May 25, 2013

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Three-campus SCC wins accreditation through 2023

May 24, 2013 by

Southeast Community College has won accreditation through the next decade. SCC spokesman Stu Osthertun says the two-year college with campuses in Lincoln, Milford and Beatrice is now reaccredited through the spring of 2023.

“It validates what the college is doing,” Osthertun says. “It speaks very highly of the institution, the administration, staff and it’s obviously important for parents and students to invest in a higher education option that is fully accredited.”

He says they’ll provide a progress report to the Higher Learning Commission in 2017 as part of a process looking at assessment of programs and student learning outcomes.

Osthertun says accreditation is important in several areas, including how a community college tracks financial aid it provides to students.

“If you fall out of accreditation, you’re very likely to not be eligible for federal financial aid,” Osthertun says. “With more than 80% of our student body on some sort of financial assistance, that’s huge.”

The Southeast Community College Board met this week at the Milford Campus to examine the potential for expanded programs in the budget for this coming year.

Osthertun says there are fewer proposals for expanded programs this year than in the past. He says that’s a product of a downturn in enrollment that community colleges are facing. SCC officials cited the fact high school graduating classes have declined in size and that trend is expected to continue for a few more years.

Osthertun says, “It’s this year’s 8th grade class that is the smallest class, so not until those folks graduate high school are we going to experience and see an uptick in the number of high school graduates in the state.”

Community colleges, universities, state colleges and private institutions are competing for students among that smaller pool of graduates.

By Doug Kennedy, KWBE, Beatrice

Filed Under: Education, News

Program uses high-tech means to teach students money basics (AUDIO)

May 23, 2013 by
Treasurer Don Stenberg speaks with Bonnie Sibert and Harris Payne to his right and George Beattie to his left.

Treasurer Don Stenberg speaks with Bonnie Sibert and Harris Payne to his right and George Beattie to his left.

Nebraska high school students will be taught basic financial literacy using high-tech methods under an initiative launched by State Treasurer Don Stenberg.

Treasurer Stenberg held a news conference in his office to discuss Nebraska NEST Financial Scholars, a program that will be offered at no charge to high schools throughout the state. The program will use the services of EverFi, an educational technology company based in Washington, D.C.

EverFi uses a number of high-tech methods to engage high school students in basic money management, including video, animation, 3-D games and social networking. Students participating in the program could become certified in more than 600 topics.

High-tech might be used in the program, but the basic message is an old-fashioned one, according to Stenberg: don’t spend more than you earn.

“Sounds awful simple, but if you look what happened during the early 2000’s, people got mortgages far beyond their ability to pay for them. They lost their homes. It was so severe it severely impacted the national financial system,” Stenberg stated.

Nebraska Bankers Association President George Beattie, appearing with Stenberg at the news conference, said the lack of financial literacy hit home to him when he saw a television report about a young, single mother making $40,000 a year struggling to pay the mortgage on her $400,000 home.

Jonathan Chapman with EverFi demonstrates the program

Jonathan Chapman with EverFi demonstrates the program

“Somewhere there was a big disconnect as to how far that $40,000 would go,” Beattie stated. “And that’s when I talk about the value of money and what you can do with it. You have to have some understanding that there are limitations on what you as an individual have as resources to expend, whether it’s on a mortgage, on a car, college education or whatever the case may be.”

Bonnie Sibert with the Nebraska Department of Education, also at the news conference, continued the discussion on why so many students are financially illiterate today.

Sibert joked with Beattie, asking if he had a credit card when he was young. When he responded that he didn’t, she pointed out that many high school students have access to credit cards, changing the dynamics of money management for the coming generation.

“Our society has easy, easy credit and that’s why that $40,000 wage earner thought she could buy a $400,000 house,” Sibert added.

Beattie said he hopes the Nebraska NEST Financial Scholars will succeed in raising the financial literacy of youth.

“I just don’t think we have emphasized financial literacy,” Beattie said. “We’ve talked about doing this for 30 years, but we haven’t made a big ripple in the pond.”

AUDIO:  State Treasurer Don Stenberg news conference on financial literacy program for high school students. [15 min.]

Filed Under: Education, Legislature & Government, News

Job seekers can become job finders with polished resumes

May 14, 2013 by

A new crop of job-hunting high school and college graduates is about to flood Nebraska’s marketplace, and some will find success much faster than others.

Susan McBroom, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, says the quality of your resume will quickly determine your odds of going from a job-seeker to someone’s newest employee. McBroom discusses the most common resume error.

“People are not matching the resume to the job that they’re applying for,” McBroom says. “It’s really important that they match their skill sets to the position they’re applying to. If they don’t know their skill set, there’s a resource called O’Net Online that they can find each job broken down to the specific skill set.” The address for that website is: www.onetonline.org.

