UCCS, in partnership with four universities across Colorado, will be hosting four additional CompTIA Security+ certification “boot camps” in January and February 2025 to better prepare Colorado college students for jobs in cybersecurity.
In addition, UCCS is hosting its first EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Certification Training for UCCS students in January. Both of these certifications are highly regarded by industry to ensure that students enter the workforce with a relevant and up-to-date cybersecurity skillset.
UCCS has already hosted three Security+ Boot Camps for UCCS students in 2023 and 2024, training almost 100 students to take the industry-coveted CompTIA Security+ certification, boasting a 90+% certification exam pass rate for participating students.
Most importantly, the classes were made possible via scholarship, thanks to Colorado Cybersecurity Initiative (CSI) state funding through Senate Bill 18-086. Otherwise, many students cannot afford the $404 exam fee, not to mention the expertly led training and class materials so helpful in ensuring a passing score.
The CompTIA Security+ Certification and the EC-Council CEH Certification are among the most sought-after credentials for entry-level cybersecurity professionals. These certifications provide valuable, hands-on knowledge that prepares candidates for real-world challenges in the field. Many organizations view these industry-recognized certifications as essential for those potential employees seeking to work on their IT systems.
UCCS began offering scholarships for these boot camps almost two years ago, thanks to CSI funds. In partnership with Ryan Frueh, a Cybersecurity Engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton, who has taught the classes at UCCS and will teach the Sec+ classes across Colorado this winter, the UCCS Cybersecurity Programs Office (CPO) has armed almost 100 UCCS cybersecurity students with hands-on real-world training that comes with earning your Security+ Cert.
Given the success our students have seen, Gretchen Bliss, Director of CPO, began seeking funding to expand this program to other colleges and universities across Colorado, and to add a second certification – the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Beginning in January, Frueh will teach two bootcamps for students at Western State University, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, and Metropolitan State University Dener. The collaboration to host these camps started with UCCS securing the funding, but it could not be possible without the partnership of these universities to expand and increase cybersecurity academics. Educational institutions offer a growing number of formal cybersecurity educational pathways, but industry certifications in cybersecurity are not typically part of the established curriculum. These Colorado universities are finding ways to change that, and these certification boot camps are a great example.
The UCCS Cyber Programs Office is largely funded by state dollars through SB18-086, the Colorado Cyber Security Initiative (CSI). UCCS has led the effort to secure these CSI funds for UCCS and 5 other colleges and universities and the National Cybersecurity Center (NCC) to ensure that cybersecurity education is a priority for our state. The purpose of these funds is to deliver trained and highly skilled cybersecurity graduates to the cybersecurity workforce. Cybersecurity is one of the two fastest growing fields in the country, with over 450,000 unfilled jobs in the country, almost 17,000 of which are in Colorado.* Thanks in part to this state funding, and the Boettcher Foundation Grant, Colorado leads the nation in cybersecurity education, with UCCS playing a large part in the state’s success.
For more information on Cybersecurity Programs at UCCS, visit UCCS Cybersecurity Programs at cybersecurity.uccs.edu.
*Cyberseek.org: https://www.cyberseek.org/heatmap.html