Back in Business

Oh how life has changed in such a short amount of time! Let's see....over the past 16 months.....My wife and I were blessed with our daughter Tylee. I know I'm biased, but she is cutest baby EVER! Period. Yes, she gets most of it from her mother. Also in that time period, I graduated from Nebraska Kearney with my bachelors in agricultural economics. We moved back to Curtis last summer. Then I began my new job as Admissions Director for the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis.

With my new job some things had to take a back seat! But...as I get my head above water and strive to gather some control.....we are bringing back the Aggie Blogs! 3 new students will have blogs posted within the next week! So...Stayed Tuned!

The future has never been brighter here at NCTA. New programs, new buildings, and a new entreprenuerial attitude will provide students the education and skills necessary to stregthen rural Nebraska.

New Programs!

The new 100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage program has recently dominated the discussion in regards to the academic programs offered by NCTA. So....to counter that, I thought I would tell you all about the other new programs that have been developed recently.

At the top of my list would be the All-Points Agronomy Program. This new program offers students an education based on crop production and new technology in agronomy. DON'T FORGET: All Tuition and Fees are covered by All-Points Cooperative for students who wish to enroll and maintain a 2.5 GPA or higher.

BRAND NEW: The Equine Dentistry Program offers veterinarians and veterinary technicians the opportunity to expand their knowledge in the dental care of horses. The course will begin this summer!

NCTA is also involved with cloning! (cloning programs that is) We are also currently developing programs that will model the 100 Cow program. We are working on an outreach program for the 100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage that will allow more non-traditional students the ability to specialize in beef production, create a business plan, and be funded, so they too can purchase 100 head of cows and begin their dream of owning a cow/calf operation.

The other clone will be the 100 Dairy Cow Ownership Advantage. NCTA has teamed up with UNL's Agriculture Research and Development Center in Mead to provide students the ability to enter the dairy industry on the same level as the cow/calf industry. We will have more information on this program once it is finalized. Stay Tuned!

If you have questions regarding these programs, please feel free to drop me an email at: lcooper5@unl.edu

STUDENTS: DON'T FORGET: The scholarship deadline is March 1, 2008!!

Catch you next time!

A Flood of Interest

Since last fall, my email account has been working overtime! I have never seen so much excitement for an academic program in all of my life. NCTA's new 100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage Program gives all farm kids and small-town cowboys like me a real chance of owning our own ranch and cow herd! Wouldn't we all rather own it than rent it? That's the concept anyway and it's spreading like wildfire. Most of us know that rural Nebraska is dying, but I believe this program offers a chance to combat that economic downturn. We want rural development in towns like Thedford, Crawford, Burwell, Plainview, and Franklin? Well....sending multiple students home with 100 head of cows will be a good start in those struggling communities.

We had a great turnout at the seminar last Tuesday. It is not only great to see the excitement in the students' faces, but also in the faces of their parents and grandparents. There seems to be a new found hope in the "Beef State."

Strengthening rural Nebraska.....NCTA is all in!

100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage

BMIS 302: Student Information System

In regards to my article summary for chapter 1, the University of Nebraska has announced that a new student information system is on the horizon. As an admissions counselor, it has me excited about the new features which would allow new recruitment strategies for the admissions office. E-recruitment strategies are growing throughout college campuses across the country. IM, podcasting, blogs, and social networks are some of these tools that are attracting students to certain colleges. It would interesting to know if these new student information systems include any of these new features. Currently, Facebook and MySpace provide the opportunity for current and prospective students to mingle among cyberspace. Maybe colleges and universities will have their own programs to allow this type of interaction? One benefit of this would be that university staff could monitor and filter questionable information and postings. Overall, it could provide a more positive image for the university.

Campus and student security is also another issue that could be addressed by a new system. With the tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech and other campuses, we are reminded that we need an alert system that is effective and fast. UNK has addressed this by sending e-mail alerts in a possible threat, but what else? UNL has initiated a text-message alert system. Although I believe that the text-message alert is more effective than email, I still think more can be done to protect students and staff. The new student information system might allow this. Automatic emails, text messages, and IM alerts, from this new system could save lives!