History
Public Release for A Tale of Two Readers Story
The second scrollytelly story, "A Tale of Two Readers", is released to the public.
News Release for Data Brief on Timely Employment in Nebraska
The third data brief product is released to the public on the topic of Timely Employment in Nebraska.
Release of Employment Gap Products
NSWERS releases its eighth and final outcome suite of products, for Employment Gap, on insights+. These products show the difference between the number of open jobs and the number of graduates prepared to fill those jobs.
Launch of insights+ Digital Certification
NSWERS launches its digital certification application on the insights+ platform, for all partner institutions.
News Release for Data Brief on Early Reading Proficiency in Nebraska
The second data brief product is released to the public on the topic of Early Reading Proficiency in Nebraska.
News Release for Data Brief on Talent Retention in Nebraska
The first data brief product is released to the public on the topic of Talent Retention in Nebraska.
Release of Industry Placement Products
NSWERS releases its seventh outcome suite of products, for Industry Placement, on insights+. These products show the industries in which employees attain employment.
Expanded NSWERS Information and Research Agenda
An expanded Information and Research Agenda is adopted by the NSWERS Executive Council detailing questions to be addressed by the NSWERS data system and how data elements will be used for analysis.
Release of Postsecondary Graduation Products
NSWERS releases its sixth outcome suite of products, for Postsecondary Graduation, on insights+. These products show the percentage of students who graduate from a postsecondary institution.
News Release for ACT and College Going in Nebraska Story
The first "scrollytelly" story is released to the public on the topic of ACT and College Going in Nebraska.
News Release for Dual Enrollment Special Report V1.1
NSWERS releases version 1.1 of its special report on dual enrollment to the press. The news release highlights the comprehensive exploration of dual enrollment in Nebraska, an increasingly popular educational pathway across the state.
Release of Time to Employment Products
NSWERS releases its fifth outcome suite of products, for Time to Employment, on insights+. These products show how long it takes for Nebraska public school graduates to obtain employment.
Single Sign-on Integration
Completed testing and implementation of single sign-on integration for insights+ with all individual partner institutions and organizations.
NSWERS Fourth Advisory Committee Meeting
The fourth NSWERS Advisory Committee meeting was held to review the Dual Enrollment Special Report and the Employment Location Brief.
Public Release of Dual Enrollment Special Report V1.0
NSWERS releases its first-ever special report on dual enrollment. This report highlights the differences between students who participate in dual enrollment and those who do not.
Release of NSWERS Data Briefs
NSWERS releases its newest products; data briefs for Employment Location (Talent Retention) and Early Reading Proficiency.
NSWERS – Department of Labor Data Revised Exchange Agreement
A revised agreement to exchange data between the Nebraska Department of Labor and NSWERS is completed.
Release of Postsecondary Persistence Products
NSWERS releases its fourth outcome suite of products, for Postsecondary Persistence, on insights+. These products show which Nebraska public students remain in public postsecondary institutions.
Release of High School Graduation Products
NSWERS releases its third outcome suite of products, for High School Graduation, on insights+. These products show data for Nebraska public high school students who graduate in four years or more.
NSWERS Third Advisory Committee Meeting
The third NSWERS Advisory Committee meeting was held to review organizational progress to-date and to solicit feedback on the design and development of NSWERS data products.
Release of Employment Location Products
NSWERS releases its second outcome suite of products, for Employment Location, on insights+. These products show where Nebraska public students work after formal education.
Release of ACT and College Going in Nebraska Story
The first "scrollytelly" story is released to the NSWERS Executive Council on the priority topic of ACT and College Going in Nebraska.
Further Enhanced Data Sharing Agreements
NSWERS secures signed data sharing agreements revised to accommodate v1.2 data collection from each NSWERS partner organization.
Release of College Going Products
NSWERS releases its first outcome suite of products, for College Going, on insights+. College Going products show data and analysis for Nebraska public high school graduates who attend a Nebraska public two-year or four-year institution.
Launch of insights+
The secure web platform insights+ is released. insights+ allows NSWERS' partners access to cutting-edge data and research products for all of NSWERS Six Stages of Analysis™.
Release V1.2.0 Data File Specifications
NSWERS releases version 1.2.0 of its Data File Specs which define and describe the K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data elements collected by the NSWERS data system and define validation rules for data quality.
Release of Data Work Group Summary
NSWERS releases a Work Group Summary document detailing the background, process, key insights, and future options produced by stakeholders during a series of data work group meetings held throughout the fall 2022.
NSWERS Second Advisory Committee Meeting
The second NSWERS Advisory Committee meeting was held to review organizational progress to-date and to solicit feedback on the design and development of the insights+ web platform.
Introduction of NSWERS insights+
NSWERS staff introduce the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) version of insights+ to the NSWERS Executive Council. Additionally, preliminary analyses for the first of eight NSWERS outcomes – College Going – was unveiled along with its corresponding data products.
NSWERS Work Groups
Members of two data work groups, the PK-12 Records Linking Work Group and the Workforce Data Work Group, convene to focus on closing the gap between Nebraska’s education and workforce information needs and the availability of data.
NSWERS Data Collection, Version 1
This first official (non-POC) NSWERS data collection includes a 10-year tranche of historical student data from academic school years ending 2012-2021. Corresponding employment data for these students is matched (where available) back to 2009 in concert with the NDoL.
