Cybersecurity, compliance, and health informatics: education for the future

Howard Community College received $767,503 in Project Grant funding from the National Science Foundation's STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) effective October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2028. The award supports the development and implementation of a new Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree program in Cybersecurity, designed to replace the college's existing Associate of Arts degree and provide students with enhanced workforce-ready skills. The curriculum incorporates specialized coursework in Healthcare Informatics and Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) to address documented regional demand in these sectors, particularly within Maryland's substantial healthcare industry, including major employers such as the Johns Hopkins Medical System.

The project deliverables include curriculum development integrating information technology, cybersecurity, and healthcare systems instruction; creation of new courses accessible to cybersecurity students as well as those concentrating in Allied Health and Business; and comprehensive professional development for faculty members in Healthcare Informatics and GRC. By establishing this specialized program, Howard Community College aims to prepare qualified cybersecurity technicians to meet critical national workforce demands while serving the specific employment needs of local industries in the Columbia, Maryland region.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by producing more qualified technicians to meet workforce demands in cybersecurity. Keeping computers and information systems secure is a critical need and a major challenge in business, industry, and government. The growth of cyber-threats has created a need for many more workers who have the knowledge and skills to protect both existing and emerging technologies. In this project, the investigators will enhance the college's cybersecurity program, with a focus on industry needs that have emerged in healthcare informatics and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC). Specifically, the investigators aim to develop an associate of applied science (AAS) degree program in cybersecurity and to incorporate new courses that will prepare students for employment as cybersecurity professionals in the large healthcare industry in maryland, as well as in other industries that require knowledge of cybersecurity GRC. The curriculum will be designed to be accessible to cybersecurity students as well as students with concentrations in allied health and business. The project includes significant professional development in healthcare informatics and GRC for the faculty members who are developing the program. The new program will support local industries that have documented demand for cybersecurity practitioners. With respect to healthcare informatics, the region has a large number of healthcare organizations, including the johns hopkins medical system as well as a hospital and medical campus adjacent to the howard community college campus. The new AAS program will be designed to replace the college's associate of arts (AA) degree in cybersecurity and to give students more workforce-ready skills. The new healthcare informatics course will emphasize the integration of information technology, cybersecurity, and healthcare systems. IT will cover principles of cybersecurity; cloud computing; electronic health records; legal and ethical issues, including compliance with the health insurance portability and accountability act (hipaa); and the emerging role of artificial intelligence and data management tools. The course will incorporate hands-on exercises based on collaboration with industry practitioners, and IT will use the college's cyber ready clinic to give students firsthand experience working with small businesses in the medical field. The new GRC course will cover relevant laws and regulations, frameworks used to integrate security and privacy within organizational objectives, and the development and assessment of strategies for GRC implementation in different organizations. The course will aim to prepare students to work in organizations that must comply with specific GRC frameworks, and the content will align with relevant industry certifications. This project is funded by the advanced technological education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.