friday, January 26, 1979
page 10
daily nebraskan
Equivalency diplomas enable dropouts to enter college
By Martha Murdock
High school dropouts often must live
with the stigma that they are unmotivated
and less capable than graduates. However,
thousands of Nebraskans have disproved
this prejudice by obtaining high school
equivalency diplomas.
According to the director of adult
education for the Nebraska Department of
Education, Dr. Leonard Hill, many of these
people go on to be successful college
students.
To obtain an equivalency diploma in
Nebraska, students must pass the General
Educational Development tests. The set
of five tests covers science, social studies,
math, reading and writing skills.
Hill's office issues the diplomas, funds
programs to prepare students for the tests,
establishes and directs testing centers
across the state and maintains standards by
approving tests and examiners.
There are 52 testing centers in Nebras
ka. The average cost to take the test is
S15, according to Hill. Southeast Com
munity College offers preparatory classes
and administers the tests.
Special permission
Any 18-year-old high school graduate
may take the test. Those who are 18 or
younger and have not yet graduated must
receive special permission from the De
partment of Education. A dropout must
have been out of school for at least 60
days.
Gifted students who have taken all that
their high school has to offer may take the
tests to enter some form of higher educa
tion early, he said. They must have permis
sion from their school district. The young
est persons to take the test are 16-year-olds.
Hill said 45 percent of GED students go
on to some form of higher education. His
office is doing a study in cooperation with
other individuals to discover how these stu
dents fare in college.
"So far we have found a general trend
of university students with equivalency di
plomas having slightly higher grade point
averages than regular high school
graduates. However, when the study is all
over, I anticipate that they will come out
about average with other students," said
Hill.
GED students often are older and more
serious students with definite goals in
mind, he noted.
John Mackiel, a guidance counselor at
Omaha Northwest High, is working on a
study of GED students for a UNL doc
toral dissertation. His work is just begin
ning, but he has interviewed about ten
GED college students.
College success
"I'm just guessing now from what I've
learned so far, but the people I've talked to
feel that they've been very successful in
college after taking the GED.
"The motivation and caliber of the in
dividual play a big part. Once they make
up their minds to take the GED, they make
sure they're fully prepared. They have high
goals and use the GED as a stepping
stone, 'khe said.
Dan Amnions, a 20-year-old first se
mester freshman at UNL, said, "I left
school mostly because I was lazy and
didn't want to do the work. But later I
took the GED because I wanted a degree
and an education."
Another UNL GED student is junior
Mae Fisher, a broadcasting major.
"I left high school because I didn't
think I was learning, but I still wanted to
go to school," said Fisher.
Many GED students are older than their
college classmates. However, the differ
ence in age doesn't seem to bother them.
"I don't feel out of place. It's not that
big a deal. If I were 30, it wouldNbe differ
ent, but I don't think 20 is too old for a
freshman," said Ammons.
Former GED student Kathy Mason,
who now is a science teacher in the High
School Equivalency Program for children
THE STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD
of the COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
INVITES YOU
to
Now in its fourth year, B -Week has proven highly successful in providing the oppor
tunity for students to meet with representativies from business and industry across
the nation. This student-sponsored and engineered activity represents a meeting of the
minds . . . students learn from and about the business world and visiting businesses have
an opportunity to interact with future business women and men.
Tuesday, January 30
12:30-1:30 Keynote address by John P. Pfann, Vice Presi
dent of Finance and Treasurer of IT&T present
ed in the Union Ballroom; Topic: 'The III-
tTtects ot inflation"
Business Booths
Business Booths
1:30-5:00
6:30-9:00
Wednesday, January 31
:uu-l l : JU Business Booths
Presentation in CBA Auditorium by Robert B.
Daugherty, Chairman of the Board, Valmont
Industries; Topic: "From College Grad to Inter
national Corporate Executive"
Business Booths
Banquet for business representatives and
faculty featuring an address by C. Barry
Schaefer, Vice President-Law of Union Pacific
Railroad on the topic "Development of the
Human Resource: Private and Public Sectors
Views" and entertainment by the Scarlet and
Cream Singers
Business Booths
11:30-12:30
1:30-5:00
5:30-8:00
8:00-9:30
A. C. Nielsen
Alexander& Alexander
Bankers Life Nebraska
Brandeis Department Stores
Commercial Federal Savings & Loan
Commonwealth Electric
Conklin Associates
Coopers & Lybrand
Dorsey Labs
Exxon
Farm Credit Banks of Omaha
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
First Federal Lincoln
First National Lincoln
Ford Motors
General Motors
John L. Hoppe Lumber
George A. Hormel
IBM
Lincoln Mutual Life Insurance
Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph
Metromail
Midwest Life Nebraska
Miller & Paine
Mutual of Omaha
Nebraska Department of Revenue
Nebraska Society of Certified Public
Accountants
Norden Laboratories
Northern Natural Gas
Nothwestern Bell Telephone
Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.
