Kean Leads Mid-Atlantic Cybersecurity Education Hub

Kean University will coordinate a regional hub in a $1.5 million national initiative assessing the return on investment of cybersecurity education.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Financial Aid

Modern low-rise academic building with a stone plaza, mature trees, and a flagpole under warm late-afternoon light. — Kean University will coordinate the Mid-Atlantic hub of a $1.5 million, two-year NSA-funded initiative measuring the return on cybersecurity education. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Kean University has been selected to lead the Mid-Atlantic hub of a two-year, $1.5 million cybersecurity education initiative funded by the National Security Agency. The initiative establishes an Economic Assessment National Center and six regional hubs, led by Coastline College in California.

Why it matters

The initiative seeks to measure the return on investment of cybersecurity education and give institutions and federal stakeholders a clearer picture of its results. It also aims to reduce reporting burdens and make better use of existing data across participating institutions.

The $1.5 million initiative is funded by the National Security Agency through the NCAE-C program and runs for two years. Kean will coordinate work with approximately 85 institutions across the Mid-Atlantic region, while the framework for judging results remains under development.

The players

Kean University

A public university in Union, New Jersey, whose Center for Cybersecurity has taken on leadership of the Mid-Atlantic hub.

Coastline College

A California community college that leads the national Economic Assessment National Center and six regional hubs in this initiative.

National Security Agency

The U.S. intelligence agency that funds the initiative through its NCAE-C program for National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity.

The details

All six regional hubs will gather regional perspectives from designated institutions and develop a common framework for evaluating cybersecurity education results. Stanley Mierzwa, director of Kean's Center for Cybersecurity, chairs research sessions at the NCAE-C annual national conference.

Two-year period during which the national center and six regional hubs are established

Roadmap

The initiative builds on the NSA's NCAE-C program, which designates institutions as National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity. It adds a structured assessment layer that measures how that program's educational investment performs over time.

Students and educators in the Mid-Atlantic region interested in cybersecurity education can look to Kean University's Center for Cybersecurity as a regional resource. The initiative's framework will shape how cybersecurity programs are evaluated in participating institutions.

The takeaway

Federal investment in cybersecurity education is increasingly being measured for results, not just funded. Institutions seeking to participate in similar programs should track how outcomes are evaluated.