Lake Superior College Computer Information System faculty members Vickie McLain, Tom Gustafson, Anup Parajuli, Matt McCullough and Tom Janicki were recognized with a 2018 Minnesota State Excellence in Curriculum Programming Award for their Network Administration and Cybersecurity program.

LSC’s Network Administration and Cybersecurity AAS program is designed to engage students in real-life work skills throughout the two-year associate degree program while preparing them for exciting career opportunities.

The program includes conducting actual cybersecurity/IT tasks with mapping networks, completing risk assessments, looking for vulnerabilities, and simulating the high-stress environment of cyberattacks. Students engage in state, regional and national cybersecurity competitions; on-campus training labs which simulate industrial cybersecurity challenges in healthcare, government, transportation, and utilities and serve as mentors for GenCyber summer youth camps and high school teams.

LSC’s networking and cybersecurity program has received national recognition, including a ranking as one of the top 25 best online Associate Degrees in cybersecurity and as a top ten most affordable online Associate’s Degree in cybersecurity.

Lake Superior College is a designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). LSC is the only two-year community and technical college in the Minnesota to earn this designation.