Hastings College, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and UNMC have announced an academic partnership that will provide additional educational opportunities at UNO and UNMC for Hastings College students.
This unique agreement leverages the best features of both educational settings — public and private, as well as rural and urban — to create new opportunities and experiences with long-term impacts for the state.
Beginning on a limited basis for the spring of 2021 before rolling out fully in the fall, Hastings College students will be able to register for a wide array of remote and online upper division courses at UNO and some areas of UNMC while continuing in their programs at Hastings.
“This partnership is an important example of our role as a premier public institution,” said Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, chancellor of UNMC and UNO. “We understand it is our mission to serve the people and the institutions of Nebraska that support workforce development, educational attainment, economic development, and premier health care. We hope these steps are just the beginning of this partnership, given our common interest in early child education, the liberal arts, STEM, business, technology, and the arts.”
University of Nebraska System President Ted Carter praised the partnership as an innovative approach to helping the state of Nebraska fulfill its workforce needs.
“The future of higher education will be about creating new and innovative pathways for students to complete their degrees and be successful in the workforce,” Carter said. “This exciting partnership with Hastings College is one more way we can expand access for students and put our collective strengths to work to meet the urgent needs of our state. It’s a win for Nebraska students, for both our institutions, and for the economic growth and competitiveness of our state. I commend the UNO and UNMC teams for their leadership on this effort, and we look forward to a long and successful collaboration with our Hastings College colleagues.”
With the expanded offerings in remote and online education from UNO, Hastings College students can continue to participate in intercollegiate athletics, fine arts programs and campus life at Hastings.
“We are excited to undertake this partnership to build cooperative academic programs with UNO and UNMC,” said Rich Lloyd, PhD, the executive president of Hastings College. “It is our priority to further enhance our strong academic offerings by allowing our students to take courses not offered at Hastings College but that align with career aspirations or meet academic needs as students look to add an emphasis area or apply to graduate or professional programs.”
Hastings College students who are interested in pursuing coursework at UNO and some areas of UNMC will work with their academic adviser to identify courses that would enhance their existing Hastings College curriculum. Whether specialized courses in accounting, cybersecurity, foreign languages, public affairs, social work, history, art and more, the agreement offers students a wide array of technical and advanced courses at UNO.
Future cooperative programs between UNO, UNMC and Hastings College may also include internship exchanges or degree programs that begin at one institution and are completed at the other. Faculty will work cooperatively to identify such programs in the coming months.