The University of Nebraska and Gov. Jim Pillen announced a new scholarship Monday that aims to keep the state's top students close to home when pursuing a college degree.
Nebraska students who score a perfect 36 on the ACT college-entrance exam will be offered a President's Scholarship, which would cover the full cost of attendance — tuition, fees, and room and board — at NU's campuses in ´óÄ̸£Àû¼§, Omaha and Kearney.
At the University of Nebraska-´óÄ̸£Àû¼§, for example, the average cost of attendance for an in-state undergraduate student for the 2023-24 academic year is $24,616, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
As a sweetener, President's Scholarship recipients also would receive an annual stipend of $5,000, NU announced Monday, meaning a student with a perfect ACT score could receive an annual value of nearly $30,000 through the new program.
The financial incentives go further than the longstanding Regents Scholarship, which covers tuition only for high-achieving students, or the Nebraska Promise, which waives tuition for students from median-income households.
NU Interim President Chris Kabourek said the new scholarship program was another tool for NU to send a clear signal to the state's best and brightest students: "We want you on Team Nebraska."
Since assuming leadership on Jan. 1, Kabourek said he has heard from several Nebraska families that their students felt overlooked by the university or drawn to out-of-state institutions because of more lucrative financial aid packages.
"Unfortunately, we're letting too much of our homegrown talent get away," Kabourek said during a launch of the new scholarship in the Warner Chamber at the state Capitol. "We need to do better."
Nebraskans expect their university to compete at the highest level, both in athletics as well as academics, he added. To do so, NU will use the President's Scholarship to hold onto its own, Kabourek said.
Pillen, who served on the NU Board of Regents for nearly a decade before he was elected to statewide office, said the new scholarship will help Nebraska "get in the game" when it comes to fighting brain drain.
Of those who score a 36 on the ACT in Nebraska — last year there were 31 perfect scores, while 44 students achieved that distinction in 2022 — only about 20% choose to go to the state's public university system.
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Pillen said he hopes to flip that number, so that 80% of those students are attending NU, adding that the scholarship was a strategy to make that goal a reality.
"If our best and brightest go to school somewhere else, the chance of getting them back home really falls at a high rate," he said. "Most want to be here, but they can't afford to because of our scholarship program. I think this is a start."
´óÄ̸£Àû¼§ Regent Tim Clare said the university needs not only to reach out to every Nebraska student but work to establish a relationship with those individuals and their families in order to draw them to an NU campus.
Recruiting top talent is a priority not only for the university, Clare said, but for Nebraska's business community which continues to feel the workforce shortage.
"When we keep Nebraska students in Nebraska, that means they are more likely to do an internship here, more likely to get a job here, more likely to start their careers here, and more likely to grow their family and put down roots right here in Nebraska," Clare said.
Regent Rob Schafer of Beatrice said NU has often taken top students in the state for granted, adding that the President's Scholarship was a chance to begin reconnecting with Nebraska students "in every community."
"We just need to work hard and do better," he said. "And we will."
The scholarship, which will be awarded for the first time this fall, will be paid for through a $5 million endowed fund supported by private donations — not NU's general fund, which is supported by state tax dollars and tuition revenues, as both the Regents Scholarship and Nebraska Promise programs are.
Kabourek said that once the President's Scholarship rolls out, NU will look at options to extend offers to other students who also demonstrate success on the ACT.
"We want you in Nebraska," he said. "We want the University of Nebraska to be at the top of your list, and if you sign with us, we're going to go celebrate it, just like we celebrate our five-star athletes."