Division of
Continuing Studies
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Visit our home page at http://cpacs.unomaha.edu
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BGS degree makes a
difference in lives
Their
circumstances vary as widely as their ages and personal interests. Some have
a few credit hours to go; others, a few years. Some left college because they
chose to relocate. Some have careers in the military, and the choice to move
was made for them. Some went to work; others are still looking to begin their
careers.
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• Following in good footsteps
• BGS helps
student break with tradition
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No matter
what carried these students off the path toward their college degrees, the
Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree program at UNO is leading them back.
"We offer
the opportunity for a second chance with the BGS degree, which is not available
at any other campus in the University of Nebraska system," says Kathy Menke,
assistant dean in UNO's College of Public Affairs and Community Service
(CPACS).
One of
the nation's oldest baccalaureate degree programs designed specifically for
adults, the BGS degree is held by more than 22,000 UNO graduates.
The
program draws more than 1,000 students each semester to UNO's main campus and
to more than 50 weekend and evening classes at Offutt Air Force Base in
Bellevue. UNO in partnership with the U.S. Air Force has offered classes at the
base since 1950.
Participants
and administrators say the program affords students unique flexibility,
accepting transfer credits from regionally accredited institutions. It also
provides for credit by examination and college-equivalent credit for various
professional training programs approved by the American Council of Education
(ACE). Students may complete a BGS area of concentration in 42 fields of study.
Equally
important, it is a quality program, Menke says.
"Our
students take the same classes as those enrolled in other colleges and
programs," she says. "This is no shortened, watered-down version of a bachelor's
degree. It is a quality degree, and our students work very hard to obtain it."
The
former College of Continuing Studies merged with CPACS in 2003, becoming a
division. "Because service to the community is the link, the merger made a lot
of sense," she says. "We meet a serious need in the community." Census data,
Menke says, indicate that more than 100,000 people in eastern Nebraska have
some college credits but not enough for graduation. "The BGS degree is the
perfect answer for them."
Enrollment
in the BGS program is open to students 21 or older. It takes commitment and
dedication for older students to make time in their often-busy work and
personal schedules to attend classes and to study.
"These
are people who define the term 'non-traditional student'," Menke says. "They
bring with them life experiences that serve to enrich not only their studies,
but also those of the students around them. They've been in the real world.
They've worked hard at their jobs or to build careers. They just don't have the
college degree to show for it."
Nearly
all students in the BGS program bring some transfer credits with them. Some
attended UNO in the past; others a variety of colleges and universities around
the nation and the world.
The BGS
program gives them a home, one where the door is open to leave and return at
any time without changing their degree requirements.
"It
doesn't require a continuous commitment," Menke says. "Many people, because of
their lives or the requirements of their jobs or military service, can't make a
commitment if they know they could be forced to leave prior to completion.
"The BGS
program works well for them because they can stop anytime and later return, and
the requirements won't change. If they are in the military and have to transfer
out of the area, we can help them complete their degree elsewhere. They can
even take their college courses elsewhere to fulfill our requirements and still
obtain their degree from UNO."
Graduates
who participated in a survey say the BGS degree helped them when they sought
new jobs and promotions. Forty-one percent say they applied to graduate
school—and 94 percent were accepted. In the last decade, nearly 200 BGS degree
holders have earned master's degrees at UNO.
Designated
one of UNO's top priority academic programs, the BGS degree provides value to
students, graduates and the community, Menke says.
"The BGS
program is an important facet of the university's commitment to responding to
the growing needs of the community, and its effort to expand educational
opportunities," she says. "It has and will continue to make a difference in
people's lives."
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Brandon Holloron didn't realize
whose footsteps he was following in when he enrolled in the Bachelor of General
Studies degree program at UNO.
Among the prominent UNO alumni to
have earned a BGS degree are U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, Lt. Gen. Russell Davis,
former chief of the National Guard Bureau, Leonard DeBarros, senior vice
president of Motorola Corp., and Michael McLarney, president and CEO of United
Way of the Midlands.
But for Holloron, one name was a
real surprise: retired Army Maj. James E. Miller III—his grandfather.
"It's really a coincidence," says
Holloron, who also is in the Army and who will graduate in May. "He always told
me how important it was to get a college degree, but I had no idea until after
I enrolled here that it was the same school where he got his degree."
Miller earned his BGS degree in
December 1971. He attended UNO for two years as part of the Bootstrap program
for military. Now a resident of Huson, Mont., Miller says the degree made a
positive difference in his life and his military career.
"I believe young people should be
educated," Miller says. "It's a requirement for life."
Holloron says his grandfather
played a significant role when he was young, serving as a primary caregiver for
the first half of his life. "He always said that there was a whole 'nother
world out there for those who earned a college degree," Holloron says. "Even
when I was young, with him it was never a question of whether or not I would go
to college. The question was where."
Even that has proved a difficult
question to answer for Holloron, whose own military career has taken him to
five other universities on his way to UNO. "I've been here for a year and a
half," he says. "That's the longest I've lived any one place since I was 17."
His principle field of study is
sociology, with minors in psychology and military science. Holloron, to be
commissioned a second lieutenant the week of his graduation, is looking forward
to duty as a medical service officer, eventually, he hopes, in Europe.
He has taken classes on campus and
at Offutt Air Force Base, which has partnered with UNO to offer educational
opportunities since 1950. When he accepts his degree at the graduation
ceremony, Holloron won't be celebrating alone—his grandfather plans to be in
the audience, cheering him on.
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Sheryl McKim talks about gene
sequencing and plant parasites and evolutionary lineage in a language so
fluently scientific that a listener has to take notes to keep up. But when
McKim talks about her commitment to education, she really speaks volumes.
"It's huge," she says. "I actually
had a job where I was making far more money than I will as a P.A. (physician's
assistant), but it just wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.
"To do what I want requires hard
work and a bachelor's degree."
McKim already has shown her
commitment to education, attending Metropolitan Community College for six years
and obtaining associate's degrees in arts and science while earning a 3.96
cumulative grade-point average. That she is no stranger to hard work—or
breaking with tradition—is evident in her job history. She started as a clerk
at Kwik Shop in the mid-1980s, working the graveyard shift. At age 18 she
became the youngest store manager the company ever had promoted.
"I remember they had to put me in
charge of a store that didn't sell liquor, because of my age," she says.
As a single mother, she cared for
a daughter who suffered from a chronic illness. But she continued to persevere,
making her own opportunities when necessary. She went on to work as a buyer for
a grocery chain, for a food producer and at a marketing firm, where she rose to
become head of the company's Nebraska division.
She also has shown a commitment to
the community, volunteering in the emergency room at the University of Nebraska
Medical Center and teaching basic and refresher computer skills in the
Psychiatric Day Hospital Program at the Veteran's Administration Medical
Center.
When she graduates with her BGS
degree in December, she plans to return to school to become a physician's
assistant. "I want to specialize in
epidemiology," she says, referring to the branch of medicine that investigates
epidemics and disease. "I'm also very interested in transplant surgery."
In nominating her for the 2005
Vice Chancellor's Award, CPACS Dean B.J. Reed wrote of McKim's "amazing
achievement."
"Sheryl is conscientious and
organized about her program," Reed says. "She is eager to learn, eager to move
to the next level, eager to challenge herself."
McKim is grateful for the BGS
program at UNO. "It's a very strong degree, yet it offers a lot of flexibility
for older students," she says. "It has taken a lot of work, but I wouldn't be
doing this if I didn't know it was right for me."
And for more than 22,000 other
alumni who obtained their BGS degrees at UNO.
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