Software vulnerabilities in commercial products are an issue of national importance. The most prevalent breaches are input validation vulnerabilities, and these are easily avoidable. This dissertation contributes to cybersecurity education with a set of hands-on interventions tailored for three CS courses, a set of reflection prompts to encourage…

This study explored the role of faith in the motivation of undergraduate computer science students and considered the implications for Christian Higher Education in the United States, by reviewing the existing literature on the subject. Academic motivation of computer science students is a global concern evidenced by studies around the world that…

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) students are underrepresented in CS education and have been found to leave the field at higher rates than their counterparts. While there is a great deal of Computer Science (CS) education research focused on other underrepresented groups, it rarely includes those who are TGNC. Overall, there is a dearth…

A disproportionate number of European American male students are enrolled in cyberscience undergraduate degree programs, despite attempts to attract diverse student populations in the field. The purpose of the basic qualitative study was to gain a better understanding on how cyberscience academic experts perceive the challenges related to the…

Cybersecurity job roles and responsibilities constantly evolve due to technological advancements, complex infrastructure, and increasing cybersecurity threats and regulations. As a result, organizations require a highly skilled and experienced cybersecurity workforce in both the public and private sectors. Many colleges and universities offer…

While the cybersecurity landscape continually evolves, with new technologies, attack vectors, and defense mechanisms emerging regularly, cybersecurity certificate programs remain challenged to stay current and relevant, often resulting in the delivery of outdated course content in existing programs. Scholars note that the absence of standardized…

Universities are reflections of our societies and are tasked with educating the next generation of experts. The computer science (CS) phenomenon, with its high-paying jobs, attracts more students than ever to the CS undergraduate major. One may wonder why women are underrepresented in the CS major if they constitute half of university enrollment…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how college students from the United States describe the motivational factors that influence them to seek a degree in computer science. There is a gap in the research that shows a need to look at the motivations of women from their first experiences in computer science to begin and…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of Real-World Experiences in Active Learning (R.E.A.L.) impacted student learning outcomes in an undergraduate information systems (IS) data communication and networking course. A quasi-experimental, quantitative approach was used to investigate whether the R.E.A.L. treatments, used as active…

With ongoing concerns in undergraduate computer science education like growing enrollment and broadening participation, there is a need for reform. While there are many stakeholder perspectives to consider in reforms, students deserve to be prioritized because they face a variety of environmental challenges that lead to negative outcomes like…

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) identified that approximately 1.8 million cybersecurity positions were vacant in 2021 because of a lack of professionals with the required skill sets and who remained in their jobs long enough to contribute to their organizations' cybersecurity needs. Also shown was the rising global…

Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in higher education institutions and the technology field and vulnerable to attrition. The reviewed literature suggests that the impact of other factors, beyond students' academic performance, leading to well-being and success and affecting female students' retention…

The computer science industry and college degree programs for computer science throughout the country suffer from the "pipeline shrinkage problem", which describes the declining number of qualified people in various industries (Kordaki & Berdousis, 2014). For computer science, the specific population decline relates to a shortage of…

Academic libraries in the United States often have difficulty recruiting for technology-focused positions. This mixed-methods study examines what technology skills libraries are seeking in entry-level technology positions and explores ways to increase interest in library employment. Utilizing Lent's (2013) social cognitive career theory (SCCT)…

The objective of this study is to survey existing and emerging post-secondary computing and technology programs and employment trends in Pennsylvania to determine if college graduates are being prepared for careers in artificial intelligence. Due to low enrollment, colleges and universities are continually revising or restructuring their existing…