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College Background
Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) prides itself on an educational experience that transforms each student to lead a life of learning, service, leadership, and success in a diverse world. This personalized approach is one reason why NWU is ranked the #1 independent regional university in the state by U.S. News & World Report. Over the last several years, NWU has added majors, minors and certificates programs in five academic fields with Rize: digital marketing, certified financial planning, project management, data analytics, and public health. Instead oftaking a year or two, launching new programs from inception to approval took roughly one semester.
Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) prides itself on an educational experience that transforms each student to lead a life of learning, service, leadership, and success in a diverse world. This personalized approach is one reason why NWU is ranked the #1 independent regional university in the state by U.S. News & World Report. Dr. Graciela Caneiro-Livingston, provost for the last seven years, shares:
"What motivates me the most is being around talented and creative faculty and staff who really give it all to our students. Every year, I attend our student symposium, and I'm always in awe of what our students are accomplishing. It takes our group of faculty and staff to create that spark in them so that they can live up to their potential."
One of NWU’s distinctives is its nationally recognized Archway Curriculum, a comprehensive program that prepares students for global challenges through interdisciplinary learning and essential skill development. Key components include the Archway Seminar, experiential learning through internships and community service, and the Integrative Core. Within the Integrative Core, students explore “threads” – a thematic series of interconnected courses designed to offer a multidisciplinary educational experience.
Jack, a business administration major with minors in finance and project management, shares, “Nebraska Wesleyan encourages you to come out of your comfort zone through threads. For example, I took an acting class my freshman year. I would never have thought I'd be taking an acting class, but it was actually very cool; I learned better social skills through it. You just become more well-rounded in what you're doing. Without going to Wesleyan, I may have never come out of my comfort zone.”
As a leader in multidisciplinary learning that blends a timeless liberal arts foundation with contemporary professional skill development, NWU proactively analyzes opportunities to expand the availability of in-demand degree programs.
NWU knows that the value of new academic programs extends beyond recruitment into any one specific subject. By delivering a high-quality portfolio of programs and threads, NWU creates a virtuous cycle of positive student experiences and outcomes These investments reinforce NWU's student-centered mission, emphasizes its interdisciplinary learning methods, and sustains long-term enrollment.
While the value of new programs is clear, for small private colleges, actually adding new programs is often a very costly endeavor – sometimes exceeding $500,000. The process is also time-intensive and risky. According to research from the Burning Glass Institute, over half of new undergraduate programs may not generate enough enrollment to cover its costs.
While searching for alternatives that would allow NWU to innovate, Dr. Caneiro-Livingston was introduced to Rize. When first learning about Rize she shares, “At first, I tried to figure it out on my own. How was this possible? The low cost and low risk seemed too good to be true.”
After evaluating the partnership with a team of department chairs and program directors, the NWU team identified a portfolio of new programs that aligned with their academic strategy. The selection process was organized in partnership with Rize who supplied student demand and labor analytics data through data platforms like Gray Decision Intelligence and Lightcast.
Over the last several years, NWU has added majors, minors and certificates programs in five academic fields: digital marketing, certified financial planning, project management, data analytics, and public health. Instead of taking a year or two, launching new programs from inception to approval took roughly one semester.
In the last two academic years, 277 students registered in Rize powered courses and 72 students have declared a Rize powered program - an array of majors, double majors, minors and certificates blending into the Archway framework. Consistent with NWU’s emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, dozens more have woven individual courses in areas like data analytics and project management into their major.
Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Viktor Khanzhyn describes the symbiotic relationship that has evolved into a “best of both worlds” proposition to NWU students,
"Rize has been a great opportunity because now we can leverage and add new courses without needing to expand our costs. We can have the foundation taught in house by our faculty, and we can also add these very major specific classes through Rize."
Assistant Professor of Health and Human Performance Lacey Batt-Peters said, “Rize was kind of our saving grace to be able to start the public health program.” She continues, “every program when you start it up has a lot of requirements. You have to have instructors. You have to have a certain number of students, you have to have space and buildings for it. You have to ask, is this even going to be sustainable? Do we have enough students interested in it to even offer that and hire additional faculty? Rize was able to provide those specialized courses without having to manage additional staffing and without needing additional space on campus.” Building off of early success, Batt-Peters is excited about future growth: ”‘Rize has given us the opportunity to really grow our public health program. This is especially important as the university invests in new facilities to accommodate our growing programs.”
