Fall season and NCTA campus events

By NCTA Dean Larry Gossen, Ph.D.

Greetings from NCTA Campus and Week #4 for the Aggies!

The past three weeks have flown by as Aggie students (and the faculty and staff) have settled into some semblance of routine here on campus. It’s been a wonderful period of getting acquainted with the new students.

The community of Curtis has opened homes, businesses, and churches to welcome our Aggie students. Thank you, everyone!

We reciprocate your hospitality and generosity as our students and staff volunteer this weekend at the Curtis Fall Festival. A tradition continues with Aggie entries in the Festival Parade including Stock Dog Club and canine friends. Pets and small animals (and their owner-handlers, of course) are sponsored by our Student Technicians of Veterinary Medicine Association.

Look for Aggies and the NCTA Safari Club for fun and games in City Park on Saturday afternoon.  Fay and I hope to see many of you at some of the events so please come and introduce yourself!

Aggie teams in action

Two of our collegiate teams will travel again this weekend for competition. Aggie Rodeo, coached by Jaden Clark, heads to the Buffalo Bill Rodeo Arena in North Platte. Slack contests and evening performances on Friday and Saturday should feature plenty of talent as the Great Plains Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) brings athletes from 14 schools in five states.

At the same time, the Shotgun Sports Team and Coach Alan Taylor travels to Lincoln for a weekend meet hosted by Midland University of Fremont.  Good luck to all of our Aggie athletes.

Fall enrollment

Our fall semester enrollment dipped only slightly from a year ago (256 to 250), in a report issued by the University of Nebraska.

Some highlights of our 6-day census include:

-          236 full time students; up 4 from last year

-          14 part time students, down 10

-          Total of 250, down 6 from last year, or 2.3%

-          53 Dual Credit students, up from 26 last year

-          Vet Tech has 107 students, up 18 from a year ago

-          APS Animal Science at 80 students, down from 91

-          102 first-time freshmen, down from 107

-          13 first-time transfers, down from 18 last year

Geographically, we draw students from throughout the United States, spanning from east to west coast, and north to south.

-          77 out-of-state students, 19 different states (28.4%, up from 22.8% last year)

-          Nebraskans from 65 counties, 107 different communities.

-          Majority of students from 150-mile radius of campus

Dining services

We find fewer students are on campus for weekend meals, and occasionally Food Service staffing for Aggie Cafeteria or Chandie’s Castle is limited. Associate Dean Jennifer McConville came up with a unique solution which I believe is a win-win. She has coordinated NCTA meal plans with several of our local businesses to accommodate student meal plans. Menu choices are suited for an NCTA meal plan.

Friday:

Chandie’s Castle: 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.  

Aggie Cafeteria:  11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Anvil: 5-9 p.m. (NCTA menu items)

Saturday:

Chandie’s Castle:  20 a.m. - 2 p.m.

The Anvil:  5-9 p.m. (NCTA menu items)

Sunday:

Cowboys, Corgis, Coffee:   8 a.m. – 2 p.m. (NCTA menu items)

Yellow Rose: 5-9 p.m. Burger Night

This program started Sept. 9, offering students more and different dining options during the weekend.

We are glad to have a supportive local community and appreciate this partnership in food service.

NCTA Events:

Sept. 12-14:  NCTA at College Fairs Mullen, Alliance, Scottsbluff, Chadron, Sidney and Ogallala

Sept. 13-15: NCTA at Husker Harvest Days, Grand Island

Sept 16-30:  NCTA/NU application fee waiver period

Sept.16-17:  Aggie Rodeo at MPCC, Buffalo Bill Arena, North Platte

Sept. 17-18: Aggie Shotgun Sports, Midland University meet, Lincoln

Sept. 18-22: NCTA at College Fairs in Ord, Broken Bow, Ainsworth, O'Neill, South Sioux City, Bloomfield, and Norfolk

Part of the University of Nebraska system, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture is a two-year institution with a statewide mission of preparing students for successful careers in agriculture, veterinary technology and related industries. NCTA is known for its affordable tuition, high job-placement rate for its graduates, and for the success of student teams in competitive activities including crops judging, ranch horse events, livestock judging, shotgun sports, stock dog trials, and intercollegiate rodeo. The college is consistently ranked as one of the best two-year schools in the nation.