Distance education cost set
equal to on-campus courses
By Lindsay Young
^ Senior staff writer
The NU Board of Regents took the final step Friday in
assuring the inclusion of distance education in the University
of Nebraska!? core mission.
The regents unanimously passed a policy that makes the
cost of tuition for distance-education courses equal to that of
on-campus courses, effective Jan. 1.
In addition, like on-campus courses, disfeav^^ication
courses will now be subsidized by the state.
For out-of-state students, tuition will be determined by
market competition, or what other universities charge, but
never will be lower than on-campus tuition. Also, the state
will not provide a subsidy for those students.
The policy will make a university education more afford
able, and therefore more accessible to all Nebraskans, admin
istrators said. •
Students can receive imdergraduate, master’s and doctor
al degrees via media such as the Internet and teleconferenc
ing. Some types of courses offered include economics, polit
ical science and psychology.
For such courses, prior to the new tuition policy, distance
education students have paid 150 percent of on-campus
tuition rates. Forbusiness and engineering courses, students
have paid 200 percent
Regent Don Blank of McCook, who raised concern last
summer over die cost of distance education, has said that stu
dents in die western part of the state don’t always have die
means to attend class on one of die four NU campuses
< Blank said making die classes more affordable to take in
one of the learning carters across die state or via a computer
will increase students’ accessibility to higher education.
.y. Regent DrewMiller of Papillion said the new policy was
an improvement.
Miller voiced his discontent last summer with a cost study
distributed by administrators stating distance education cost
130 to 192 percent more than on^iampus courses.
He said die university was “grossly overcharging” its dis
tance-education students and that the administration used
only the-most expensive courses in the study to find out die
cost to the university.
Miller said the price NU charges for distance education
“may not be cost-competitive.” He said even with the new
tuition policy, NU could be lagging behind other universities
in die affordability of distance education.
But UNL Vice Chancellor for Extended Education Irv
Omtvedt said the university now needs to ask for a subsidy
from die state to cover costs previously covered by tuition.
With the regents’ approval of the new policy, the universi
ty will ask for about $1.6 million from the Legislature,
Omtvedt said.
And if the university can’t get that money from the state,
he said, it has to look for other ways, such as reallocation, to
cover costs.
Because the university already has submitted its budget
requests through 2000, it is unknown if it can depend on an
appropriation, Omtvedt said.
Miller said he didn't think the university would need extra
funding, “I could not see the state giving us any extra money,”
he said.
Miller said with the new policy, distance-education
tuition will be right where it needs to be to cover program
costs, and for some courses will be even higher than needed.
• Omtvedt, who has been working as vice chancellor for
extended education for about a year, said he was glad steps
had been made to equalize distance-education and on-cam
pus courses. ]
“I’m very pleased that we’re looking at it holistically,”
Omtvedt said. “As we look down the road, we’re going to see
less differentiation between on- and off-campus courses.”
Parents Association, opposes tax lid
By Sarah Baker
Senior staff writer
Although many UNL students
have already voiced their distaste for
Initiative 413, the parents of those
same students have been relatively
silent about their feelings on the bill.
But on Saturday morning, parents
shared their discontent with the idea
and took die first steps toward trying
to stop it
None of the parents in attendance
Saturday supported the initiative.
The University of Nebraska
Lincoln Parents Association discussed
Initiative 413, die proposed state tax
lid, and began to establish a greater
understanding of what the bill means
for their children, as well as the stance
they want to take concerning the ini
dative.
Trixie Schmidt, Parents
Association president, said the group’s
main mission is communication.
‘This is a critical issue, and we are
taking a position against it,” Schmidt
said. “This could have a major effect
on our futures.”
The proposed
amendment would
limit the amount of
money the state is
allowed to take in
through taxes and
would also decrease
the funding given to
UNL by $10 million,
according to university
budget office esti
mates.
John Cederberg, a
Lincoln certified pro
66
There is no project that we
can cut without creating furor
in the state. It won’t be a
pleasant time if this passes.”
James Griesen
vice chancellor for student affairs
iessionai accountant, came to clarify
to parents the meaning of die proposed
bill.
Cederberg answered questions
from many of the parents interested in
learning more specific information.
“UNL is not a business,”
Cederberg said. “We are going to have
to make some tough choices if this
happens, and we need to continue to
support this cause.”
Parents were most worried about
how die bill could affect their pocket
books And also what the university
would do if die bill passed.
James Griesen, vice chancellor for
student affairs, said the university
doesn’t have a plan as to what would
happen if the bill passed, but adminis- <
trators are thinking about how to
approach the situation.
“We won’t have across-the-board
cuts,” Griesen said. “We would protect
our areas of excellence and keep our
base programs.”
Griesen said it would be difficult
for the university to pick and choose
where and what to cut back on.
“There is no project that we can cut
without creating furor in the state,” he
said. “It won’t be a pleasant time if this
passes.”
Democrats join in gameday rally
By Todd Anderson
Senior staff writer
With the help of U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, supporters of
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Hoppner kicked
off a political rally on campus before Saturday's football
game.
Speaking to supporters and Husker fans in front of the
Canfield Administration Building, Hoppner and Kerrey
stressed their commitment to working for all ofNebraska.
