Editorial, 11/17: NU committed to retaining state's brightest students

This fall, 17 Nebraska students who scored a perfect 36 on the ACT college-entrance exam are receiving free tuition and room and board, as well as a $5,000 stipend, to attend the University of Nebraska.

That's because of the new Presidential Scholars program that offers a full-ride scholarship to the state's brightest students as a means of enticing them to attend NU.

Next year, that opportunity will be extended to even more students after NU announced it will open the program to other high-performing scholars for the 2025-26 school year. Beginning that year, those who score perfect on the ACT or the SAT equivalent will automatically qualify for the Presidential Scholars program, while students with scores ranging from 32 to 35 will also be considered.

A total of 50 spots will be reserved for Presidential Scholars and if there are slots still remaining after students with perfect ACTs opt for one of NU's campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Kearney, other high-performing scholars will be considered through a highly competitive application process.

Since this program was announced in February, this board has supported the idea of incentivizing Nebraska's top students to stay in state as a way to combat brain drain. This board has also supported the idea of widening the net for the scholarships if the program proved successful.

Considering that 28 high school seniors who scored a 36 on the ACT this year have already applied to and been accepted by NU campuses for the 2025-26 academic year, it appears that is the case.

A big boost for teacher program

Thanks to new grant funding, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be able to expand a teacher apprenticeship program beyond Lincoln Public Schools to 16 more schools in Southeast Nebraska.

The Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program, launched last year after the Legislature earmarked $1 million for a pilot initiative in three school districts with preexisting "grow your own programs," provides employees at participating schools who already have an associate's or bachelor's degree an alternative path to become a teacher in areas in need of them, like special education.

UNL was partnered with LPS in the initial pilot phase but now will be able to expand a special education pathway program to schools in two other educational service units in Nebraska that serve communities such as Beatrice, Crete, Milford and Waverly.

Creating a path for those with a college education who want to be teachers is a no-brainer, and one of the many ways schools and colleges can tackle the ongoing teacher shortage.

That issue is not just exclusive to urban schools in Lincoln and Omaha, but schools in small communities as well. Using grant funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to bring apprenticeship efforts to reach more prospective educators, especially in rural Nebraska, will mark another positive step in shoring up our educator shortage.