Pegler & Co.
Selection Research
St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance
State Federal Savings & Loan
Union Pacific Railroad
Valmont Industries
Woodmen Accident & Life
Xerox
of migrant and seasonal workers, said,
"Being older than others in my classes, I
probably had better relationships with my
instructors."
Hill believes that the GED program
prepares students well for higher
education.
"The equivalency diploma does not
measure many things you do in high
school, like typing. But it takes a tenth
grade reading level to pass the GED. Better
readers make better college students. Regu
lar high school students sometimes do not
have as good reading skills. The GED
guarantees a reading level," he explained.
Ammons said, "I believe a normal high
school education would prepare you a lot
better. You'd learn more little things. The
GED tests are just general."
Algebra and geometry
Fisher, who went to high school in
Hayti, Mo., disagreed, "I think the GED
tests prepared me a bit better for college.
In high school, I was required only to take
general math. To prepare for the GED, I
had to study algebra and geometry."
On the average, 30 new GED students
enter UNL each year, according to director
of admissions Al Papik. The university re
quires that a student provide a high school
diploma or the equivalent, a high school
transcript and ACT or SAT scores to
enroll.
"The problem we in admissions have,
and that puts undue pressure on advisers, is
determining high school deficiencies for
these students. They may have passed the
GED math test, but we have to decide
whether they have had enough work in
geometry, algebra and other areas. This is
especially true for engineering and business
majors. But with ACT scores and trans
cripts we can usually tell," said Papik.
According to an Omaha World-Herald
article, the number of Nebraskans who
have obtained equivalency diplomas has
tripled in the last five years.
Hill explained, "We put more emphasis
on our program. There is adult education
in 150 cities in Nebraska. More people are
interested in higher education. More jobs
that didn't require high school diplomas
five years ago do now. Realtors need
diplomas, for example."
Mackiel said, "State rule 20, passed last
February by the Legislature, said that any
individual of any age could take the test.
Also, social factors have affected the in
crease. There's lots of pressure in the job
market today and a high school diploma is
extremely necessary."
The World -Herald article also reported
that about 87 percent of the Nebraskans
who take the tests pass each year. This
percentage is topped by only one or two
other states.
Hill said, "In our program, we don't
encourage people ot just walk in and take
the tests. We have them take a pre-GED
test so that they can study to improve their
weaknesses."
Students in GM contest
Business students at UNL are competing
with 19 leading business schools across the
country in a marketing research contest
sponsored by General Motors. The object is
to come up with the best way to market
and advertise the 1979 Chevrolet Chevette.
"This is rather involved, but the kind of
project faced in the business world," said
Ira Dolich, chairwoman of the marketing
department and head of the UNL team.
Three marketing classes and one journal
ism class will participate with Eldon Little,
a marketing student working on his doctor
ate, acting coordinator.
Dolich said Assistant Professor of Mar
keting, Lawrence Crosby's class has "over
all responsibility for the plan." They will
pull together all research and pressure
other students to provide information, she
said.
A class taught by San ford Grossbart, as
sociate professor of marketing, will be de
veloping position strategies in terms of
market targets and general concepts, Do
lich said. William Curtis, marketing class
will also participate.
The journalism students of Donald
Glover, assistant professor of journalism,
will be responsible for the media plan's cre
ative aspects and budget, Dolich said. A hy
pothetical national budget of $4 million is
allowed. GM has provided each school with
S600 to start the campaign.
First prize for the winning school is
$5,000. One $2,000 and one $3,000 prize
will also be awarded. Honorable mention
will be given for marketing research, ad
vertising strategy and presentation.
An oral presentation will be judged by a
five-member committee visiting UNL on
behalf of GM.
The team's written submission will be
judged in Detroit.
In May the top five teams will travel to
Detroit to present their winning ideas to
senior GM management and to accept team
awards.
"There is a lot of coordination that has
to go on," Dolich said. "Some people are
overlapping in several courses. This offers a
tremendous opportunity for students to
get involved in real studies with a lot at
stake."
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kj Call ahead and get your
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