A core ingredient for any successful program is strong demand from current and prospective students. When asked about Rize powered programs, Dr. Caneiro-Livingston remarks:
"They are in very high demand. Many of our business students are either majoring in or deciding to double major in digital marketing, for example. Our sports management students are dying to know more about digital marketing, project management and data analytics, and some of them have decided to double major in these Rize programs."
What’s even more striking to Dr. Caneiro-Livingston is that it’s not just business students who are interested in Rize programs at Nebraska Wesleyan. For example, she describes how history students are now able to pursue the major they love while adding a skill pathway like digital marketing to improve first-job prospects.
Batt-Peters has seen this phenomenon as well: “It really excites me to see students take courses with Rize as electives, because it's just spreading that awareness and knowledge about what public health is and how they can help in their future careers.”
Beyond student interest, a more essential component to a successful program is student satisfaction. Dr.Khanzhyn conducted a survey to measure student satisfaction in Rize courses:
"It was a very simple five question survey. Students gave an average of 4.5/5. For the large majority of students, Rize is working. I hear more and more that students are enjoying the online format because it is easier for their schedules. They have more flexibility. They can fit in their part time jobs, on campus jobs, and all kinds of other activities."
After taking multiple Rize courses, rising junior and public health major Mickey says, “I've really enjoyed Rize courses. They've been really helpful to my major.”
Mady, a rising junior double majoring in business administration and public health, agrees: “My Rize classes have definitely added to my NWU experience. Obviously, they've let me pick up another major that I'm excited about. And they've also given me a lot more flexibility. Having an online class every semester definitely helps with my time management and my scheduling, especially as a member of the soccer team.”
Rising junior and public health major Mickey transferred to NWU from a much bigger school in North Carolina. Combining the personalized attention and community of NWU with the ability to study a specialized field like public health has been a winning combination for Mickey.
Additional praise from students can be found throughout the rigorous student survey and assessment process that NWU and Rize administer together. As one student noted, “The professors are beyond amazing. Even though I took the course asynchronously, it felt like I could contact my professor at any time and expect an email back shortly.” Another student stated simply, “One of the most valuable online courses I've taken.”
Similar to NWU’s own experiential learning emphasis, Rize programs are project-based and provide hands-on experience for real-world application. These projects are designed such that students can easily apply their work to internships and future careers. Mady describes the impact of hands-on experiences in both her NWU and Rize classes:
"I think that post graduation, employers are going to look for the experiences I had. With public health, there's a lot of real life practice that the courses offer. So being able to show future employers that I've had those experiences through Rize and through my courses at Wesleyan, I think that will set me up well."
Jack, a project management minor, is already applying skills developed in his courses to an internship: “I definitely think my NWU and Rize courses have prepared me for the real world. I’m in a real estate internship now, and there are six-month projects where you have to plan on what you're doing. I think the project-based method is a lot more efficient than just taking a test every week.”
Preparation for the real world through Rize extends beyond specific assignments, and even beyond the borders of Nebraska given the mix of students from across the country. Mickey adds, “I like that it gives you the opportunity to learn about other people's perspectives. If you're at a small school, you probably know most of the people in your major already. So getting to know people who have completely different perspectives–maybe because of where they live, the country they're in, the types of schools they've gone to–that's been really cool.”
NWU’s focus on enriching the experience of current students has been instrumental in setting the foundation to recruit and retain students. Consistent with their student-centered approach, NWU has embraced the value of meeting student demand for more academic breadth, flexibility, and career connections. Dr. Caneiro-Livingston: “NWU can present a portfolio of programs that we wouldn't have otherwise. New programs have not only been great to bring in new students, but also to retain current students who decide to change majors.”
When thinking about the future of Rize at NWU, Dr. Khanzhyn comments, “I see our partnership with Rize growing. We have more majors than we anticipated after this first year and quite a few minors, which as I mentioned, just really excites me. We're creating community partnerships as well so our students will be able todo hands-on experiential learning within our community, and then buildup internships throughout the UnitedStates. More and more departments are seeing that the student experience is very good. The students are taking classes. They're liking it. They're choosing it. We don’t have to convince hesitant faculty anymore.”
As a rising senior, Jack concludes:
"My last three years at NWU flew by fast. With the Rize program I've learned a lot, and I feel like I'm ready to enter the real world. If you use that knowledge or do an internship, you're going to leave college with references and background in that industry. Rize and NWU have definitely helped get me to where I’m at now."
Download NWU's story here. If you’re interested in learning more about Nebraska Wesleyan's story or how you can partner with Rize, request a call with our Academic Partnerships Team.
