UNO blocks an effort to get an Education program in La Vista. As if that would be competition. Nice job commissioners
Master's program won't come to La Vista
LINCOLN - A plan by Wayne State College to expand an educational degree program in the Omaha area was nixed Tuesday after officials from the University of Nebraska objected.
The Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education denied the request at its regular commission meeting.
Wayne, in northeast Nebraska, wanted to offer its master's degree program for curriculum and instruction at an educational center in La Vista that is operated by Peru State College.
The Wayne State program is an advanced degree for certified teachers.
John Langan, dean of UNO's College of Education, said the Wayne program would duplicate that school's master's degree program of the same name.
Stan Carpenter, executive director of the Nebraska State College System, said the program's Internet courses, requiring only one weekend a month in classes, would appeal to many teachers in the Omaha area.
The program is currently offered in Blair, which is within the region that state policy considers to be Wayne State's service area.
Carpenter argued that the state colleges - Wayne, Chadron and Peru - should be allowed to serve the entire state just as the University of Nebraska serves the entire state.
"We serve a different kind of clientele," Carpenter said.
It is not the first time the state college system and NU have been at odds.
In 2001, the coordinating commission approved, over NU objections, a satellite branch of Peru State three blocks from NU's downtown Lincoln campus.
