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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1976)
Wednesday, march 10, 1970 daily nebrsskwfi pa3 9 SUM tokos col boo to sfcd By Ron Ru3 Nebraska is one of few itates with a state-wide higher education program for persons unable to attend a college campus. Milton Hassel, dean of the State University of Nebraska (SUN), said, "Despite the great number of higher educa tion institutions in the United States, there are many people at all age levels that cannot attend an institution because of physical and health problems and full-time jobs. The need for a delivery program that could respond to this clientele was the beginning of the SUN concept," he said. Working according to the theory that college courses should be designed for presentation in an individual's home through the use of media (television, newspapers, .audio cassettes and visual printed material), a five-member 'committee appointed by NU President D.B. Varner con ducted a study and came up with SUN, Hassel said. The first SUN course was offered in October, 1974, he said, and in the year and five months since, 2,719 Nebraskans have registered for SUN courses. Initially, first-level accounting and psychology courses were developed, Hassel said. Then courses in computer sciences, economics, free-hand sketching, Nebraska history, learning disabilities and consumer experiences were added, he said. College credit offered All of these courses, except free-hand sketching, are offered for college credit; Hassel said, and cost $20 a credit hour. SUN has received "a considerable amount of attention" for its use of the media, which makes it possible for students to complete courses without actually attending a class, Hassel said. Five SUN learning centers have been established in Scottsbluff, Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha and' at Omaha's Offut Air Force Base, he said. "All the instructional components of SUN can be obtained at these centers" Hassel said. "Essentially, they have all the video cassettes of the televised programs so a student can see them as many times as he chooses or view one he has missed." Students enrolled in SUN are employed in 150 . different occupations, Hassel said, and the average age of the SUN student is 37. "One adult, 52-year-old, has finished 1 1 semester hours through SUN," he said, "but most of the students have . completed six to eight hours." The program, which received its initial funding from the National Institute of Education, now gets most of its third f pulling Lincoln cn th5 mao funds from tuition and a $ I CO XX) state allocation, Hassel said. A Ford Foundation grant allows SUN to con duct specific types of program evaluations, he added. The University of l!id-America (UMA), which is an offshoot of the design and production division cf SUN, designs courses so they can be used in programs similar to SUN at five other universities in the Dig 8, he said. IITf A t Jjff I iMH UMA coordinates the cffeiir? in the six czhTftL&s to develop more diver:? and better programs, Hassel added. The SUN concept is "probably patterned after the Eritfch Open University in England," he said, but the Ne braska version uses more television in its course offerings. Te hope to u:e some of the courses from the CritiA system in SUN," Hassel said. As for the future of SUN, Hassel said, Te want to in crease the currkufcm efferings-we want to offer &5ut 50 d'Statzt ccnes." The need for a delivery program that could accommodate all ago levels and those with health problems or a full-time job vves the beginning of SUN. - " Ax j v - ., . - ' t t '" ;."" & 3; v.::: n&sa tf Cans Cacnur