85-3103.

Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program; created; terms, defined.

The Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program is created. For purposes of the Attracting Excellence to Teaching Program:

(1) Commission means the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education;

(2) Eligible institution means a not-for-profit college or university which (a) is located in Nebraska, (b) is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education as determined to be acceptable by the State Board of Education, (c) has a teacher education program, and (d) if a privately funded college or university, has not opted out of the program pursuant to rules and regulations;

(3) Eligible student means an individual who (a) is a full-time student, (b) is enrolled in an eligible institution in an undergraduate or a graduate teacher education program working toward his or her initial certificate to teach in Nebraska, (c) if enrolled at a state-funded eligible institution, is a resident student as described in section 85-502 or, if enrolled in a privately funded eligible institution, would be deemed a resident student if enrolled in a state-funded eligible institution, and (d) is a student majoring in a shortage area;

(4) Full-time student means, in the aggregate, the equivalent of a student who in a twelve-month period is enrolled in twenty-four semester credit hours for undergraduate students or eighteen semester credit hours for graduate students of classroom, laboratory, clinical, practicum, or independent study course work;

(5) Majoring in a shortage area means pursuing a degree which will allow an individual to be properly endorsed to teach in a shortage area;

(6) Shortage area means a secular field of teaching for which there is a shortage, as determined by the State Department of Education, of properly endorsed teachers at the time the borrower first receives funds pursuant to the program;

(7) Student-teaching semester means a semester of full-time enrollment for clinical practice which provides initial preparation for a student enrolled in an eligible institution and pursuing a certificate to teach that includes a culminating supervised experience to demonstrate competence in the professional teaching role for which such student is applying; and

(8) Teacher education program means a program of study approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to subdivision (5)(g) of section 79-318.