While a one-page resume was once the rule, McBroom says a two-page resume is now standard, but she says don’t go beyond two pages.

“It takes a recruiter about 15 seconds to look through a resume,” McBroom says. “What I tell new grads is to be sure that if you don’t have a long work history, put things in there that would be internships, big projects, things like that.”

About 90% of employers now hire electronically, so having an e-resume that can be attached to an email cover letter is a must. Resumes need to be kept simple, using plain lettering and nothing fancy.

Despite the economic downturn of the past few years, McBroom is optimistic about the job market, adding, it’s excellent if you’re looking for positions in the medical field.

“Anything in nursing, certified medical assistant, medication aid, psych aid, and the last two don’t require a four-year degree,” McBroom says. “The job market is getting better. The unemployment rate for ages 19 to 24 is about 12% but that does include new graduates so, it’s really important to have a perfect resume out there.”

Nebraska’s jobless rate is under 5% well below the national jobless rate of about 7.5%.

Being aggressive is key. Many ads say “no calls” but she says to call anyway, a week after you send your resume, just to see if they got it or have any questions.

While social media sites are popular, McBroom doesn’t recommend being on one unless it’s private and visible by only a limited number of people.

If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, she says: “Be careful what you put out there. Employers do research social media. If possible, set your Facebook to private. Keep in mind, others may access information from it.”

 

Filed Under: Economy, Education, News

Peru State prof to search for undiscovered species

May 9, 2013 by

A Peru State College biology professor is being awarded a large National Science Foundation grant to find and document new species in a Texas wildlife area.

Dr. Michael Barger has won the $267,000 grant to continue his research in the Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas.

“We’ll be going down there with students in tow and getting wet in the streams and the lakes and the ponds and collecting fish and then examining those fish for the parasites inside them,” Barger says. “Then, describing new species to science and publishing our results.”

The preserve consists of a several hundred-thousand acres in an area extending from the Natchez River to near Houston. It’s traditionally been used for oil exploration and timber farming.

Dr. Barger says there are 95 species of fish that make their home in the waters of the preserve, along with hundreds of species of parasites that utilize the fish as habitat. He says there are two primary goals to the research that will be funded by the grant.

“The first is simply to try to find everything that occurs there,” he says. “There are a lot of species of parasites that have never been found by scientists. One of our goals is to try to find those that may be new to science and make them known to science.”

The second goal, he says, is more conservation oriented:

“We’re going to be using the fish and the parasites in comparisons between places protected by the preserve and places that are outside the preserve,” he says, “to see how good a job, essentially, the preserve is doing in protecting those ecosystems and the organisms that depend on them.”

The National Science Foundation grant will fund yearlong stipends for at least two Peru State students a year to participate in the research. The grant runs for three years, through 2016.

Peru State faculty members have received more than one-million dollars in National Science Foundation grants in the past 17 years.

By Matthew Leaf, KTNC, Falls City

 

Filed Under: Education, Environment & Conservation, News

Sen. Krist responds to criticism of proposed school formula changes (AUDIO)

May 9, 2013 by

Sen_KristA state senator who proposes changing the compromise reached on school funding makes no apologies for his effort.

Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha tells colleagues during budget debate he proposes the school funding change, because his school districts wouldn’t benefit from the compromise.

“So, we’re going to have the discussion either with or without the amendments,” Krist says. “I’m sorry that people have taken offense to the amendments. I, too, have had amendments dropped on things that I care about.”

Education Committee chairwoman, Sen. Kate Sullivan of Cedar Rapids, left no doubt that she opposes Krist’s efforts, suggesting they amount to a money grab by some districts.

“A 20% increase for some school districts is not enough. An 11% increase for a school district is not enough,” Sullivan told colleagues during a legislative floor speech. “They didn’t win enough. They want it all.”

Sullivan stated she would not go along with any attempt to change the delicate balance reached on LB 407.

The side debate matters to the more central debate on the $7.8 billion spending proposal for the next two years. The compromise saves $8.6 million and adds to the money available for the legislature to spend this year. Public school funding also is the largest expenditure in the state budget, totaling $137.5 million.

The state filters public school funding through a complicated formula called the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act, known by the acronym TEEOSA.

Krist presses his point that the compromise reached on TEEOSA this year shortchanges the two school districts in his senatorial district and that it isn’t fair.

“That’s a discussion we’re going to have. Not sarcastically. Not vindictively. But we’ll have a discussion and we’ll move on. We always do.”

Click here for previous story.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:40]

Filed Under: Education, Featured Stories, Legislature & Government, News
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