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.
The Coordinating Commission recently submitted to the Governor and Legislature its postsecondary operating budget and capital construction recommendations for the 2013-15 biennium.
The Coordinating Commission recently released Section C of its annual Factual Look at Higher Education in Nebraska. Section C analyzes the numbers of full-time instructional faculty and the average salaries of full-time instructional faculty at Nebraska's public and independent postsecondary institutions. It does not include for-profit/career schools. Among the findings of Section C:
The Coordinating Commission in 2011-12 awarded more than $780,000 in scholarships to low-income Nebraska high school students through the Access College Early (ACE) scholarship program. The scholarships cover tuition and mandatory fees for these students to take college courses from participating Nebraska colleges and universities, either through dual enrollment or early enrollment agreements. Some more ACE numbers from 2011-12:
Applying for the Access College Early (ACE) scholarship is now even easier.
The Coordinating Commission, which administers the program, has converted the ACE application from a manual to a completely online process. Participating students, guidance counselors and college representatives can access the new application from the main ACE page on the commission website.
The commission awards more than 2,000 ACE scholarship awards annually to low-income Nebraska high-school students who enroll in courses at Nebraska’s eligible colleges and universities.
The Coordinating Commission typically saves Nebraska taxpayers millions of dollars a year by reviewing capital construction projects at the state's public postsecondary institutions.
The Nebraska Constitution requires the commission to review, monitor and approve or disapprove capital construction projects that use more than $2 million in tax funds to construct facilities, or more than $85,000 per year in tax funds to operate and maintain. Disapproved projects cannot receive state funds for construction or ongoing operating and maintenance costs.
Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has appointed a new commissioner, Dr. Deborah A. Frison, to the state's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE).
As one of 11 commissioners, Frison will work with CCPE staff to fulfill the commission's many duties, which are spelled out in both the state's Constitution and in statute. Frison represents District 2, which covers north Omaha.
