Perlman directs focus of university of growth, retention

In its first semester as a Big Ten member, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln set the course to be big.

UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman announced plans to increase the student population by nearly 6,000 students — to 30,000 — by 2017, add 160 tenure-track faculty and nearly double the amount of research funding to $300 million.

"We have the opportunity to reset the table," Perlman said in his Sept. 1 State of the University Address, "to now start anew to reformulate our ambitions and our aspirations, to set new goals and objectives, to rise to the elevated expectations in which we have been draped, to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead, to learn from but also to lead our new peers, to demonstrate that while we are in a new place, there is still no place like Nebraska."

In addition to Perlman's call for expansion, the University of Nebraska adopted a policy that constrains an undergraduate degree to 120 credit hours and heard a controversial proposal to expand employee benefits. University leaders say the beginning of the academic year has brought plenty of motion.

"This will go down as a significant period in the history of the university," said NU President J.B. Milliken.

With UNL in the Big Ten, both UNL and the University of Nebraska at Omaha planning to expand and Innovation Campus starting to take shape, Milliken said momentum is bountiful in Nebraska.

Starting next fall, freshmen will begin the 120-credit-hour degree program, which university officials believe will make a four-year degree more realistic. In turn, Milliken and other regents said the new policy will also reduce student debt because many students will not have to remain in school an additional semester or two before receiving their diploma.

Faculty at UNL, UNO and the University of Nebraska at Kearney have begun their degree restructuring efforts.

Along with those changes, UNL officials have started planning for student population growth with the announcement of new residence hall plans and a new student-retention program among others.

"We're engaged in trying to figure out how to get to 30,000 students," Perlman said, "and we'll continue to look into that."

Perlman will deliver an update on UNL's expansion strategy to the Board of Regents' Academic Affairs committee Dec. 20.

Ahead, the university will continue working to keep cost of attendance affordable for students while juggling the finances of an institution reliant on tight state funds, Milliken said.

In 2012, the Board of Regents will decide on an employee benefits expansion proposal called "employee plus one," which would allow the same-sex and opposite-sex partner of university employees to receive dental, heath and vision insurance. The plus-one proposal would also expand coverage to the partner's dependents, according to the University of Nebraska website.

Milliken proposed the benefits expansion on Oct. 28, citing faculty and staff equality as well as university competitiveness. However, several religious organizations have spoken out against the expansion saying it demeans the institution of marriage.

Regent Jim McClurg of Lincoln expects a decision on the contested issue before the board's March 2 meeting.

Despite stories from Perlman about faculty who left the university or never applied because of the absence of a plus-one policy, some regents are skeptical of the proposal, citing cost.

Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln questions whether the policy is needed given what he sees as university's progress the past few years in research and growth.

"I'm not convinced that our offering or not offering employee plus one is going to have a significant impact on the growth of faculty and the excellence of education at this university," Clare said.

UNL Faculty Senate President Barbara LaCost said there is concern among the faculty senate about the cost of the proposal. But she said the proposal has the senate's support and the faculty hopeful that it passes.

"We're cautiously optimistic," LaCost said.

rileyjohnson@dailynebraskan.com