Enhanced Data Sharing Agreements
NSWERS secures signed data sharing agreements revised to accommodate v1.0 data collection from each NSWERS partner organization (no agreement with Central Community College).
NSWERS Information and Research Agenda
The Information and Research Agenda is developed to provide an overview of the information and research questions to be addressed by the NSWERS data system and how data elements will be used for analysis.
Release V1.0 Data File Specifications
NSWERS releases version 1 of its Data File Specs which define and describe the K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data elements collected by the NSWERS data system and define validation rules for data quality.
Launch of NSWERS Advisory Committee
The purpose of the committee is to make recommendations concerning the strategic direction of NSWERS, provide insight into the information agenda and related data products and services, and to contribute subject-matter expertise for NSWERS’ analytic activities.
Legislative Bill 1130: The NSWERS Annual Report
Signed into law by Governor Ricketts, this bill requires the filing of an annual report with the Clerk of the Legislature and the Governor, providing an overview of NSWERS’ research and analysis, additional data needs for future analysis, and organizational structure needs.
NSWERS Data and Technology Committee
Data and Technology Committee members from NSWERS’ partner institutions meet to provide input and feedback into the design and implementation of the NSWERS data elements and specifications.
Proof-of-Concept Data Viz Release
The Proof-of-Concept (POC) Data Viz presents results of a pilot project (using data from the 2011 Nebraska high school cohort). The project was designed to support the development of policies, processes, procedures, and technologies for data collection and data sharing among NSWERS, its partners, and affiliates.
NSWERS Strategic Approach and Plan
The NSWERS Executive Council adopts the two-year Strategic Approach and Plan, a comprehensive set of goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics designed to drive the successful launch of NSWERS.
NSWERS Staff Hired
NSWERS develops and implements a two-tiered organization hiring plan for necessary skills. The first tier is complete with the hiring of four professionals to fill core staffing needs.
Data Sharing Agreements for Proof-of-Concept
Data sharing agreements are signed to govern the exchange, maintenance, and disclosure of education information among NSWERS and its partners for the proof-of-concept data project.
NSWERS – Department of Labor Data Exchange Agreement
As directed by LB 1160, an agreement to exchange data between the Nebraska Department of Labor and NSWERS was signed.
NSWERS Leadership Hired
The founding Executive Director is hired to launch NSWERS. The Executive Director is tasked with establishing core operational capacities, building a team of dedicated NSWERS staff, and creating the procedural and technical structures necessary for the creation and maintenance of the NSWERS data system.
Legislative Bill 1160: The NSWERS Act
This bill provides legislative direction for the development of NSWERS as a comprehensive, sustainable, and robust lifelong learning and workforce longitudinal data system serving the needs of the people of Nebraska. The bill also directs the Nebraska Department of Labor (NDoL) to execute a memorandum of understanding with NSWERS to ensure the exchange of available data.
Legal Formation as an Interlocal Entity
The NSWERS partners complete the legal formation of NSWERS as an interlocal public entity under the Nebraska Interlocal Cooperation Act for their mutual advantage regarding data initiatives.
NSWERS Proposal to Nebraska Education Leaders
The NSWERS proposal was provided to Nebraska's educational leaders as a roadmap for the organization and governance of NSWERS. The proposal outlined a sample organization and governance processes to manage the use, structure, support, and maintenance of the NSWERS data system to produce reports and research to inform policymakers and educators.
Data Sharing Memorandum of Understanding Signed
As directed by LB 1071, an agreement to share student data related to public pre-K, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education was signed by the Nebraska's public education entities (PK-12 and higher education).
Legislative Bill 1071: Student Data Sharing Agreement
This bill directs the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska State Board of Education, the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges, and the Board of Governors for each community college area (collectively, “NSWERS partners”) to adopt a policy to share student data.
Legislative Bill History
LB 1130 (2022)
Legislative Bill 1130 was signed by Governor Pete Ricketts on April 19, 2022. LB 1130 requires the filing of an annual report with the Clerk of the Legislature and the Governor, providing an overview of research and analysis conducted by NSWERS, additional data needs for future analysis, and organizational structure needs.
LB 1160 (2020)
Signed into law by Governor Pete Ricketts on August 10, 2020, Legislative Bill 1160 – known as the Nebraska Statewide Workforce and Education Reporting System Act (2020) – supports the continued planning and development of NSWERS, envisioned as a comprehensive, sustainable, and robust lifelong learning and workforce longitudinal data system serving the needs of the people of Nebraska. Further, the bill directs the Nebraska Department of Labor to execute a memorandum of understanding with NSWERS to ensure the exchange of available data from the Nebraska Department of Labor.
LB 1071 (2010)
NSWERS has its roots in Legislative Bill 1071 enacted by the One Hundred First Legislature, Second Session, signed into law by Governor Dave Heineman on April 14, 2010. This bill directs the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska, the Nebraska State Board of Education, the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges, and the Board of Governors for each community college area to adopt a policy to share student data. The resulting Memorandum of Understanding established an agreement “to share student data for the purposes of evaluation of and research related to public prekindergarten, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education to improve education in Nebraska.”
In the fall of 2019, these partners advanced this cooperation and completed the legal formation of the NSWERS as a joint public entity under the Nebraska Interlocal Cooperation Act for mutual advantage regarding data initiatives.