University of Nebraska Omaha - Tomahawk / Gateway Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

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Over the years the expansion of the bootstrap program has paralleled and contributed to the growth of the Omaha campus. The early 1950s were growing years for the University of Omaha, yet they were also years of a financial squeeze. An increased expansion program had just seen the completion of the campus' second building, a $750,000 fieldhouse. This structure netted the uni- versity a long-sought detachment of the Air Force ROTC program. The financial situation did not im- prove as was expected, and with a new library and two wings of the Applied Arts building on the planning table, the uni- versity was still within the grips of a financial plague. Being a municipal institution, the uni- versity could not borrow or, for that matter, go into debt. Although under- graduate enrollment was surging, many upper division classes were being held for just a handful of juniors and seniors, and the university realized it was not breaking even on such neglected course offerings. The 1952-53 school year saw the beginning of a new program which would bring money into the university and the Omaha community as well. Five special students came to Omaha to attend OU that year. They were on assignment from the military. Omaha was their post. They brought the first of thousands of dollars of federal money into Omaha and the university. They also brought diversi- fied military and travel experiences to the sheltered campus atop the Dodge Street hill. They filled the cold, vacant seats in many of the classrooms . This handful of special students de- veloped into a clan of significant number. During the mid-1960s there were over 1,000 of these special students on campus. By 1965 OU had become a melting pot for military men seeking degrees. In the late 1960s Omaha Uni- versity became the University of Nebras- ka at Omaha and was tabbed as housing the largest military degree program in the UNO's intramural bootstrapper soccer team, the Patriots, practice game technique in the pep bowl. nation. Since 1953 over 8,000 boot- strappers have graduated from OU-UNO. The creation and subsequent in- corporation of the Pen and Sword Society helped cement the foundations of the military degree program at OU. Through this organization, educational, social and professional services are of- fered to military students. Similar to the boot program, but not a part of it, are the UNO courses offered for personnel at Offutt Air Force Base southeast of Omaha. The program was initiated in 1950 and serves to eliminate transportation problems for airmen. Classes meet two nights a week on an eight-week basis. About 500 students, both beginning and advanced, who can't become boots because of active duty assignments or because they have too few credit hours, are currently taking courses at Offutt. Instruction is provided by both full and part-time UNO faculty. Due to overload restrictions on UNO faculty members, however, most of the instructors at Offutt during the fall and spring semes- ters are hired on a part-time basis. Some full-time UNO faculty members teach Offutt courses during the summer. Extra faculty are sometimes needed and the hiring is done by CCS, subject to the approval of the appropriate dean. A master's degree requirement is adhered to in hiring faculty, according to Russell. Although most of the Offutt students are considered non-residents by the uni- versity, they do not pay the customary $28 non-resident tuition. They pay what Russell terms a contract price of $24 an hour because university classroom and custodial services are not used. Enroll- ment at Offutt is up 53 per cent since 1966 and up 10 per cent over last year. Russell said he expects the Offutt pro- gram to continue to experience a slow growth, adding, We don't offer courses that will lose money. By RICHARD BROWN 23

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Student Senator Jim Anderson (left) exemplifies the increased campus participation of bootstrappers. credit by examination. This is done largely witii the assistance of the College Level Exam Program (CLEP) tests. The CLEP tests are administered at UNO to civilians, but bootstrappers must take them while serving in the military before coming to school. Tests administered at UNO are graded by the university; CLEP tests administered by the military are scored by the service at Madison, Wise. Russell claimed both scoring methods are equally difficult. CLEP tests contain both objective and essay questions, according to CCS offi- cials. Tests are scored on a percentile basis with each participating school deter- mining the guidelines of a passing grade. Results indicate how the student scored as compared to selected college freshmen or sophomores. Some schools require a student seeking to test out of courses to equal the scores on a sophomore level. Other schools require only a score equalling the proficiency of a freshman. UNO falls into the latter category. Another method used to judge the student's proficiency is the American Council on Education manual. It equivo- cates certain military and correspondence courses with civilian courses. The manual currently used by CCS is the 1968 revised edition of the original guidebook of the 1950s. It is impossible for a student to get credit for a military course not listed in the guidebook, and this is often the case with courses offered by the Air Force Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, added Russell. The average service school can offer a student a potential of 100 hours, ac- cording to Thompson, but only 65 of these will be good at UNO. We chose the 65 that will fit best into his program, Thompson said. Most of the credits are awarded via elementary CLEP tests in areas such as social studies, humanities and natural sciences. Some bootstrappers reportedly receive academic credit now for military-oriented courses taken over 25 years ago. A Nebraska native who enrolled at UNO this fall as a bootstrapper says he received several hours of credit for navigation and meteorology courses he took in the mili- tary in 1942. I don't think we're giving any credit out of line, said Russell, especially in the granting of credit for military experiences. it is possible for a boot to apply for admission into the university military program with up to 200 hours, of which only 65 will be usable. Some credit may be too easily given, and sometimes not enough credit may be given, said Rus- sell. Most boots, however, do not quali- fy for the maximum of 65 hours; some have just 30 hours. Thompson sees the granting of credit as a recognition of experience people have acquired outside the classroom and the conversion of this experience into degree credit. He said this idea is pre- dicated upon the central concept of a degree being an indication of what an individual knows. He praised the American Council on Education (ACE) for recognizing the value of military training. According to CCS officials, the BGS degree requires the successful completion of 125 semester hours of credit. At least 30 of the 125 credits must be earned in courses at the junior-senior level. A mini- mum of 24 of the last 30 hours must be earned in residence at UNO. At least 9 of these credits must be from upper division courses in the primary area of concentra- tion. An average grade of C or above must be earned in all courses taken at UNO. How does Dean Utley justify the granting of academic credit for military service? Philosophically, I believe the important thing in an individual is his intellectual growth and development which is measured by what he knows and not by the process by which he acquired it. It's not how you acquire knowledge but that you have it that's important. He added he is sure many people in the field of continuing education believe this. Utley, former political science de- partment chairman, emphasized that CCS doesn't have any real mechanics for determining how many credits will be granted. All granting of credit is based on the recommendations of the ACE. The caliber of people who make up the ACE are just as concerned about quality work as our faculty and administration, Utley said. We are on just as solid ground as there is anywhere. Granting credit is not an arbitrary thing. 22

