Business Leaders Back Timely Graduation Campaign
Nebraska launched a statewide Commit to Complete campaign to encourage college students to graduate on time to minimize their costs and join the workforce.
The campaign was launched in 2016 by the University of Nebraska and has since expanded to include partners across public higher education, government and business, according to a news release from Gov. Pete Ricketts.
“I encourage Nebraska’s college and university students to commit to complete their degrees on time,” Ricketts said. “By staying on schedule, students increase their likelihood of getting a degree, limit their debt and accelerate their transition into a rewarding job upon graduation.”
Nebraska anticipates having 34,000 job openings annually for high skill, high demand, high wage workers in fields such as engineering, nursing, health care and technology. Most of those jobs require some form of higher education, making completion of academic programs a lynchpin for the state’s economic future.
Students are increasingly taking a fifth or sixth year to complete a bachelor’s degree program. Only a third of first-time, full-time students at Nebraska’s four-year institutions graduate on time, and only a quarter of similar students seeking degrees or certificates at two-year institutions earn their credentials within two years.
“Nebraskans rightfully want to know what we’re doing to ensure that our students graduate on time, with as little debt as possible, and with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce,” said University of Nebraska Interim President Susan Fritz. “Attracting and retaining more talent in our state is certainly part of the solution to the workforce crisis.”
The campaign to encourage timely graduation has the formal backing of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as the chambers in Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney. Degree completion is also an important component of fostering success.
“There is little value in only running part of a race,” said Greg Adams, executive director of the Nebraska Community College Association. “The same can be applied to an education. At any one of Nebraska’s community colleges, completion may mean an associate’s degree, or it may mean completing a program of study which ends in having earned a credential or certificate. Regardless of the path chosen, the value is in completion.”
Commit to Complete includes a commitment by academic institutions to limit requirements for credentials to a manageable number of credit hours. For example, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents capped most bachelor’s degrees at 120 credit hours in 2011, so students could take a standard 15 credit hour load each semester and graduate on time.
The Nebraska State College System also reduced the number of credits required for bachelor’s degrees and boosted dual credit courses offered to high schoolers.
Pathways have also been established at four-year schools to help students start at a community college and have credits transfer.
“With Commit to Complete, we are not just talking about commitment on the part of students,” Metropolitan Community College President Randy Schmailzl said. “This is a commitment on the part of the state’s higher education institutions, to work together to streamline our systems and give students the very best shot at meeting their educational goals.”
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