蒙哥马利县社区学院 is part of a consortium of community colleges across Pennsylvania that will be working with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) to enhance cybersecurity and science, 技术, engineering and math (STEM) education 这是由4美元资助的.美国政府拨款9800万美元.S. 国防部 (国防部).

The grant is part of 美国国防部的 National Defense Education Program to foster the development of two-year institution/community colleges STEM education consortia. 根据 美国国防部的 新闻稿, each consortium will receive an initial award of nearly $5 million over three years, with the possibility of up to a total of $11 million over six years.

MCCC, which will receive approximately $919,00 over the next three years, will focus on increasing certificate completion rates, transfer rates to four-year institutions, and student interest in employment in the DOD and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) science, 技术和制造业劳动力.

“我们非常高兴开始与该财团合作. 与他人合作 schools in the consortium will give MCCC, our students and faculty access to cutting-edge 资源和培训。. James Bretz, MCCC STEM学院院长兼首席研究员 补助金/财团. “这笔赠款将使我们能够扩大对高需求的培训 careers in cybersecurity, network administration and cloud computing, to name a few. 学生 trained in these areas and who join the DOD/DIB workforce, enter the field earning family-sustaining wages in positions that often have significant opportunities 晋升.”

“The grant also will allow us to increase professional development for our faculty 通过培训新教员来壮大我们的教员队伍. 总的来说，财团授予 is a great opportunity that will allow us to enhance MCCC's already robust computer 科学和STEM编程和资源，”布雷茨说.

“We are looking forward to the great things that this grant will help us do for our 学生和MCCC社区说. 丽贝卡·海斯，STEM学院副院长. “收入 industry-recognized certificates will help students in their job search and potentially 带来更高收入的工作. 职业指导以及与当地国防部更紧密的联系 and DIB workforces may help students identify their career goals earlier in their 程度的进步和导致转移率的增加. 此外，专业人士 development available to our Computer and Information Science faculty members through 这项资助将惠及我们所有CIS课程的学生.”

MCCC currently offers associate degree programs in Computer Networking and Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Computer Science, Web Development and Design and Information Technology and certificate programs in Computer Networking and Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Web开发与设计，软件工程.

A main objective of the consortium is to increase the number of students who earn 行业认可的认证. 这些认证，由这样的公司提供 as CISCO, CompTIA and Amazon, are highly sought after by employers. MCCC课程包括 already aligned with these certifications, but many students do not realize the importance of completing the exams or face other barriers to completing them. 增加证书 completion rates and lower barriers to completion, MCCC will increase emphasis on the value of certifications in their classes, offer certification exam preparation 课程和使用补助金来帮助抵消考试费用.

To increase student retention and persistence, MCCC will enhance advising for Computer Information Science and STEM students and provide career coaches to assist students 进入职场. 中冶集团将探索更多的合作机会 local high schools and four-year colleges to strengthen pipelines of potential students entering the field and to provide additional educational opportunities for students 在MCCC完成学业. 此外，MCCC将提供先验学习评估 credits to veterans who learned 技术 and other skills in the military service.

Throughout the duration of the grant, MCCC plans to increase graduates’ interest in employment in defense-related industries, by providing job counseling and guidance and by building an internship, apprenticeship and research opportunity network with 当地STEM, DOD和DIB行业. 此外，ccc将制定方案来提供帮助 students increase their soft skills for job attainment and work more closely with 大学预科学生通过各种各样的活动和项目.

Dr. Waleed Farag, IUP professor of computer science and director of IUP’s Institute for Cybersecurity, will lead the Collaborative Pennsylvania-wide Community College 财团. The team includes IUP faculty and graduate students and faculty and administrators from six community colleges – MCCC, Bucks County Community College, Butler County Community College, Northampton Community College, Pennsylvania Highlands Community 学院和威斯特摩兰县社区学院. IUP有伙伴关系协议 和所有这些大学.