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Freedom to succeed or fail in their own way — that's the Declaration of INDEPENDENTS THE FASHIONABLY dressed stu- dent, a year or two either side of 20, who wears a gold pin over his heart, is a Greek. A bootstrapper is a 35-year-old man with close- cropped hair, who carries a black or brown briefcase in his left hand. These two categories account for approximately 1,500 of the UNO student body and for lack of a more descriptive term, anyone who doesn't fit one of these two molds is called an Independent. There are few generalizations that can be made about the 10,500 students who are lumped into the all-encompassing title of independent. Their name suggests they owe their allegiance to no special organi- zation and are without identifiable characteristics. Their age is hard to pin- point. Their dress is as varied as their hair length. But there must be something that can be said about this largest group of UNO students. There must be some vague, hazy way of describing this campus majority. They usually hail from Nebraska or Iowa, particularly the Omaha-Council Bluffs area. More often than not, they live at home either with parents or spouse. Their main concern is getting a sheepskin, and more than likely they are paying their own way through school by working part-time. Beyond this skeletal outline, few other generalizations are possib le. Anything else to be said about the independent must be said about an individual, not the group. Jon Kilpatrick exemplifies the non- involved independent. The Omaha senior admits he is going to college just to get a degree. It will enable me to get more money for basically the same work I'm doing now, he explains. Kilpatrick is enrolled in the College of Continuing Studies and will earn a Bachelor of General Studies with a political science major. He blames his lack of campus involvement on the fact that he is married and must spend his free time at work or with his wife, rather than at school. I don't have time to join organizations and go to ball games. Despite his own lack of involvement, Kilpatrick has some very definite ideas about student activism. He feels student demonstrations, marches and the like are both valid and justified. According to Kilpatrick, Protest is probably the most valid thing in this country. Another typically un-involved student is Mrs. Stella Huggins. She was involved in dorm government when she was single and attending the university in Lincoln, but marriage ended her participation in extra-curricular activities. She admits she is not ambitious enough to stay on campus when she knows she can get home quickly and blames much of the UNO student non- involvement on the commuter campus atmosphere, if I were living on a campus that had student housing, I would probably be involved in something im- mediate to me, such as improving housing for married students, Mrs. Huggins says. If Kilpatrick and Mrs. Huggins at- tribute their non-involement to the home responsibilities that go with being married, Mrs. John L. Mitchell has an even better reason, five children. Mrs. Mitchell, who is working toward a masters degree in social work, has been going to school off and on for four years. She has been limiting her credit load to three to six hours a semester, but plans to carry more hours when the children get into school. She doesn't let school inter- fere with her family activities, but says, I don't plan anything with the family around exam time. All of this concern with academiaand home life might seem a little dishearten- ing to some. It is a question of higher priorities rather than apathy that keeps the Kilpatricks, Huggins and Mitchells away from campus involvement, but there are many independents who do have the time and who do participate. Wellington Batth is a junior, majoring in sociology. He first attended the uni- versity in 1963, then returned after a two year stint in the service. Batth's extra- curricular energies are directed to the black student organization. He points out that in 1963, the black pride movement was just starting at OU, and there was no organization. He says things have definite- ly changed over the past seven years. Black people are getting themselves to- gether, and in the past two years we've formed an organization for blacks. 24