Bismarck State College is now offering a four-year bachelor of applied science in cyber security.
BSC President Larry Skogen said the program began with discussions with faculty and staff in the college’s energy programs.
"The reality is, all our electricity in our grid is managed over the Internet," Skogen said. "The Ukrainians found that out, that the Russians could get on the Internet and shut them down. So we started having conversations about how vulnerable we were."
Skogen said an advisory group believed BSC absolutely needed to offer it.
"If we're going to be a National Energy Center of Excellence, we need to consider that vulnerability," Skogen said.
First, BSC developed a two-year program.
"Then they (the advisory committee) said, no, you need to have a four-year program," Skogen said. "With the support of the state Board of Higher Education, we were approved to do a Bachelor of Applied Science in Cyber-Security and Information Technology."
Skogen said that program kicks off this fall. He said about 100 students have enrolled.
