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Starting this fall, employees of Crete Public Schools (CPS) are able to receive a �山���� education at a 25% discount. The discount can be applied toward any of the university’s graduate programs, including the Doctorate of Education, as well as bachelor’s degrees or professional certificates available from the university’s Lincoln campus or online. 

"For years, Crete Public Schools has given so many opportunities to our students through student teaching, job shadowing, volunteering and jobs after graduation. This partnership allows us to give back to the district and to the Crete and Saline County communities both our institutions serve,” said Dr. Tim Frey, �山����’s dean of the College of Education.

A fall 2022 conversation between �山���� President Dr. Roger Hughes and Dr. Joshua McDowell, CPS superintendent, sparked the idea for the discount, during a back-to-school picnic held annually at the university alongside community partners.

“As a two-time graduate of �山����, I know first-hand the impact my degrees have had on my career and my life. It’s incredible to go from having a single conversation with Dr. Hughes to creating a partnership that offers such a life-changing opportunity to the district I now serve,” McDowell said. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 2003 and his Master of Education in Educational Leadership in 2008, both through �山����.

“For all our employees, encouraging them to pursue new degrees has a one-two effect of not only opening new professional development opportunities to them, but shows the students we serve the value of continuing their own education,” McDowell said.

Hughes and McDowell brought Frey onboard to continue discussions through the fall. A survey with CPS employees determined how many were currently �山���� students and how many would be interested in pursuing a degree through the university at a discounted rate. Education programs were of interest, but also bachelor’s degrees, particularly �山����’s hybrid or online programs.

Throughout the winter, the two institutions worked together to create the agreement, and finalized the breakdown of the tuition discount — with 10% covered by CPS and 15% covered by �山����, for the total 25% tuition discount — in spring.

After running the agreement through �山���� leadership and the CPS School Board, it was approved over the summer and made available for the 2023-24 academic year.

�山���� degree programs eligible for the CPS tuition discount are:

• The Doctorate of Education, with choice of emphasis in either education leadership or education, community and culture
• The Educational Specialist graduate degree
• The Master of Education in Educational Leadership
• The Master of Education in School Counseling
• The Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction
• The Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology
• The Master of Arts in Counseling
• The Master of Arts in Leadership
• The Master of Business Administration
• Bachelor’s degrees available through Lincoln or online (Accounting, Agribusiness, Business Administration, Computing, Health Sciences, Human Relations, Liberal Arts Studies and Organizational Communication)

The tuition discount also applies toward �山����’s two online Professional Certificates, the Principles of Agribusiness and Software Development.