GOOD NEWS:
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-02-27/uga-makes-daily-beast-list-amazing-schools
UGA makes Daily Beast list of ‘amazing’ schools
A news website associated with the Newsweek online magazine has named the University of Georgia to its list of “25 Colleges You Haven’t Considered But Should.” …According to the website, the music scene in Athens is an “overlooked merit” of attending UGA.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-02-27/massive-online-courses-not-uga-may-be-coming
Massive online courses not at UGA, but may be coming
By LEE SHEARER
So-called “massive online open courses” are having a big impact on higher education, according to speakers on the new kind of college course, called MOOCs for short. …UGA so far doesn’t offer any MOOCs, which typically don’t require participants to actually register as students and can generate enrollments into the tens of thousands. But that might soon change.

www.mdjonline.com
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/21836531/article-KSU-dedicates-juvenile-justice-program-center?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
KSU dedicates juvenile justice program center
by Lindsay Field
It was fitting that Kennesaw State University’s Center for Sustainable Journalism, which focuses on juvenile justice issues, dedicated its new facility Wednesday morning. Georgia first lady Sandra Deal, who attended the ceremony, chose February as the month when she and Gov. Nathan Deal would concentrate on juvenile justice problems.

USG NEWS:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/sports/college/asu/2013-02-27/altered-photos-erase-augusta-state-gru-publication?v=1362019244
Altered photos erase Augusta State from GRU publication
By Steve Crawford
Staff Writer
Call it the case of the disappearing logos. Georgia Regents University officials distanced themselves Wednesday from what they said was an “error in judgment” for altered photos in a new publication that touts Augusta State University’s athletic traditions while erasing the former school’s name and insignias from team uniforms.

www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/ggc-food-court-receives-rating-after-re-inspection/nWb7r/
GGC food court receives A rating after re-inspection
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The food court at a Gwinnett County college is back in good standing after a new inspection by the health department. …Health inspectors went back to the college Wednesday and gave the food court an A.

USG VALUE:
www.thebrunswicknews.com
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/open_access/local_news/PARTNERSHIP-022813-hr-bh#
College strikes partnership with FLETC
By SARAH LUNDGREN The Brunswick News
The College of Coastal Georgia and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center have formed a partnership that will especially benefit the men and women who enforce the nation’s laws. Students at the law enforcement training center will now be able to receive college credit for some of the extensive training they undergo.

Related article:
www.jacksonville.com
FLETC trainees can earn college credit under pact with College of Coastal Georgia
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2013-02-27/story/fletc-trainees-can-earn-college-credit-under-pact-college-coastal

www.times-georgian.com
http://www.times-georgian.com/view/full_story/21835436/article-UWG-study–Government-regulations-hurt-small-banks?instance=TG_home_story_offset
UWG study: Government regulations hurt small banks
by Haisten Willis/The Villa Rica
Villa Rica’s Community Bank of West Georgia is one of nearly a hundred small Georgia banks which closed in the wake of the late-2000s financial crisis. The bank shuts its doors for good in 2009, eliminating jobs and hurting the city’s tax base. A new study from the University of West Georgia’s Center for Business and Economic Research finds that government regulations placed on community banks just before the crisis might have speeded their decline.

RESEARCH:
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/02/gru-does-hypertension-research.html
GRU does hypertension research
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer-Atlanta Business Chronicle
Genetics and demographics likely put you at risk for salt-sensitive hypertension, and Georgia Research University scientists are looking for a way to protect you. The concept is that free radicals in the kidney prompt the organ to hold onto sodium rather than eliminate excess through urination. Excess sodium, in turn, increases free radical production, said Dr. Paul O’Connor, a hypertension researcher at GRU.

www.cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/tech/battery-free-mobile-phones/index.html
Smartphone power struggles: Will we ever have battery-free mobiles?
By Barry Neild, CNN
Mobile phones may be getting smarter, faster and more capable, but when their batteries run out just hours after you charged them, you’d be better off with a piece of string stretched between two empty soup cans. With battery performance becoming an obsession for many smartphone users, the race is on to innovate ways of prolonging power to ensure that juice-guzzling devices can stay the course. The good news is that scientists say that they are on track to create power cells that may rarely need charging — or even phones that have no need batteries. The bad news is that these may be several years away… But one team from the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a new technique that uses bodily movement, such as footfalls, to generate static electricity that can then be harnessed in quantities that could viably charge larger devices.

www.gigaom.com
http://gigaom.com/2013/02/26/a-startup-quietly-delivers-smart-wires-to-big-power-players/
A startup quietly delivers smart wires to big power players
by Katie Fehrenbacher
Out of the hundreds of energy innovations on display this week at the annual ARPA-E Summit just outside of Washington D.C., it’s been rare to find a group actually selling and shipping products. But a startup out of Oakland, Calif. called Smart Wire Grid has quietly begun delivering devices that clamp onto transmission lines and control the flow of power, and it has scored some of the bigger names in the power company business. In a few weeks Smart Wire Grid plans to install its devices on the lines of power giant Southern Company, following a pilot installation of 99 of its devices on the lines of the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority… Smart Wire Grid, which is utilizing technology developed at Georgia Tech, was able to score a $4 million grant from ARPA-E for the pilot project with TVA.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/bill-to-change-hope-grant-passes-first-subcommitte/nWbbS/#
Bill to change HOPE Grant passes first subcommittee
By Laura Diamond
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A bill that would allow more Georgia technical college students to qualify for the HOPE Grant passed a House budget subcommittee for higher education Wednesday morning.

