Responsible funding for higher education is vital for Nebraska's future

Yahoo

07-05-2025

Dual enrollment programs are helping Nebraska high school students earn college credit and in some cases associates degrees before graduation. Shown is the downtown Lincoln campus of Southeast Community College. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
Higher education is a key ingredient for a strong Nebraska. As Nebraskans with longstanding experience in our state's educational community, we underscore the need for state government to responsibly fund higher education as lawmakers set the upcoming two-year budget.
The NU system is under pressure with potential cuts on state and federal levels. Shown here is the University of Nebraska at Omaha campus. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)
The University of Nebraska, Nebraska state colleges and Nebraska community colleges are linchpins for our state's future. As our elected leaders set the two-year budget, they have an important responsibility to see that these educational institutions receive the funding needed to serve Nebraska students.
Consider the stakes: The 21st-century economy requires ever-higher levels of education and training for Nebraska workers. The economic competition from other states is fierce. Workforce quality will be a key determinant of whether Nebraska's economy achieves needed innovation and sustained growth in coming years.
This is why chambers of commerce across the state have expressed support for proper state funding of higher education. It's why the Nebraska Farm Bureau has said our communities, rural and urban, benefit when our higher education efforts are not only planned well but also properly funded.
Value for Nebraska
Nebraska's higher educational institutions — NU, state colleges and community colleges — are working together to meet the state's evolving workforce and higher education needs, and Nebraska students are taking advantage of what our institutions of higher education have to offer:
2030 attainment goal. In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature set a landmark state educational attainment goal. By 2030, lawmakers said, 70% of Nebraskans aged 25 to 34 should have a degree, certificate or credential with value in the workforce. It was a sensible goal, adopted by the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska State College System, Nebraska's community colleges, the State Board of Education, and the Nebraska Postsecondary Coordinating Commission. At present, Nebraska has achieved a figure of 58.8% — higher than the national rate of 56.8%.
Retention rate. The full-time freshmen retention rate has increased for our Nebraska institutions. In fall 2013, the retention rate was 71.3%. A decade later, it had risen to 76.4%.
Collaborative agreements. Students' individual academic needs vary widely, and it's important for our higher ed institutions to work together to find the best ways to meet those needs — and, indeed, they are. NU and Nebraska's state colleges and community colleges have achieved a range of cooperative partnerships with each other to provide students with flexibility and opportunity. A key example is the articulation agreements NU has with most Nebraska state colleges, community colleges and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. A student can pursue two years of state college or community college study, then transfer credits and complete his or her studies at an NU institution.
Thanks to this cooperation among our institutions, students can pursue the instructional path to fulfill their career aspirations and complete their degree on a schedule that works best for them. The partnerships also include Nebraska private-sector companies, industry associations and agricultural producers. This ongoing consultation helps Nebraska higher ed institutions align their instruction with real-world need and develop training and credentialing with high value for employers.
Benthack Hall at Wayne State College in 2021. (Courtesy of Geoff Johnson)
In all these ways, Nebraska higher ed institutions have made clear they stand ready to raise their educational achievements through forward-looking strategic planning, ongoing partnerships, standards of excellence and sound fiscal stewardship. But to do that, our state policy-makers must meet an obligation of their own.
In the upcoming biennial budget, they must responsibly fund higher education.
No question, our elected leaders have a tough job in the face of competing demands, but a central priority must include sound financial support for our public university system, state colleges and community colleges. Our state's business leaders have underscored the need for proper support of Nebraska higher education, and so have our agricultural leaders.
As Nebraskans with deep experience in our state's educational community, we underscore this key responsibility for state policymakers to help secure a stronger future for Nebraska students and communities.
Greg Adams, a retired public educator from York, is a former speaker of the Nebraska Legislature, chair of the Legislature's Education Committee and former executive director of the Nebraska Community College Association. Ken Bird is the retired superintendent of Westside Community Schools in Omaha and former CEO of the Avenue Scholars program.