Priorities:University of Nebraska Omaha Student Priorities

1. Reworking the System

Affordable and accessible higher education is a major challenge in Omaha, Nebraska. Especially at the University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO). Many students can not financially afford to attend UNO and end up with a hefty amount of student debt. Those fortunate enough to obtain funds for college either work many hours into exhaustion, or score scholarships and grants. Even with provided funds for college, many struggle to fit into the cookie cutout that the university and many other educational systems desires. To combat this, students need support from mentors, tutors, or other resources to level the playing field for those that can play the game of "standardized education". Currently, there are a few pushes for improvement of UNO's accessibility but don't gain much traction within the university for various reasons.

• Tactic #1 Design Flaw Course

Many students see these issues on campus, however they struggle with implementing a solution with support from a majority of campus. One of our proposed solutions is to develop a class called "Design Flaw" which simplifies design thinking to any disciplinary major. The classes would start simple showcasing common design flaws such as the "Norman Door." After students grasp the concept of defining an issue, they would then be shown how to ideate possible solutions through informative questions such as, "Why is it a bad design? How could you improve it? Who can help you improve it?" Later in the course, students will start noticing broader design flaws such as the educational system in Nebraska, but more specifically, areas that it could be improved upon. This will hopefully end up resulting in students focusing on how to improve not only the university they are attending, but the surrounding community.

• Tactic #2 Mav-Match 

Many students are daunted by their first year of college. Here at our university, we have a scholarship program called the Thompson Learning Community which provides mentors for each student. Many of these students have stated that the support of said mentors is what kept them in college. The Thompson Learning Community has a graduation rate greater than 90 percent. With Mav-Match, each first-year student will be paired with a social college to help they with their college experience. This app could also be useful for meeting new people on campus to grow each student’s personal network.

 

• Tactic #3 Collaborative Coursework

Classwork here at UNO lacks many hands-on skills found within the career’s students are preparing for. Some courses do offer internship course work, or hands on learning, however, lectures tend to be the popular teaching style for many classes. These are great in some instances, but not amount that they are seen on campus. Collaborative coursework gives students the opportunity to delve into unknown subjects/paths of thinking through the academic lens. This could look like two dissimilar courses working on one project together, or even one class teaming up with a student org. This would offer the so desired hands on learning experience that many students seek. Not to mention, the collaboration between different resources on campus would greatly improve many aspects here at UNO.

 

• Tactic #4 UIF Continuation

As the first cohort from the University of Nebraska at Omaha partaking in the University of Innovations Fellowship program, we find it extremely important to continue the cycle of likeminded students to develop the skills that are gained in this program so that each succeeding cohort can continue our teams long term goals as well as leave a legacy behind for themselves in further improving our campus.