Profile of the University of Nebraska at Kearney

--5,478 undergraduate students
--1,006 graduate students
--Students from all 93 Nebraska counties, 47 states and 49 countries
--307 full-time, 67 part-time faculty
--More than 90 percent hold terminal (highest) degrees in their field
--Student-to-Faculty ratio -- 16 to 1
--Average class size -- Less than 25 students
--8 traditional-style residence halls
--2 Greek chapter house complexes (12 UNK fraternities and sororities)
--1 University-owned off-campus apartment complex
--3 suite-style residence halls—Nester North, Nester South and Antelope Halls
--170 undergraduate majors
--25 pre-professional programs
--34 graduate degrees
--Four-year Honors Program
--Largest percentage of international students among undergraduates (11 percent) of any other college or university in Nebraska or neighboring Midwest region
--30 percent of the state’s principals, and 47% of school superintendents are UNK grads
--235-acre campus in Central Nebraska’s educational, medical and cultural center
--30,000+ people reside in Kearney
--17 NCAA Division II sports within the Rocky Mountain, including women’s soccer new Fall, 2009
--Athletic Conference (RMAC).
--The U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2009” ranks UNK among the top 15 public universities at the Master’s level in the Midwest
--At 80 percent, UNK’s retention rate of freshmen-to-sophomores is well above the national average
--1905 Founded as Nebraska State Normal School
--1921 Became Nebraska State Teachers College
--1963 Renamed Kearney State College
--1991 Became University of Nebraska at Kearney

Growth Explodes for Online Enrollment at UNK's eCampus

Online enrollment at UNK through its eCampus program has exploded in recent years, with no end in sight. eCampus at UNK is one of the fastest-growing segments of the student population, expanding from only 251 students in 2002 to 2,151 last year. The main limitation is the number of classes that can be developed with limited resources. Some academic departments say that they can fill all the classes they offer, with waiting lists.
UNK offers the same quality online degree programs and courses that are offered on the campus. The majority of the instruction is taught by credentialed faculty with doctoral degrees who are committed to quality teaching. Online courses are highly interactive with faculty and students communicating through e-mail, discussion forums, and chat groups via Blackboard course management software. Many courses use multimedia presentations, streaming video, and supplemental CDs/DVDs.
Online at UNK is especially strong in the graduate school of Education. Teachers across Nebraska (and around the nation and world) are finding the high quality of the online experience at UNK to be compelling, as well as highly convenient. Of particular note is an online master's program in biology, a very popular program among science teachers.
UNK has learned well how to design and conduct online courses. In its most recent visit, the North Central Association (NCA), UNK’s main accrediting agency, approved UNK to offer any course in its curriculum in an online format, affirming the quality that has quickly emerged as a trademark of eCampus. Online at UNK is also useful to many traditional UNK students to help them get the classes they need when they need them, as a supplement to their traditional classroom experience.

Early Morning Summer Sunshine on the UNK Campus

The campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney has undergone almost continuous renovation over the past several years accompanied by some magnificent new landscaping. Those improvements have resulted in one of the most beautiful campuses in Nebraska, even after a tornado ripped roofs and trees last summer and a major ice storm did major damage the previous year.
Just after the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend, I found myself up very early one Sunday morning with my camera. The sun, just peeking over the horizon, played with buildings, grass, trees, sculptures, and every other part of campus. I recorded the beauty of that morning, and share it with you. Click here to view a slide show entitled, "Early Morning Summer Sunshine on the UNK Campus."

Education Committee of Unicameral Conducts Interim Study on Post-Secondary Education

With LR 262, the Education Committee of the Nebraska Unicameral has established an Interim Study "to examine issues relating to postsecondary education." The University of Nebraska System Office in Lincoln is providing important support for this study, including data showing how the proportion of state support for higher education in Nebraska has declined more or less steadily for the past 20 years from 19 percent in 1991 to 14 percent projected in 2011. The data also compares percentage growth in general fund support during the same period for the three major categories of higher education, University of Nebraska (86% growth), State Colleges (117% growth), and the Community Colleges (180% growth).
State General Fund growth was 151 percent during the period while support for K-12 (including ARRA funds this year) rose 183 percent. At the same time, support for higher education, overall, rose 99 percent.
The steady erosion in rate of public support for the university has been felt by students in the form of tuition increases, as tuition is the only other major source of operating income to the University which it needs to maintain programs and quality. The ratio of state appropriation to tuition income shifted from 80/20 in 1992 to 70/30 today. (UNK became part of NU system in 1992).

UNK Achieves Enviable Graduation Rate

Alone among its sister campuses in Nebraska, UNK has achieved in the latest reporting period a six-year graduation rate (57.7%) well above the average (51.5%) of its Regent-defined group of peers. In 2001 the rate was 51.9%. (The six-year rate is the most commonly used measure by campuses nationwide.) While it is difficult to document with precision the factors that contribute to overall graduation rate, UNK has undertaken a number of positive initiatives in the period leading up to and during the increase. They are consistent with UNK’s reputation as providing a student-oriented environment and include 1) adding a universal advising requirement; 2) keeping a tutoring service in place when other campuses did not; 3) initiating a “first-year experience” to better integrate freshmen into academic life; 4) organizing a program of “learning communities,” and 5) undergoing many campus improvements.

UNK's Tuition Remains Lowest Among Its Peer Universities

With the recent proposal for tuition rates at NU campuses by Central Administration, UNK remains with the lowest rates among NU campuses as well as among all Regent-defined peer universities. Here are the facts:

1. Peer comparison for tuition, 2008-09:
UNK's undergraduate resident tuition of $4,365 was the lowest among our Regents' peers and was 30.9% below the peer average. For graduate student resident tuition we are the lowest and are 36.2% below the peer average. For nonresidents we are second lowest in undergraduate tuition. In non-resident graduate tuition we are more expensive than 6 peers.

2. Peer comparison for tuition and mandatory fees, 2008-09:
For undergraduate residents, we are the lowest among peers and are 25.5% below the peer average. For graduate residents we are the lowest and are 31.3% below our peer average. For nonresidents we are second lowest in undergraduate totals; and for graduate student totals we are third lowest.

A bit of history: The current proposal for a four percent increase in UNK tuition is the lowest increase since Fall of 1995, when the increase for resident UG was three percent. It is the second lowest tuition rate hike since UNK entered the University of Nebraska System.

Finally, UNK is the least expensive NU campus, tuition-wise. Here are the rates:

Resident: Undergraduate Graduate
UNL: $ 179.75 $ 237.50
UNO: $ 164.00 $ 204.25
UNK: $ 145.50 $180.25

Nonresident: Undergraduate Graduate
UNL: $533.75 $640.25
UNO: $483.25 $537.75
UNK: $298.00 $372.75

The Board of Regents will consider these tuition rate proposals at its June meeting.

More Efficient Energy Distribution Comes to UNK

A multi-phased, highly visible, construction effort to develop a centralized utility distribution system for the expanding UNK campus is nearing completion.
The Central Utilities Plant and Tunnel Project, when switched on later this year, is designed to more efficiently supply steam heat and chilled water to all parts of the campus through an extensive underground distribution system of improved tunnels and new construction.
The “Tunnel Project”--part of the development of the University’s utility infrastructure-- extends from the combined boiler and chiller facility on the site of an old city powerhouse (razed in 2007). Some of the old steam lines dated back to the 1930s, which meant that much of the system had to be rebuilt to meet both modern safety and efficiency standards.
During the construction over the past 18 months, changing fence lines criss-crossed the campus. Though inconvenient at times, students and faculty found new walking routes and parking spots, generally in good humor.