The Coordinating Commission has released section B of its 2010-11 Factual Look at Higher Education in Nebraska. This section - the first of three to be released in the coming months - includes updated information on postsecondary degree production in Nebraska.

The Coordinating Commission this week launched a new scholarship program available to students now attending college who received an Access College Early (ACE) scholarship while taking dual-enrollment courses in high school. The newly created ACE Plus Scholarship is awarded to full-time college students who received an ACE Scholarship in high school.

The Coordinating Commission will meet this Thursday, May 19, at Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Agenda highlights include:

• A presentation from Metropolitan Community College on its Master Plan of Campuses;
• Commission consideration of the Eppley Cancer Institute renovation project at the University of Nebraska Medical Center; and
• Consideration of ITT Technical Institute's proposal to offer four additional bachelor's degrees at its Omaha campus.

The Coordinating Commission this week issued a Request for Proposals for the 2011 College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) program.

The Commission will award $73,800, to be distributed among all recipients, for this year's program. School districts and other non-profit groups across the state utilize these federal funds to make college more accessible for low-income and other underrepresented student populations.

Authorized by the Nebraska Legislature in 2007, the Access College Early (ACE) Scholarship Program pays tuition and mandatory fees for qualified, low-income high school students to enroll in college courses from eligible Nebraska colleges or universities, either through dual-enrollment or early enrollment agreements with these institutions.

Update: Gov. Dave Heineman signed this bill into law on May 4, 2011.

A bill introduced in the state Legislature directs the Coordinating Commission to conduct a study on dual-enrollment courses and career academies in Nebraska. LB 58 - which is now included in an amendment to LB 637 - calls on the Commission to collaborate with the State of Department of Education, public and private colleges and universities, school districts, and private secondary schools to complete the study, which would be due to the Legislature on or before Dec. 15, 2011.

The Coordinating Commission's governing board approved the 2011 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report at its March 8 meeting in Lincoln. The Commission is required by statute to produce this annual report, which is designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for the state's postsecondary education system:

The Coordinating Commission has posted the agenda online for its next scheduled meeting, on March 8 at the State Capitol in Lincoln. Among the items on the agenda: 

The Coordinating Commission's executive director, Marshall Hill, testified before the Legislature's Education Committee on Monday about three bills that would affect Nebraska higher education:

Programs for Nebraska teachers wanting to sharpen their skills and improve their subject knowledge were given a financial boost recently thanks to federal grants awarded for teaching-improvement courses and workshops.

Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education administers the Improving Teacher Quality grants, which fund projects designed to improve teachers' content knowledge and professional skills. The Coordinating Commission approved the funds at its Jan. 20 meeting.