Kerrey, who was wearing blue to show his opposition to
Initiative 413, said he wanted to make sure the proposed con
stitutional amendment is defeated on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Opponents of the measure that would place a Ud on state
revenue wore blue to Saturday’s football game to protest the
ballot initiative.
Kerrey said he also wanted to work hard to ensure
Hoppner is elected as the first governor ofNebraska for the
21st century.
He said defeating Initiative 413 and electing Hoppner
were important goals to make sure government works for all
Nebraskans.
“The laws need to be written so the doors of opportunity
are going to open for all of us,” Kerrey said.
Hoppner emphasized the themes of his plan for
Nebraska if he is elected governor property tax and farm
policy reform, support for quality education and protection
of the environment
During his second visit to the University of Nebraska^
Lincoln campus since the general election began in May,
Hoppner said Nebraska needs a leader who will make sure
die interests of all Nebraskans are represented by govern
ment
“I’ll be the governor who sees the challenges of today
from the perspective of the average Nebraska family,”
Hoppnersaid.
Hoppner’$ experiences as a businessman and working
with state budgets have trained him to be die next governor
ofNebraska, Kerrey said.
Kerrey joked that Hoppner was governor for six months
in 1978, when he served as then-Gov. Kerrey’s chief of staff.
Hoppner also served as a key adviser to former Gov. and U.S.
Sen. James Exon.
Kerrey said Hoppner knows Nebraska and how state
government can work for all people.
“(Hoppner) is going to be a governor not just for the priv
ileged few but for all Nebraskans bottler to border.”
Reeves’execution date set
Last week the Nebraska Supreme
Court set.death row inmate Randolph
Reeves’ execution for Jan. 14.
The court set the execution date
over objections from Reeves’ attor
ney.
Nebraska Attorney General Don
Stenberg filed for the execution date
in mid-September saying that Reeves
is guilty and that there was no reason
for further delay.
Reeves’ most recent appeal was
dismissed by die U.S. Supreme Court
in August
Paula Hutchinson, Reeves’ attor
ney, would not comment on the case.
. Reeves, 42, was convicted of the
1980 murders of Janet Mesner and
Victoria Lamm, and he has been on
death row since 1981.
Both women were stabbed in a
Quaker meeting house in Lincoln, but
before Mesner died she was able to
identify Reeves as her killer.'
Second charged in murder
Last week a second man was
charged for the 1995 murder of a
Lincoln teen-ager.
Tony Galligo, 19, was charged in
Lancaster County District Court for
the murder.
Galligo was living in a group
home with the victim, Michael
Schmader, 17 at the time, and the
other suspect, Timothy Hopkins, at
the time ofJhe murder.
Schmader’s body was found
buried in a Lincoln drainage tunnel.
He had been stabbed multiple times
and beaten.
Hopkins, 20, die other suspect in
the case, was arrested and charged in
September 1997. Galligo was arrest
ed on unrelated charges in Omaha in
April, and a Lincoln detective ques
tioned him.
Deputy Lancaster County
Attorney Pat Condon said prosecu
tors have entered into a plea agree
ment with Hopkins in exchange for
his testimony against Galligo. The
agreement has not been finalized,
although Hopkins testified last week
at Galligo’s preliminary hearing.
Compiled by senior staff writer
Josh Funk with contributions from
The Associated Press
October storm effects linger
STORM from page 1
“The federal officials said they had
never seen such teamwork in state agen
cies before,” Robak said.
There were many lessons learned
that week.
Without power Nelson said state
officials had to rely on cellular phones
to coordinate their efforts.
LES has doubled the number of
phone lines into its emergency center
and stepped up its pole maintenance.
Accurate mapping and records
helped LES and University of
Nebraska-Lincoln landscaping crews
get to the heart of the problem.
But in the end, the only way to pre
pare for something of this magnitude
may be to live through it
“We handled it real well. Every
body pitched in as a community, ”
Johanns said.
Now everyone will have to wait and
see what this winter brings.
According to the Old Farmer’s
Almanac, the winter months should be
about 1 degree cooler than normal and
bring less snowfall than usual.
Barring any surprises, that is.
Monday, Oct 26th
Doors at 8:00 Royal Grove
fa+r/mS 340W. Cornhusker Hwy *
Tickets: $10.00 474-2332
Tickets available atTicketmaster and Royal Grove
_gg(TTJ Parking Problems?
Need a Place to Park?
»
Park by Park by
Day Month
$2.00 $25
Don't Fight for Parking
Enter at 8th & S Streets, 1 block west of Memorial Stadium
National Garages, Gold's Galleria, Suite 120 • 474-2274
-i_ ‘
(4UZJ 0Z0-ZZZ1
I (tv. msg. & we'll call
back hippity-hop!)
Hours 8 a.m. to 10 pun.
(402) 628-2222 fax
ironclad@navix.net
Resumes, curriculum vitae written
& printed while you watch. Term
papers, theses, dissertations edited,
formatted & laser printed. Your choice
of MLA, APA, AP or Chicago styles.
Low rates, high quality, fast work.
..W>i»n<» typing* nwicd
