Guides & Frameworks
We publish our frameworks and self-assessments so any institution can improve its cyber resilience regardless of budget. Read the methods, assess your own institution, and go further on your own or by working with us.
Creative Commons frameworks, free to read and use
A self-assessment methodology with each framework
Free community editions on Leanpub
Frameworks & books
CampusCISO organizes its work around the Three Lenses of Cyber Resilience: capability, governance, and response preparedness. Each lens has a methodology that publishes as a free framework you can read and apply yourself, with a companion book that teaches it in depth. The IT Policy family is live now; the others follow as their 2026 editions complete.
Governance Maturity
Available now
CampusCISO IT Policy Framework
17 policies and 24 standards drawn from observed practice across 410 institutions, including every US R1 university. Released under Creative Commons, with a free community edition including the self-assessment methodology. The companion book, Building IT Policy Programs for Higher Education, shows you how to apply it and adds a formatted self-assessment worksheet.
Cyber Readiness
Coming 2026
Cyber Heat Map Framework
The capability assessment methodology: 100+ capabilities across 14 categories and 4 operational readiness levels. Publishes as a free community edition as the legacy Cyber Heat Map application retires in December 2026.
Response Preparedness
Planned
TTX Coaching Framework
The tabletop exercise methodology: how to design an exercise, what a structured rubric evaluates, and how to score team performance. Planned, following the path the IT Policy family has already taken.
Free community editions are available through Leanpub and require a valid email address to download.
Best-practice guides
Practical guides on focused higher education cybersecurity topics, written for CIOs, CISOs, and the teams who carry the work.
A four-pathway framework for governing third-party app access to institutional identity, without slowing down teaching and research.
Read the guide →
How higher education can defend against fraudulent enrollments that exploit identity blind spots.
Read the guide →
Building a coordinated response plan when authority and systems are distributed across a campus.
Read the guide →
Designing awareness programs that fit the culture and calendar of a college or university.
Read the guide →
Do it yourself, or work with us
We publish our methods and frameworks because we understand many institutions lack the budget to hire outside help. The free resources are a genuine contribution to the sector, not a lead magnet that locks the details behind a paywall.
Do it yourself
We’ve published the IT Policy Framework first, with the Cyber Heat Map and TTX Coaching frameworks coming next. Each is usable as published and includes a self-assessment, so you can score your own institution. If you have the time and want to do the work yourself, they may be all you need.
Work with us
Two things the free resources can’t give you:
⬢
Peer benchmarking.
Our dataset is only available through paid engagements, so the frameworks teach the method but can’t show you where you stand against the higher education field.
⬢
Validated results, minimal effort.
You receive an institution-specific Diagnostic Score, expert interpretation, and a prioritized list of your top gaps, rather than scoring yourself.
Get the IT Policy Framework for free today, or work with us to complete a $399 Diagnostic and see how your institution compares to its peers.