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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1998)
Conference focuses on UNL’s fiiture KELLOGG from page 1 conference. The commission began in 1995 when the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges asked the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support the mission to “rethink public education.” Wednesday’s conference focused on tiie “student experience.” Seth Demer, a senior agricultural education major; warned the university not to get into a rut “Saying ‘I can’t go any farther,’” Demer said, “where are you reaching as an institution, and who told you to go there?” Demer, former president of the national FFA, highlighted the Kellogg Commission’s seven “action commit ments” to academic reform, which included: . ■ Realizing partnerships with ele mentary and secondary schools. Demer said he favored a “seamless” 'education from high school to college. !<He said when he began his education at TJNL, some classes were “remedial,” while he felt unprepared for others. Also, Demer said UNL needed to make its new entrance requirements more specific. Instead of simply listing required classes, Demer said he wanted ftie university to tell high school stu dents “you need to know this about math or science to succeed.” ■ Reinforcing commitments to undergraduate education. Demer said he expected university instructors to “push your limits.” He said students would increasing ly base their decisions on whether to attend college on the quality of instruc tion an institution offers. ■ Addressing both academic and personal student development “Students grow as individuals in classes,” Demer said. ■ Strengthening the link between education and career. ■ Striving for high quality while keeping prices low. Demer said keeping college affordable was important for students to succeed. He said when students work 30 hours per week, it was hard to study and be involved in campus organizations. ■ Better defining educational objectives for both parents and students. - ■ He said he learned more in some classes where he’s received a B- than in classes where he’s received an A. Demer encouraged faculty to con ; aider a new way, instead of grades, to evaluate students’ progress. ■ Strengthening the link between discovery and learning. Faculty needed “innovative ways to encourage critical thinking,” he said. “My best experiences,” Derner said, “have been when professors have asked me to make a personal commit tment to diat class. “I need to see that a professor cares about me as an individual” ___ l$a$ BBb m Ik iffr<4& 1 Technology commission By Brian Carlson Senior Reporter As Nebraska’s technology blos soms and expands, the state needs a commission of experts to ensure technology is used productively and efficiently, Lt. Gov. Kim Robak said Wednesday. Robak testified in support of LB924, which calls for $3 million to place the Nebraska Information Technology Commission into state statute. The NITC has been in opera tion since December, after an execu tive order by Gov. Ben Nelson created the commission. The state’s technology resources currently lack coordination and effi ciency, Robak said. Services often are duplicated, and ideas for efficient use of technology aren’t disseminated well. “This has to do with the way you think,” Robak said during the Appropriations Committee hearing. “Right now we’re sticking technology out there, but never asking why it is we want it there. “Our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing, and we keep recreating organizations to do the same thing.” Continuing to lead Although Nebraska’s technologi cal infrastructure is “the envy of many states,” Robak said, “we need to be able to coordinate our efforts so we can continue to lead the way in infor mation technology.” Robak cited a Harvard University study which found that while corpo rate chief information officers have a 90 to 95 percent understanding of technology and its applications in society, the understanding of legisla tors nationwide was just 7 percent. The NITC will be essential in helping policy-makers make informed decisions on technology, Robak said. Sen. Joyce Hillman of Gering, the bill’s sponsor, said the proposal had been too long in coming. “The intent of the bill is to provide for much stronger management and handling of information technology in the state of Nebraska,” she said. Service for the state The NITC comprises nine gover nor-appointed members, including five from the general public and one each from K-12 education, higher education, state government and community interests. The commission’s responsibili ties would include planning statewide technology strategies, making recom mendations on technology legislation to the governor and the Legislature, and creating an information clearing house to advise organizations on the best means of implementing new technology. “It is, and should be, a service organization,” Robak said. LB924 also would create three councils to identify technological needs in their respective fields: the Education Council, representing ele mentary, secondary and postsecondary education; the Community Council, representing local government, health care, business and agriculture; and the Information Resources Cabinet, repre senting state government The Information Resources Cabinet would be led by a chief information officer - a “lightning rod,” Robak said, for promoting greater efficiency. Calls for cooperation NU President Dennis Smith, who testified as a proponent said he looked forward to increased cooperation in information technology, “one of the most important issues of our era.” “I view this as a partnership where we will be interacting with the commission in positive ways, not reg ulatory ways,” he said. The biU prevents the commission from limiting die authority of die NU Board ofRegents to make its own deci sions on the uses of information tech nology related to academic research. The proposal will assist NU’s growing distance-learning programs, Smith said. Janet Wirth Poley of ADEC, a dis tance-education consortium, testified in opposition to the bill. She said the bill was progressing too rapidly through the Legislature. Some components, such as specific desired outcomes and the impact of the commission on interstate technol ogy, are still vague, she said. “I don’t think Nebraska needs walls, layers of bureaucracies and encumbrances,” she said, suggesting the issue be furthered studied during the legislative interim. But Sen. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth, Appropriations Committee chairman, said the state must act soon. “I’m of the opinion that time is of the essence, and we probably have delayed this too long,” he said. 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