Enrollment opens this week for University of Nebraska-Google Career Certificates partnership

Google provides some memento buttons for guests at a 2022 event announcing a Nebraska expansion project. (Cindy Gonzalez/Nebraska Examiner)

Enrollment opens this week for the University of Nebraska’s new partnership to offer Google Career Certificates in a variety of fields.

Beginning Wednesday, June 19, NU students, alumni and Nebraskans at large can begin to apply through NU Advance for a variety of self-paced, noncredit courses. Interim NU President Chris Kabourek said that since announcing the NU-Google partnership in April, with little marketing, more than 1,000 people had already pre-registered.

Melissa Lee, NU’s chief communication officer, said 1,247 people had registered as of Friday. Of those registrants, 20% are current NU students and 40% are alumni, meaning hundreds of Nebraskans who might have no connections to NU are interested in more education.

“I just think it solidifies what we thought, that Nebraskans are yearning for more skill sets and more education,” Kabourek told the Nebraska Examiner. 

An email last week to pre-registrants the week of June 10 from Ana Lopez Shalla, lead for NU’s microcredentials, offered resources and a guide to completing the minicourses. She wrote that registrants were “helping to drive impact not only in your own career, but in our regional workforce, too.”

The Google Career Certificates will be offered in three cycles in the next year, with 2,500 seats available for each session. They begin in August, December and April. Enrollment will be open through July 31; courses in the first session will begin the next day. 

In April, NU announced a special first-year rate of $20 per enrollment. 

Kabourek said at the time that the partnership is designed for opportunities, not revenue, and that funds would be used to cover costs and any associated technological needs.

Six foundational and three advanced certificates will be offered:

• Cybersecurity.

• IT support.

• Data analytics.

• Digital marketing and e-commerce.

• Project management.

• User experience (UX) design.

• IT automation with python.

• Advanced data analytics.

• Business intelligence.

Kabourek, who will return to his sole role as NU’s chief financial officer come July 1, said one of his priorities as interim president has been to help the university reconnect with Nebraskans, which will include getting out to visit high schools in the fall.

As a rural Nebraskan from David City, Kabourek said, he knows every Nebraskan can find a place within NU.

“We never want your ability to go get your education or develop your skill sets or enhance your resume to be limited by your family situation or your location,” Kabourek said.

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