Faculty

New England Institute of Technology’s Cybersecurity Program is recognized by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency

Dr. Douglas H. Sherman, Senior Vice President and Provost at New England Institute of Technology (NEIT), announced that the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency have designated the university as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE) through academic year 2025.

NEIT is one 183 colleges and universities in the United States and one 8 in the northeast that has earned this prestigious distinction. This recognition puts NEIT on the national map for cybersecurity education.  In September 2018, The National Cyber Strategy was announced by President Donald J. Trump. It addressed the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlighted the importance of higher education as a solution to defending America’s cyberspace.

NEIT’s Information Technology faculty worked tirelessly over the last two years to earn the CAE-CDE designation for its Bachelor of Science degree in Cybersecurity and Network Engineering. To demonstrate that the program covered all the knowledge units, topics and objectives required, the faculty had to incorporate this information into the lessons and present evidence through course materials that the information was being taught. A summary of the criteria included:

• Examples of student work, hands-on activities and program assessments as well as participation in cybersecurity competitions.
• Faculty must be experienced in cybersecurity, be active in the field and support student activities.
• Evidence that other NEIT programs outside of the IT department teach cybersecurity concepts, such as privacy and data security in Health Sciences and digital forensics in Criminal Justice to demonstrate that cyber defense is a multidisciplinary practice at the university.
• NEIT’s institutional cybersecurity plan established by its Department of Technical Services was presented to show that the university has implemented its own cybersecurity practices as well as operate an active Cybersecurity Center at https://dots.neit.edu/cybercenter/.
• Demonstrate that the university, faculty and students performed cyber outreach in the community which included faculty presentations at other schools, businesses and local government workshops. Students participated in internships, hosted cybersecurity events and training at NEIT as well as collaborated with other universities on cybersecurity projects.

As stated in a letter to NEIT dated June 25, 2020 from the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education, “Your ability to meet the increasing demands of the program criteria will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of the National Information Infrastructure. A highly skilled cybersecurity workforce is a strategic national security advantage. The United States Government will continue to invest in and enhance programs that build the domestic talent pipeline, from primary through postsecondary education. Education is the key to promoting these ideals.”

For more information regarding NEIT’s Associate in Science and Bachelor of Science Cybersecurity and Networking Engineering programs, please contact the Admissions Office at 800-736-7744 or by email at [email protected]. Program information may be found at www.neit.edu.

###

Under the leadership of President Richard I. Gouse, New England Institute of Technology is a private, non-profit technical university with an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students and is accredited by the New England Commission on Higher Education. Founded in 1940, the university offers more than 50 associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and online/hybrid degree programs focusing on a proven combination of technical expertise coupled with hands-on learning. Visit www.neit.edu and follow news of the university on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Instagram and LinkedIn.