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Nebraskans to get in-state tuition rates at South Dakota colleges

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Students from Nebraska and several other states will soon be able to pay in-state tuition rates at South Dakota’s public universities.

That state’s Board of Regents approved the new policy for the so-called South Dakota Advantage earlier this month.

Regents President Kevin Schieffer says there’s already a reciprocity agreement with Minnesota.

“Pilot programs have been successful and we’re now applying it to the surrounding states,” Schieffer says. “It has been a positive thing. Not only has it generated more revenue but it also is great for workforce development in South Dakota.”

He says 30% of students who go to South Dakota end up joining the state’s workforce upon graduation from college.

Schieffer says they have some targets to hit with incoming students from Nebraska and the others.

“We need to attract another roughly 80 students from those states to break even or do a little better than break even,” he says, “and there’s some confidence we’ll be able to surpass break even.”

Schieffer says the expanded policy could help control in-state tuition rates, at least that’s the goal.

“This is a calculated business decision,” Schieffer says. “Every dollar we can raise in out-of-state money takes pressure off of tuition increases for the resident rate.”

The new program is for students from Nebraska as well as Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa and Colorado.

The policy begins with the 2019 summer term.

By Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton

 

South Dakota recruiting Nebraska students

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South Dakota State University/Photo courtesy of South Dakota State

South Dakota is reaching out to potential college students living in Nebraska.

The South Dakota Board of Regents has approved a policy to end out-of-state tuition for residents of neighboring states. Students from Nebraska as well as other neighboring states will pay the same tuition as South Dakota students.

It is being called the South Dakota Advantage program. It will allow first-year and transfer students from Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Iowa, and even Colorado to pay the same tuition as South Dakota residents.

South Dakota already charges in-state tuition to those living in Minnesota under a reciprocity agreement with state. The new rates go into effect in the summer of next year.

 

 

Omaha 1st grade teacher accused of inappropriately touching students

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A first-grade teacher in the Omaha School District has been placed on administrative leave after allegations surfaced that he had inappropriately touched girls.

Thirty-year-old Gregory Sedlacek is being held without bail in Douglas County.

Two teachers at Fontenelle Elementary School reported to the Nebraska child abuse hotline November 20th they saw Sedlacek inappropriately touch a first-grade girl on the school playground.

Omaha Public School District officials reported to the Omaha Police Department security video recorded the contact. Police have interviewed the girl, who they say claimed Sedlacek touched other girls in the same manner.

Sedlacek has taught at Fontenelle for the past three years.

 

 

Norfolk hosts state’s one-act school play championships

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The Nebraska School Activities Association’s one-act play production state championships get underway today at Norfolk Senior High’s Johnny Carson Theatre.

NSAA associate director and director of play production Deb Velder says it’s thrilling to give students the opportunity to perform on one of the state’s premier stages.

Velder says 36 schools will compete in six classes and the field of competition grows each year.

“Schools have become more actively involved. We’ve been able to promote it to the point that it’s a very high visibility activity across the state because the majority of our schools do participate in this,” Velder says. “It has gotten parents, it has gotten grandparents, it has gotten the student body excited.”

She says it’s a big honor for the students to compete with the best of the best.

“Those students on that stage, they put it out there just as much as that basketball player does on the court or the volleyball player or the football player on the field,” Velder says. “When you are there and you can see the emotions and excitement of those students receiving their recognition, it means just as much to them no matter what arena they are in.”

Velder also says the Johnny Carson Theatre is one of the premier facilities in the state and she encourages everyone to come watch the performances through Friday.

For a full schedule, visit NSAAHome.org.

By Nick Stevenson, WJAG, Norfolk

 

Eastern Nebraska student to witness ‘historic’ rocket launch in Florida

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Zachary Luppen

A college student from Omaha will be among a select group of VIPs at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center for today’s rocket launch.

Zachary Luppen, a senior at the University of Iowa, was among just 40 people picked to witness the Falcon 9 lift-off out of 64,000 applicants.

Luppen says NASA wants people who can crow about the launch on social media and the UI’s platforms reach several hundred-thousand followers.

“The university has a Snapchat, a Facebook and a Twitter. I will be accessing all of those social media sites along with several others to promote this event,” Luppen says. “At the time of the rocket launch, I’ll be doing what’s called a Snapchat Takeover. Essentially, I take over the university’s Snapchat and provide live footage of the rocket launching out at Kennedy.”

The astronomy and physics major is headed for the NASA complex on what turned out -not- to be an all-expenses-paid trip.

“They’re providing the VIP pass along with a behind-the-scenes tour and a few extra things added in,” Luppen says. “I do have to pay out-of-pocket for the flight and the AirB&B. My mom has agreed to fund it for me as an early Christmas present.”

The commercial SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will be carrying a payload and scientific equipment to the International Space Station. NASA is calling this a “historic” launch and Luppen explains why.

“This is one of the first launches of the Block 5 set of Falcon 9s,” Luppen says. “Block 5 is the brand new set of Falcon 9 rockets that are supposed to be reusable up to ten times which is just unimaginable for rockets that we’ve had over the past 50, 60 years.”

