The Coordinating Commission's Ritchie Morrow recently met with White House officials in Washington, D.C., to discuss a variety of student financial aid issues, including those that may result from the potential re-authorization of the federal Higher Education Act.

Coordinating Commission Vice Chair Riko Bishop of Lincoln has been appointed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, 1st District. As a result, Bishop resigned as a commissioner, a post she held since 2007.

Bishop most recently worked as an attorney with Perry, Guthery, Haase & Gessford, P.C., L.L.O. Her work has focused on general civil litigation and appeals, with the last five years focused primarily on domestic matters, worker’s compensation, and school law issues.

Marshall Hill has resigned as executive director of Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.

The Coordinating Commission has received an application from Kaplan University-Omaha to offer a new degree program in Nebraska.

Kaplan seeks authorization to offer a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) in Pre-licensure Nursing. The commission will consider Kaplan's application at its Aug. 1, 2013 meeting at Central Community College in Grand Island Sept. 19 meeting in Lincoln.

Coordinating Commission Executive Director Marshall Hill has played a prominent role in a select national group responsible for plans that will streamline regulations and allow universities and colleges to more easily offer online courses across the country.

The Coordinating Commission has received applications from Bryan College of Health Sciences and the University of South Dakota to offer new degree programs and courses in Nebraska.

Bryan College of Health Sciences seeks authorization to offer an Education Doctorate in Nursing Education and a Baccalaureate of Science in Health Professions-Healthcare Studies.

The University of South Dakota seeks authorization to offer a master of arts in Speech-Language Pathology, three graduate courses in Reading Recovery®, and a course in Science, Culture and History of the Missouri River.

The Coordinating Commission has offered testimony on 15 higher-education-related bills being considered this session of the state legislature. Executive Director Marshall A. Hill spoke on behalf of the commission. Below is a summary of those bills, as well as a link to the commission's submitted testimony.

The Nebraska Unicameral has been in session since the first week of January. Since then, senators have introduced more than 20 bills that would directly impact higher-education in Nebraska.

The Commission is required by statute to recommend legislation deemed necessary to improve higher education in Nebraska, as well as to provide information and advice to the Legislature.

The Coordinating Commission at its Jan. 24 meeting voted to fund through a federal grant program four projects designed to improve teachers' content knowledge and professional skills.

The Commission administers the Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grants for Nebraska. These grants are designed to help increase student achievement by providing educators with professional development activities to improve their knowledge and teaching skills.

Ben Civic has joined the Coordinating Commission as its new director of the College Access Challenge Grant.

Civic, a Rhode Island native, earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Civic brings a variety of experience to the Commission, including time spent as a federal grain inspector and a legal intern at The Mediation Center.