Undergraduate, Graduate Level Courses Approved by National Security Agency

UTICA, N.Y., Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Utica College's cybersecurity and information assurance courses have been approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) in the college's quest to become a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAE/IAE), marking the first step in achieving the "gold standard" in education in the field.

The approval validated that Utica College courseware meets all of the elements of the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) rigorous standards for Information Systems Security Professionals (4011) and Risk Analyst (4016). The IACE Program provides consistency in training and education for the information assurance skills that are critical to the U.S. Courseware approval is the first step toward this prestigious designation. The Utica College programs will be recognized at the CNSS Ceremony at the 17^th Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE) in June.

"Achieving this approval took an intensive, collaborative effort by the faculty, staff and students," said Joseph Giordano, professor and chair of cybersecurity undergraduate and graduate programs at the college. "The criteria for approval is a very specific and complicated process. Seven courses from both the undergraduate and graduate programs were sent to the National Security Agency for approval," Giordano said.

Utica College has a unique graduate program with two distinct concentrations:  one in intelligence and one in computer forensics. The intelligence concentration involves counterintelligence, cyber counterterrorism, cyber countersabotage, while the computer forensics concentration is more hands-on, focusing on collecting and preparing evidence of computer crimes such as fraud, child pornography, and cyber espionage.

"Our concentrations set the Utica College graduate program apart from those of other schools," Giordano said. "Achieving this gold standard will further validate the value of these degrees."

For more information about the program, contact Giordano at jgiordano@utica.edu or (315) 223-2521.

About Utica College – Utica College, founded in 1946, is a comprehensive private institution offering bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees. The College, located in upstate central New York, approximately 90 miles west of Albany and 50 miles east of Syracuse, currently enrolls over 3,700 students in 37 undergraduate majors, 29 minors, 20 graduate and a number of pre-professional and special programs.

Contact: Christine Leogrande, Director of Media Relations, (315) 223-2519 cleogrande@utica.edu
Alexis March '13 PR Intern

SOURCE Utica College