Online education was expanding before the pandemic, but the new provost for Colorado State University's online offering says he believes it will play a central role in higher education’s future. “There’s huge potential for growth,” he said. Savory joined the university as its new provost and chief academic officer last week. Colin Wood has more.

A Message From AWS Educate

With over 1,500 institutions and hundreds of thousands of students who use AWS Educate, we wanted to take you on a trip around the world and highlight how students are learning and innovating with the cloud. Learn more.

From Biden administration, higher ed leaders want connectivity, innovation, support

With President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, a community college professor, in the White House, university leaders and edtech executives said they’re expecting a divergence in the type of federal policy affecting their institutions and students over the next four years. In interviews, higher education leaders said early policies, like the recent move to forgive student loan debt, are a good start, but that there's much work left to be done. Deb Bushway, president of Northwestern Health Sciences University, said she's seeking new governance around innovation, but hopes the new administration doesn't over-correct. “That’s the tricky thing,” she said. “What we saw in some Obama policies was so much heavy consumer protection regulation that innovation was really tough to do.” Colin reports.

Navy sails into DevSecOps with new program, task force

The Navy is following suit with other services, standing up a formal office to support DevSecOps across the department. The Navy launched a new platform called Black Pearl and recently established a task force for DevSecOps implementation. Jackson Barnett has more.

Vermont governor wants IT fund to cover long-overdue upgrades

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott this week proposed the creation of a permanent fund to pay for modernization projects across the state government, including upgrades to some systems that still run on decades-old mainframes. Scott said the fund, which would start at $53 million, will help deliver “major IT and cybersecurity work that will better serve Vermonters.” In an interview, state CIO John Quinn said he’s already identified 12 major projects the money could begin funding, including replacements of the state DMV's entire IT infrastructure and unemployment system. Scott's proposal, Quinn said, will allow Vermont "to start funding IT the right way." Benjamin Freed has the details.

The NSA has a new interim cybersecurity director

Dave Luber is serving as the NSA’s cybersecurity director in an interim manner as the agency brings in new leadership in the Biden administration. The president this month tapped the most recent director, Anne Neuberger, to join the White House National Security Council. And while the NSA Cybersecurity Directorate recently selected Rob Joyce, the NSA’s top intelligence liaison in the U.K., to take on the role as NSA cybersecurity director, he has not yet taken up the reins. Luber, a longtime NSA and Cyber Command employee, previously served as the executive director of Cyber Command, the Department of Defense’s offensive and defensive cyber-operations arm. Shannon Vavra has the news.

Quizlet teams up with TikTok for interactive learning

Quizlet — an edtech company specializing in artificial intelligence-driven study tools — has teamed up with rising social media giant TikTok on interactive learning. The new partnership allows TikTok users to embed Quizlet tools directly into their short-form videos, opening up opportunities for teachers to reach their students in a new way. Read the full story.

Chris DeRusha, who protected Biden campaign from hackers, says he is the Federal CISO

The Biden campaign’s former security chief is now the federal government’s security chief. Chris DeRusha, who was also a cyber official in the Obama White House, is the Federal CISO, according to information he posted on LinkedIn. DeRusha will inherit a wealth of cybersecurity challenges, including the SolarWinds breach, and will be charged with cleaning up security practices in a bureaucracy that is notoriously difficult to tame. Sean Lyngaas has the scoop.

Job of the Day

Chief Information Officer | Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office is seeking a CIO to serve as its primary IT adviser and lead. The CIO will be responsible for acquiring, implementing, managing and supporting all of the agency's technical resources and report to the office's chief administrative officer. See this job and more.