A new $5 million Husker athletic department scholarship program for non-athletes appears to be a home run for University of Nebraska-Lincoln enrollment.
The money, provided for fall enrollment, has enabled UNL to offer scholarships to about 3,000 prospective students, said Amber Williams, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management at UNL.
“That’s a big deal,” Williams said this week. “There’s just something really special about what’s going on here.”
The University of Nebraska system would grow by more than 1,465 students in the fall if it meets goals described Thursday in the NU Board of Regents’ packet.
Enrollment growth is a vital element as higher education institutions in Nebraska and elsewhere battle state budget cuts. Cuts in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri have prompted universities in the region to aggressively seek out-of-state students.
NU leaders recorded campus enrollment goals for 2018-19 in strategic planning documents. They weren’t discussed at the meeting.
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The NU system enrolled 52,679 students last fall. If the universities hit those goals, enrollment in the fall would grow at least 2.8 percent. The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture enrolled 317 students last year. No goal was given for the two-year college in Curtis.
Williams said the annual $5 million allocation from Husker sports has allowed her to present scholarships to solid students who didn’t receive scholarship offers before.
The scholarships range in value from $1,500 to $2,500. Some are renewable annually.
