Doane College and Central Community College have formed a partnership that will allow students to earn an associate’s degree at the community college and then transfer to Doane to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Doane College Grand Island campus director Jennifer Worthington said it can cost more than $26,000 to earn a four-year degree at a public institution and more than $110,000 at a private school, not counting room and board and commuting costs.
A student in the Doane-Central Community College program would spent just under $19,000 for a four-year degree through the partnership.
More Nebraska schools are falling short of federal academic accountability standards as the bar for what’s considered satisfactory performance gets tougher to reach. Across Nebraska, 41 public schools up from 24 last year have been designated as needing academic improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
By and large, schools are missing the mark because of shortcomings by narrow groups of students, particularly special education students and those just learning English. Under No Child Left Behind, schools with broad academic problems can receive the same labels as those where a single group struggles.
To make the list, the school must have had those struggles for at least two years. The “needs improvement” designation has repercussions for schools that receive federal funding for their low-income students.
University of Nebraska officials want to make sure in-state students know a program to help them afford college has been expanded. NU President James Milliken and Gov. Dave Heineman visited schools in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island Monday to tout the Collegebound Nebraska program and encourage students to attend college.
The Collegebound program pays the portion of tuition that the Pell Grant doesn’t cover. The program expanded this fall to include some students who don’t quality for Pell Grants because their families make too much money.
Interest in programs offering master’s degrees in business administration is up at Nebraska universities, just as it is nationwide. Compared with last year, applications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business Administration increased 25% for spring 2009.
Bellevue University’s enrollment in the fall for its MBA program also increased, as it did at Creighton University. John Anderson, associate dean in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Nebraska’s economy has been relatively stable.
Twelve more students applied for the MBA program on the UNL campus this fall — 166 compared to 158 in 2007.
University of Nebraska officials want to make sure in-state students know a program to help them afford college has been expanded. NU President James Milliken and Gov. Dave Heineman visited schools in Omaha, Lincoln and Grand Island Monday to tout the Collegebound Nebraska program and encourage students to attend college.
The Collegebound program pays the portion of tuition that the Pell Grant doesn’t cover. The program expanded this fall to include some students who don’t quality for Pell Grants because their families make too much money.
Interest in programs offering master’s degrees in business administration is up at Nebraska universities, just as it is nationwide. Compared with last year, applications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business Administration increased 25% for spring 2009. Bellevue University’s enrollment in the fall for its MBA program also increased, as it did at Creighton University.
John Anderson, associate dean in the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Nebraska’s economy has been relatively stable. Twelve more students applied for the MBA program on the UNL campus this fall — 166 compared to 158 in 2007.
Births in Nebraska have hit their highest level in 26 years, and state demographers expect the numbers only to increase in years to come. In fact, current estimates call for Nebraska births by 2015 to hit levels last seen a half-century earlier, in the final years of the baby boom. Though the current birth surge is not expected to be as epic as that post-World War II boom in births, it still carries sizable implications for hospitals, schools, neighborhoods, public institutions and taxpayers.
Many factors contribute to the current baby boomlet now seen in Nebraska as well as the nation, among which is Hispanic immigration. But Jerry Deichert of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs Research said that, in many ways, it’s simply a new reverberation of the original baby boom. “We had the baby boom, an echo boom, and now we’re seeing it echo again,” said Deichert, who co-wrote a report on Nebraska’s birth spike.
The most obvious initial impact will be on school enrollments, forcing schools to tap taxpayers for more classrooms and teachers. On the positive side, the birth spike is boosting the overall population in a state always yearning for new residents. Even while Nebraska is still experiencing a slight net out-migration of existing residents, births are helping the state post its biggest annual population gains in a decade. More people also means more potential workers to fill future jobs. The taxes paid by that influx of workers can help offset the huge cost pressures that baby boomers will exert on publicly funded health and retirement systems.
Each of the 172 seniors who graduated this year from one of the six high schools located in Holt County received an identical present — a congratulatory note offering graduation wishes and an open invitation to remember the communities where they grew up. And the invitation came inside a personalized mailbox. Nicole Sedlacek, Holt County Economic Development (HCED) director, said the mailbox project urged graduates who are entering the work force to take an active role now in the community.
Students who plan on attending college were asked to consider placing their mailboxes in their hometowns and Holt County following graduation from college. Sedlacek said most youths have hometown and school pride. Showing graduates the career and entrepreneurial opportunities that are available or needed in the region might help reverse trends in regard to population of rural communities. Making a connection with youths while they are still in high school is a key to success.
Sedlacek said that giving youths a sense of ownership instills a sense of community, which helps develop an attitude of wanting to return home. With the popularity of online networking, HCED can keep individuals updated via their e-mail. The development office has created an online presence at Facebook and currently has more than 100 members.
Nebraska high school seniors scored slightly better than the national average on the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy 2008 survey, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, said Jennifer Clark, president of the Nebraska Financial Education Coalition, a Jump$tart affiliate.
Nebraska seniors correctly answered 50.8% of questions, compared with 48.3% nationally. This is the first year Nebraskans participated in the survey, which was launched in 1997. Students were surveyed at 19 Nebraska high schools that were randomly selected in both urban and rural areas, Clark said.
But while Nebraskans outperformed their national counterparts, they were only able to correctly answer about 43% of questions specifically related to money management and savings. Financial literacy information written for teens is available online at www.jumpstart.org
Nebraska lawmakers on Monday voted to replace the state’s approach to measuring student achievement The Legislature gave final-round approval to a bill (LB1157) that would require uniform, statewide tests in reading, math and science in many elementary and high school grades. Thirty-three senators voted for the bill. That’s enough to override a veto, were one to come from Gov. Dave Heineman. His spokeswoman said the governor will review the bill in detail.