Luppen did an internship this past summer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and had two chances to see rocket launches, but neither panned out. He says he’s looking forward to “having a blast” in Florida.

It’s a very busy time for Luppen, with finals approaching and his graduation from the UI on December 15th.

“I’m planning to go to graduate school in the fall which will be about six more years of education,” Luppen says. “In the spring, I will be working in the Physics and Astronomy Department on two of our upcoming missions to Jupiter. We’ve been involved with those missions for the past couple of years now and we’ll be shipping off the flight version of one of those missions in the spring.”

Follow Luppen’s exploits at today’s launch (12:38 PM/Central) as he chronicles the mission on Snapchat by searching “uiowa.”

Midland gives sweet offer: scholarships to Nebraska Attack players

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Photo courtesy of Midland University

A Nebraska university has entered into an unusual arrangement with a girls basketball program.

Midland University in Fremont has guaranteed athletic scholarships to practically everyone who plays on the Nebraska Attack.

The scholarships will be worth at least $18,000 a year.

Midland and the Nebraska Attacks have entered into an agreement in which any Attack player who finishes the final two seasons in the program, summers after their sophomore and junior years, will be guaranteed a scholarship to Midland.

The girls must meet certain academic requirements to attend Midland.

Midland is a private university of about 1,400 students which competes in the NAIA. The Nebraska Attack is an AAU basketball program. Each girl who earns a scholarship will make the Midland women’s team.

 

 

University of Nebraska-Lincoln hires first diversity director

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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has its first vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion.

Marco Barker comes to Nebraska from Westminster University, a liberal arts college in Salt Lake City, Utah.

He begins his duties April 1st at a salary of $250,000 a year.

UNL created the new position as part of its goal to increase diversity efforts, sparked by a consultant’s advice.

A national search firm helped a special committee selected Baker.

Baker has served at Westminster, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Louisiana State University.

 

Consider this before Nebraska students head to college

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Many Nebraska families are making the difficult decision on selecting the right college or university for their children.

There is also concern of the increasing national student debt. Education expert Dr. Laurie Joyner is president of Xavier University in Chicago and says the total price tag can result in sticker shock but don’t be too alarmed.

Dr. Joyner says, “A lot of families and students get really intimidated by the advertised price. It is really important to recognize that rarely do families pay that price so it is important to focus on the net cost of tuition.

Dr. Joyner says as colleges interview students, they are also interviewing the institution. She says ask some important questions like what are one or two year retention rate. If it is low you may want to find out why. Also look at their four-year graduation rate. If it is taking more than four years to graduate than that education is costing more than budgeted.

Dr. Joyner says a recent study was conducted by the Council of Independent Colleges and they found that 30% of undergraduates leave college with no debt at all. An additional 10% have $10,000 or less and 52% leave college with less than $20,000 in debt.

Dr. Joyner says there are benefits to a four year degree including college graduates earn $1 million more than high school graduates without a degree over their lifetime.

Police investigating alleged sharing of nude photos of students on social media

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Grand Island police are investigating reports that nude photos of high school students, some maybe as young as 14, have been shared on social media.

Police say they believe a social media account has been used to share nude photos of students.

Grand Island Public Schools officials have declined to confirm the reports, only stating they have sent messages to parents about the alleged incident.

 

 

Nebraska receives $9M federal grant for school mental health programs (AUDIO)

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Gov. Pete Ricketts speaks to reporters during a news conference. Nebraska Dept. of Education Deputy Commissioner for School Improvement and Support Deborah Frison is to the governor’s right and DHHS Division of Behavioral Health Dir. Sheri Dawson is to his left.

Nebraska has received a $9 million federal grant for pilot programs to help schools intervene before behavioral problems develop into mental illness.

Schools in three cities, Charon, Hastings, and South Sioux City, will each receive $1.8 million a year for five years.

Gov. Pete Ricketts says the money will allow the schools to intervene early.

“That’s so important, because if you look at our kids, oftentimes when mental illness strikes it starts on average at the age of 14,” Ricketts tells reporters during a Capitol news conference. “And so, a lot of times, it’s our schools who are the first to be involved with this and are helping our families deal with it.”

The Division of Behavioral Health, within the Department of Health and Human Services, will work with the Nebraska Department of Education to implement the grant and help all Nebraska schools better understand the resources available to combat mental illness.

State officials have developed a toolkit, Behavioral Health Resources for Schools, for school personnel unsure how to help students struggling with behavioral problems or mental illness.

State Behavioral Health Division Director Sheri Dawson says screenings and assessments are important.

“So, as the children are acting (out) or having behaviors in schools that we can identify, not every behavior has a diagnosis, and so really trying to look at assessing what’s happening with those young people,” Dawson says.

Dawson says her office has received multiple requests over the years from schools inquiring about school-based mental health resources. Dawson says the state is not only committed to helping schools, but also to helping families advocate for members suffering from mental illness or fighting behavioral problems.

The money comes from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:45]