Students from three western Iowa counties will be able to attend the University of Nebraska at Omaha next year at much lower tuition rates. UNO Chancellor John Christensen says the program is called MAP. Christensen says, "I believe the Metropolitan Advantage Program is a significant step toward making available a convenient and affordable high-quality education to the residents of Pottawattamie, Mills and Harrison counties or in other words, our metro Iowa neighbors."

Christensen says the resident tuition rate is about $155 per credit hour and the non-resident rate is $456. This new program offers tuition at $232 per credit hour. He says, "Our metropolitan neighbors will be able to drive across the bridge and attend UNO at a substantially reduced tuition rate." Christensen says they are also offering another perk to some students who qualify.

"Undergraduate students from these counties with an ACT score of 23 or higher or who rank in the top 25-percent of their class, will be eligible for a new Maverick Advantage Scholarship which will bring tuition rates to at or near residential costs," Christenson says. The new program starts in the fall of 2008.