www.mdjonline.com
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/21828911/article-State-Representative-Matt-Dollar-promotes-HOPE-bill?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
State Representative Matt Dollar promotes HOPE bill
by Marietta Daily Journal Staff
State Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) introduced a bill Tuesday that would remove the new requirement that HOPE scholars have to fill out the lengthy and invasive Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. “This change will make the process much easier for HOPE scholars and their families,” said Dollar.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/debate-over-gun-proposals-rages-across-state/nWcWg/
Debate over gun proposals rages across state
By Kristina Torres
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Newtown school massacre has provoked fiery debates at the federal and state levels on whether to scale back the rights of gun owners. But in Georgia, the focus isn’t entirely on curtailing gun rights. Many of the more than two dozen gun bills filed so far in the General Assembly are pushing for expanded access to firearms across the Peach State.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.economix.blogs.nytimes.com

Putting a Number on Federal Education Spending
By JASON DELISLE
Jason Delisle is the director of the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama proposed to expand access to preschool, but offered few details on how much money the federal government would contribute. When the White House eventually releases that figure, everyone will want to know how it stacks up against what the federal government already spends on education each year. The trouble is, that number is tough to pin down.

Education News
www.online.wjs.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323699704578328553838680338.html
Big Real-Estate Firms Are Going to School
Developers Test the Market for Off-Campus College Housing; Amenities Include Tanning Beds and Resort-Style Pools
By DAWN WOTAPKA
Housing for college students, long dominated by small players willing to put up with beer pong and raucous parties, is attracting some of the biggest names in real-estate development.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/28/report-recommends-steps-alleviate-student-debt
Report Recommends Steps to Alleviate Student Debt
Colleges and universities should be allowed to set borrowing limits for students lower than the cost of attendance, and underwriting standards should be tightened for Parent PLUS loans, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators recommended in a report released today.

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/27/college-financial-aid-misuse/1950401/
Many students use college aid for unnecessary items
Phil Dunn, The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post
Some irresponsible spenders fall to temptation of using excess cash for personal use.
CHERRY HILL, N.J. — Each year, billions of dollars in financial aid funds are released by federal and state agencies to college students nationwide. The intricate funding system fueled by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has been a savior for economically distressed students, but the sudden windfall can also be tempting for irresponsible spenders.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/28/carnegie-mellons-online-efforts-include-spinoffs-and-subsidiaries-not-moocs
The MOOC-Averse Technology U.
By Ry Rivard
While other universities move quickly to offer courses online for free, Carnegie Mellon University is instead starting for-profit efforts designed to capture segments of the education market.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/28/mount-sinai-rethinks-medical-school-admissions
Med School Without the MCAT
By Zack Budryk
In a major policy shift, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Wednesday announced that it will fill half of its entering class going forward by admitting college sophomores — three years before they would enroll in medical school — and will do so without requiring traditional pre-med course requirements and the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

Related article:
www.cchronicle.com
In Medical School’s New Admissions Program, Mandarin Counts More Than MCAT Score
http://chronicle.com/article/In-Medical-Schools-New/137605/

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/28/spot-checks-classes-unc-chapel-hill-are-real
Spot Checks That Classes at UNC-Chapel Hill Are Real
Many faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill remain embarrassed by a recent scandal involving “no show” classes in which students — many of them athletes — were receiving credit for courses that didn’t require anything.

www.cchronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/To-Foster-Financial-Literacy/137581/
To Foster Financial Literacy, Students Need More Than Information, Report Says
By Beckie Supiano
Offering students financial-literacy training has become a popular way for colleges to respond to worries about both the weak economy and students’ ability to manage their loans. It’s easy to think of such programs primarily as ways to transmit knowledge to students. But for financial-literacy training to work, it must also tackle students’ attitudes and behaviors, says a report released on Wednesday.

Related article:
www.insidehighered.com
Report Calls for Mandatory Financial Literacy Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/28/report-calls-mandatory-financial-literacy-education

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/28/former-penn-admissions-officer-derided-applicants-facebook
When Not to Share
By Carl Straumsheim
A former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer’s habit of mocking prospective students online has led to renewed calls for stricter guidelines on how university employees should conduct themselves on social media websites.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/28/study-finds-brick-countries-spending-research-increasing-not-always-aligned
Research Mismatch
By Paul Jump for Times Higher Education
Soaring research spending, output and innovation in several of the so-called BRICK countries does not always capitalize on those nations’ strongest areas of research, a report suggests.

www.floridatrend.com
http://www.floridatrend.com/article/15329/job-no-1-education
Job No. 1: Education
High on Senate President Don Gaetz’s agenda: Education reforms aimed at improving job prospects for students.
Amy Keller
During the six years that they ran the Okaloosa County school system, Don Gaetz and Frank Fuller engineered a dramatic overhaul of the 30,000-student district. FCAT scores and graduation rates rose, and the western Panhandle district became a model for other Florida school districts. Nearly a decade later in Tallahassee, the two are back together — working on what Gaetz, the new Senate president, calls a “bold but very sensible” agenda of statewide educational reforms that they believe will improve students’ job prospects and boost the state’s economic competitiveness.
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