For Immediate Release:
September 12, 2019
Contact:
Judi Yorges, Director of External Relations and Communications
402.471.3448 | 402.770.6205 | jyorges@nscs.edu
CHADRON, NE – The Nebraska State College System (NSCS) Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan to guide the System’s work over the next five years, today. The plan’s goals reflect the NSCS’s commitment to its longstanding mission while leveraging the opportunities and addressing the workforce challenges that are facing Nebraska and how the State Colleges can be part of the solution.
Gary Bieganski, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “The direction and priorities of our new strategic plan position the Colleges and our students well for the future. The plan builds upon the strengths of the State Colleges and continues our mission of offering high quality, affordable education for all students.”
“As a System, we must remain nimble and flexible to meet the needs of our students and provide high-quality programs that meet the needs of the communities we serve,” said Paul Turman, Chancellor of the Nebraska State College System. “Our goal is to prepare highly-skilled, critical-thinking, mission-centered graduates ready to fill the state’s employment and leadership needs.”
The 2025 Strategic Plan sets the following operational goals for the NSCS:
- Student Success & Completion - Ensure all students receive necessary support and resources to enable successful progression and on-time degree completion.
- Institutional & Academic Quality - Deliver an array of high-quality academic programs and curricular activities that successfully prepares students for the range of careers they will experience after graduation.
- Workforce & Economic Impact - Expand capacity for colleges to produce graduates who meet the workforce needs of Nebraska and to strengthen their role as change agents for rural communities they serve.
- Access & Affordability - Preserve the open-access mission by providing all students with equitable opportunity to pursue affordable undergraduate and graduate degree options in Nebraska.
Since April of 2019, a System Strategic Planning Task Force has been engaged in developing the strategic plan goals as well as identifying key metrics to measure College and System-level progress toward the established goals. We began this effort with more than 30 stakeholders across the system with a simple question: “What are the critical outcomes that the citizens of Nebraska expect for the investment they make into our three Colleges each year” said Turman. Once the operational goals were identified, the Task Force narrowed a pool of nearly 100 possible metrics to a set of twenty metrics that directly impact the system's ability to achieve the four established outcomes. The preliminary recommendations were reviewed by the Board at the August Retreat, and based on the feedback received, the Task Force members were asked to assist in finalizing the metrics for the System.
Creating Pathways for Students through Partnerships
The NSCS Board of Trustees approved three agreements at today’s meeting. These agreements will create seamless pathways for students to reach their education and create more opportunities for them to attain their career goals. Each of the State Colleges have MOA’s in place to enhance the higher education experience for their students.
- The "U2MPH" Program, allows Wayne State College (WSC) students to continue their education at UNMC resulting in a dual degree with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science (BS) and a Master in Public Health (MPH) in five years (minimum of 141 credit hours). A student enrolled in the U2MPH Program will complete the requirements at WSC as established by their undergraduate program requirements, and then transfer to UNMC complete their Master of Public Health degree.
- This 3+2 Program allows Wayne State students to continue their education at Midland University (MU) resulting in dual degrees, to include a BA or a BS from WSC, and a Master of Athletic Training (MAT) from MU jointly completed within five years (141 credit hours). A student enrolled in the MAT 3+2 Program will complete the requirements at WSC as established by their undergraduate program requirements, and by transferring coursework to MU complete a Master's of Athletic Training degree.
- Wayne State and Northeast Community College (NECC) strengthened their working relationship with the signing of a new memorandum of agreement (MOA). The two colleges have had a long-standing working and transfer relationship to serve students since 1986. The MOA is designed to build on the collaboration between NECC and WSC and the 10-year joint partnership through the College Center in South Sioux City. Through the partnership, students from Northeast may take their freshman and sophomore level courses in business, elementary education and human services, followed by junior and senior-level or graduate courses through Wayne State College.
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