SOUTHEAST NEBRASKA — Using dual-credit incentives to encourage future educators and combat Nebraska's teacher shortage. That’s the goal behind a new partnership between several southeast Nebraska school districts and Doane University, according to Doane College of Education Dean Dr. Tim Frey.

"We're really excited to be partnering with K-12 school districts and ESUs to try to solve a really important problem in Nebraska," Frey said. "That's making sure we have enough teachers in the future to serve students in the state going forward."

It’s called the Educator Pipeline Collaborative or EPiC Pathway. The program offers certain courses tuition free to high schoolers in districts in Education Service Units (ESUs) 5 and 6 as well as Crete Public Schools. There are five courses included in the EPiC Pathway, all centered around preparing students for a career as a teacher.

ESU 5 Administrator Dr. Brenda McNiff says It’s funded by a grant through the Nebraska Department of Education. The grant focuses on programs that help address the teacher shortage in the state. 

"I look at this as a scholarship, in essence, for these kids," McNiff said. "It's just an early scholarship. They might get this scholarship, this free tuition, their junior and senior year of high school and that's going to pay for two, maybe three, classes per year."

Students from the following school districts are eligible for the tuition free dual-credit courses:

Beatrice, Bruning-Davenport, Centennial, Crete, Deshler, Diller-ODell, Dorchester, Exeter-Milligan, Fairbury, Fillmore Central, Freeman, Friend, Heartland, Malcolm, McCool Junction, Meridian, Milford, Norris, Seward, Shickley, Southern, Thayer Central, Tri County, Waverly, Wilber-Clatonia and York.

Other Nebraska high schoolers can take courses from this pathway, but will pay $75 per credit hour.

Officials are hopeful the dual-credit courses spur interest in students thinking of going to school to become teachers into pursuing the career.

"The opportunity to get a free college class while you're in high school is something that doesn't come around often," Frey said. "I hope people will take the class and fall in love with what it means to be a teacher."

An added bonus? For kids that end up going through Doane’s College of Education, they won’t be far from home where there could be jobs waiting upon graduating.

"That keeps them in the area too and many of them comeback too and student-teach maybe in the district they grew up in or in a neighboring district," McNiff said. 

The EPiC Pathway is just one of three Doane’s new dual-credit program. Other courses not part of the pathway are available at $75 per credit hour to any Nebraska high school student. According to the university, that's comparable to area community colleges.

"It's a low cost and it's low-risk for students and families for them to start exploring what they want to major in," Doane Open Learning Academy Director Erin May said. 

The other pathways are Doane Core, which offer up to 33 credit hours of general education requirements and an exercise science focused pathway.

May says all classes can be taken online while some will also have an in-person option.

"We're really hoping to build relationships with these students, affording them opportunities to interact with our staff, with our faculty  and to get familiar with Doane University," May said. 

For more information on specific dual-credit course offerings visit doane.edu/dual-credit.