Lincoln ERA FAQ

ERA is a program that supports the transition to college for engineering and construction management students. We combine a week-long immersion experience (The Bridge) with the Learning Community structure during the academic year (The Experience).

 ERA refreshes students through hands-on activities using concepts needed for college-level Calculus and Chemistry. Students who benefit the most from ERA tend to have taken math through Pre-Calculus but could improve with a refresh on Algebra and Trigonometry concepts before beginning Calculus, as well as Chemistry concepts.

The Bridge program cost is $200 and should be paid online by July 13. This covers your housing costs for 7 days, as well as all meals and activity fees.

 If you are interested in ERA but may need financial support to cover the cost of The Bridge, please contact ERA staff.

 Your September bill will also reflect the standard Learning Community fee of $95. This covers programming costs for monthly events.

Space is limited to 30 students and applications are reviewed at the end of each month. As time goes on, once we hit our maximum capacity, students will be added to the waitlist.

We encourage you to consider and compare the requirements for any programs you are thinking about joining.

For ERA, you must attend the full schedule every day from August 15 through August 21. That means that something like marching band and First Husker would conflict as those also require your participation for full days.

You should also consider what ways these programs will support you and whether you would benefit from that support. We ultimately want to make sure you end up in programs that are a good fit for you.

If you are unsure, reach out to an ERA staff to discuss if it is a good fit for what you want or need.

ERA is a Learning Community which means you must live in Abel Hall if you are a part of ERA. There will be no exceptions.

If you are considering another community that has a residency requirement, you will need to choose just one to participate in, or receive permission from that other community to stay in Abel Hall.

We recommend that you at least begin your housing contract when you apply to ERA. That way, UNL Housing can identify you in their system and get you where you need to be should you fully accept a place in ERA for the year.

You may only request a roommate who will also be in ERA. For example, if you and a friend from high school are both joining ERA and you want to room together, that is completely fine.

 If you meet another engineering student that you’d like to room with and you are determined to join ERA, encourage them to apply, too!

Abel Hall has gender-dynamic flooring which means the floors are not separated by gender.

When the room selection process begins, you can choose any room on the designated ERA floor. The person who chooses the first bed in an empty room will determine the gender of the room.

That means that you may have neighbors on your left who are your same gender, and neighbors on your right that are not.

There is a men’s bathroom at one end of the hall and a women’s bathroom at the other end. 

Anything you were planning to bring to college! You will be moving into your permanent room.

Specifically for The Bridge, you will want to make sure that you have a calculator and a backpack for the week! Some students also bring their laptops throughout the week, although you may not necessarily need them.

First, make sure that you have made arrangements to receive your annual parking permit to park in a student parking lot. That ensures you are covered for when classes begin.

For The Bridge, we will provide you with a temporary parking pass that will cover the days before the annual parking permit’s effective date. You will receive that pass when you check in for move in on August 15^th from ERA staff.

During your New Student Enrollment date, your academic advisor will know that you should be enrolling in specific courses as a part of your ERA Learning Community. They will help make sure that you end up where you need to be!

The Learning Community sections for the Fall cover the following classes:

MATH 106 or MATH 107 : Calculus
CHEM 109 : General Chemistry I
ENGR 10 : Freshman Engineering Seminar

There are a couple of instances where your academic plan does not require you to take the courses that ERA students are enrolling in together -- maybe they aren’t fitting around other classes you need to take, or maybe you don’t need those classes at all!

In those cases, it’s okay to work with your academic advisor to determine if you need to deviate from the courses associated with ERA. There are no penalties for that.

No, you are not beginning the academic semester early. The Bridge will focus on hands-on math and science related activities that will prime your brain for the semester. You won’t be getting academic credit for The Bridge.

You will have until May 1 to submit your acceptance forms for ERA. However, if you make up your mind earlier, we welcome your commitment!

We ask that you let us know as soon as possible. That way, we can offer a spot in ERA to a student who was placed on the waitlist. 

We review applications every month, so you should receive communication via email or phone call within a month or so.

You can send an email to Jayde McWilliams at mcwilliams@unl.edu or give her a call at 402-472-0960.

Move in is on Thursday, August 15^th from 8 AM to 10:45 AM. You only need to arrive in that window and ensure you can make it to the welcome sessions at 11 AM.

Right after move in, there will be welcome sessions for students and parents separately, and then a family lunch all together. After lunch, The Bridge officially begins!

You can see an updated version of the schedule for the week on our website, but here’s a look at what we did last year.

 An average day during The Bridge consists of breakfast at 7 AM, engaging in various hands-on activities to prepare for your first college math class throughout the day, and social activities in the evening.

Any time that is not scheduled is your personal time to do what you wish! In the past, we’ve had students take group trips to Target or Wal-Mart or just hang out as a group to play games, watch movies, or explore campus.