Similar population trends were a factor behind UNO's new offer, said David Cicotello, the school's enrollment director.
"If you're going to be entrepreneurial about attracting students to your school, this is the state of the art in higher education," Cicotello said about the Metropolitan Advantage plan. "We have taken cost out of the equation and presented UNO's programs and proximity."
Iowa students currently pay the nonresident rate of $456 per credit hour at UNO. Under the new program, they'll pay $232 per hour, or about 150 percent of Nebraska's resident tuition.
A 15-credit-per-semester load at UNO would cost roughly $6,960, compared with $6,380 at ISU, using 2008-09 tuition rates.
UNO needs to recruit an additional 100 Iowa students to break even on the Metropolitan Advantage offer, Cicotello said. The offer is good only for the University of Nebraska's Omaha campus, not the flagship campus in Lincoln.
Ginger Morgan, a guidance counselor at Council Bluffs Lincoln, said she thought many high school seniors would consider the UNO deal because of the money they could save.
"It's a wonderful opportunity for students, and it may be a deciding factor for some students," Morgan said.
Kuhl, who graduated high school in 2006, had already applied to UNO when his mother, Lori, was diagnosed with cancer.
That cemented his decision to attend college in Omaha and live at home, he said. The new UNO tuition deal will cut his tuition nearly in half. "I think it's outstanding," Kuhl said.
Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com
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