want to get started in the field of cybersecurity. The required courses introduce cyber defense and teach students about the offensive and defensive measures that protect an organization's data and systems. Students start by learning an overview of networking, computer hardware, and operating systems then go deeper with ethical hacking and forensics. The certificate prepares students to get the CompTIA Security+ and the International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), and the Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) certifications.

 Upon completion, students will be prepared for an entry-level job as a cybersecurity analyst or advancement in jobs as computer support specialists and/or computer network support specialists. May be offered in a distance-learning environment.

A total of 20 students are expected to enroll. Certificate completion rates are expected to be five to ten per year with a potential for annual growth.

Cabrillo College is seeking approval from the Chancellor’s Office for the new Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement in Career Education.  The Cybersecurity program is designed to train and educate students to work in the fields of information security, systems administration, and network administration. The need for cybersecurity has been advocated for by local, regional, and national governments and consortiums and supported by current, regional labor market research (TOP 0708.00).  The Cybersecurity program is aligned with Cabrillo’s mission, master plan, and statewide community college work in Guided Pathways.  Approval of this program will benefit regional employers, fulfill cyber security needs of the local community, augment college enrollment, and support non-traditional and underserved minority students in a viable career and academic path. This program would give our students the knowledge and skills they need to work towards additional certificates or a degree and/or excel in the workforce. The goal is for certificate completers to be gainfully employed or continue with an associates degree. Working with employers to identify earning potential is promising, with potential for a starting salary of $120,000-$188,000/yr in jobs such as computer network support specialists, computer systems analysts/information security analysts, and Network and Computer Systems Administrators. A labor market analysis indicates there is a large labor market gap in the Bay region with 2,705 annual openings for the Information Technology occupational cluster and 71 annual (3-year average) awards for an annual undersupply of 2,634 students. In the SC-Monterey Sub-Region, there is also a gap with 299 annual openings and no annual (3-year average) awards for an annual undersupply of 299 students.

There are 10 required core units and 6-7 elective units of computer and information systems (CIS) courses. 

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CIS75	Fundamentals of Computer Security	3.00	S2
CIS81	Intro to Networks	3.00	S1
CIS90	Intro to UNIX/Linux	3.00	S1
CIS76	Intro to Cybersecurity: Ethical Hacking	3.00	S2
CIS77	Computer Forensics Fundamentals	3.00	S2
CIS78	Cybersecurity Analysis	3.00	S2

Cybersecurity is a growing part of the Computer and Information Systems (CIS) program. Preparing student for the evolving challenges in cybersecurity is a goal of Cabrillo’s CIS department. The courses in the Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement build upon the Cybersecurity Basics Certificate of Achievement. The certificates have been developed, based on a demonstrated need, to create foundations for students to on-ramp to higher level cybersecurity courses already established in the CIS department. Each certificate is stacked to help students either specialize and upskill or move on to more advanced degrees.  The cybersecurity faculty in the CIS department work closely with local high schools and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Together with our local partners, we participate in growing regional partnerships to increase the region’s available on-ramps to the local cybersecurity workforce.

There are no colleges in the SC-Monterey Sub-Region that issued awards on TOP 0708.00 Computer Infrastructure and Support on average over 3 years (ending 2018-19). Monterey Peninsula College offers an A.S. degree and a Certificate of Achievement under Top Code 0708.10* Computer Networking. (Computer Networking and Cybersecurity). Judy Cutting, Dean of Instruction, Career Education & Workforce Development was contacted via email on 4/22/2022 to be informed of the upgrades of Cabrillo’s certificates and degree under TOP Code 0708.00 - Computer Infrastructure and Support including the Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement. There are no concerns by Monterey Peninsula College with Cabrillo moving forward with the Cybersecurity Certificate of Achievement.