USG NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/college-student-worry-about-debt-but-approve-highe/nXHxF/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium
College students worry about debt, but approve higher fees
BY LAURA DIAMOND – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Talk to Georgia college students and the conversation usually turns to how much debt they will graduate with. They’ll complain about annual tuition increases by the State Board of Regents, which is expected to raise prices again when it meets later this week. They’ll stress over the “special institutional fee” created four years ago to offset state budget cuts. But they’ll rarely bring up the other fees students pay for perks like football teams or stadium improvements. Students, who are asked to vote on these fees before they can go into effect, historically approve them with little consideration to how much it will add to the their bill.

www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-04-12/savannah-state-enters-dozier-era-inauguration#.UWxC6nCTpGM
Savannah State enters Dozier era with inauguration
By MARCUS E. HOWARD
The inauguration of a new president is a grand occasion for a college, which would explain the pomp and circumstance that marked Savannah State University’s ceremony Friday morning. Akin to a commencement, with scholars adorned in black gowns, speeches praising education as life’s true commodity and students anxious for the future, SSU held a full-fledged celebration. A sense of relief and optimism pervaded the event. It was all about Cheryl Dozier, the new president of the university.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/ap/ap/education/department-heads-got-big-raises-in-augusta-merger/nXLXj/
Department heads got big raises in Augusta merger
The Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The merger of two Augusta colleges resulted in big pay raises for some department heads of the new Georgia Regents University. The Augusta Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/111oR3S ) an analysis of salary data obtained under the state Open Records Act shows overall spending on administration declined 2 percent when Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University merged this year. However, many department chairs received raises totaling more than $900,000.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2013-04-12/gru-administration-slightly-smaller-some-are-richer?v=1365860210
GRU administration slightly smaller, but some are richer
By Tom Corwin and Sandy Hodson
Staff Writers
There might be fewer administrators after the consolidation of Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities earlier this year, but many department chairs got big raises in the bargain, according to an analysis by The Augusta Chronicle. Overall spending on administration at Georgia Regents University declined by 2 percent after consolidation compared with the previous two administrations, but many of the department chairs received hefty raises, with one getting a bump of more than $70,000. Overall, more than $900,000 in raises were distributed, about two-thirds of it to former GHSU administrators. About half of the administration, including GRU President Ricardo Azziz, received no raise, and only six faced a pay cut.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/2013-04-13/city-gets-little-response-campus-proposal?v=1365934995
City gets little response to campus proposal
Downtown areas cited in proposal
By Susan McCord
Staff Writer
While it has seen little more than an acknowledgement by Georgia Regents University officials, the city of Augusta has proposed a vast plan to develop the GRU campus into one of the world’s “most iconic, beautiful and innovative,” according to project documents. The plan, presented to the GRU President Ricardo Azziz’s cabinet March 25, calls for a partnership of the city, University System Board of Regents and private industry to develop numerous facilities across Augusta’s urban core, many using existing buildings. Perhaps the most striking aspect of the city’s proposal was its offer of the historic Sibley and King mills – about 1 million square feet on 50 acres – for the campus expansion expected as Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University are consolidated into GRU.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/ugalife/athens/tuition-assistance-for-military-could-face-cuts/article_6e520e74-a452-11e2-9aaf-0019bb30f31a.html
Tuition assistance for military could face cuts
Emily Kopp
A federal program that served as a gateway for several military veterans to begin their academic careers at the University of Georgia could be sacrificed in fiscal tightening as soon as next year.

www.campusprogress.org
http://campusprogress.org/articles/if_you_thought_you_worked_hard_to_get_to_college_think_again/
If You Thought You Worked Hard To Get To College, Think Again
by Daisy Becerra
Surrounded by a crowd of Georgia State University (GSU) students, angry motorists, and officers from the Atlanta Police Department and the Georgia State Police Department, six undocumented youth activists from across the nation dropped a banner from a bridge walkway onto Courtland Street—a busy one-way street in Atlanta. It was April 2011. One of the biggest and most elaborate political actions in the immigrant youth justice movement, the activists protested Georgia’s Board of Regents’ ban of undocumented youth, which barred undocumented residents from the top five competitive universities in the state. They marched around the banner wearing graduation caps—representing the 65,000 undocumented high school graduates living in the United States today.

USG VALUE:
www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/49338/
GSU to host ‘No Impact’ events
Project focusing on environment, sustainability
Special to the Herald
Georgia Southern University’s Center for Sustainability will host a number of events throughout April that are designed to improve and protect the environment and change behavior when it comes to food, energy, water and waste. The focal point is “No Impact Week,” to be held next week.

GOOD NEWS:
www.forbes.com
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/04/12/25-college-diplomas-with-the-highest-pay/
25 College Diplomas With the Highest Pay
Susan Adams, Forbes Staff
Students who recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science are making an average salary of $84,400. Engineering grads from Stanford are earning a bit less, $74,700. The third-highest salary for grads is for nursing school alumni from New York University, at $70,200. These numbers come from a new survey released by NerdWallet, a four-year-old personal finance website based in San Francisco. NerdWallet offers price comparisons for everything from credit cards to airport parking… 12. Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Computing Average salary: $63,500… 16. Georgia Institute of Technology, College of Engineering Average salary: $62,700

RESEARCH:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/sequester-will-force-universities-to-scale-back-sc/nXK9W/
Sequester will force universities to scale back scientific research
By Jim Malewitz
Stateline.org
WASHINGTON — Marian Alicea, an engineering student who is slated to graduate from college this spring, needs a doctorate degree to achieve her lofty career goal of becoming a White House environmental adviser with scientific expertise. But the budget battle in Washington is complicating her plans for getting there. In normal times Alicea, who attends Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, would likely be a shoo-in for a full research stipend. She is an honors student who has snagged several prestigious internships. And as a Latina she belongs to a minority group that is underrepresented among engineers.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-04-13/climate-change-could-hit-atlanta-hardest-uga-research-predicts
Climate change could hit Atlanta hardest, UGA research predicts
By LEE SHEARER
The effects of climate change in Georgia might fall hardest on Atlanta and coastal counties, according to a University of Georgia graduate student’s research.

www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/13/autism-application-faster-diagnosis/2080247/
App aims for faster autism diagnosis
Eugene Scott, The Arizona Republic
Specialists would base diagnosis on videos of children’s behavior uploaded to a website.
Because of a shortage of specialists around the country, it can take as long as six months for parents who suspect their child might have autism to get confirmation and begin treatment. To help with the problem, the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, a Phoenix-based autism research nonprofit, is developing a smartphone application that specialists would use to diagnose autism based on videos of children’s behavior uploaded onto a website… The autism center, which is funding the app development with a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is collaborating with Behavior Imaging Solutions, a Boise, Idaho, medical-technology company, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2013-04-12/ssu-president-lucky-no-13#.UWxIOXCTpGN
SSU president: Lucky No. 13
CONGRATULATIONS ARE in order for Dr. Cheryl Dozier, who was invested Friday as the 13th president of Savannah State University. In this case, 13 appears to be a lucky number for the historically black public university and the larger community. Friday’s dignified investiture ceremony may have been a formality, as Dr. Dozier actually was named president of SSU last May. Before then, she had been on campus for a year, serving as SSU’s interim president. Still, this event was a nice formality. It’s also well-deserved.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/college-offers-route-to-power-future/nXKBH/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium
College offers route to power, future
BY DHATHRI CHUNDURU
Non-educators and educators alike have been spouting something as of late that worries me: that not everyone is meant for college. Short-sighted beliefs that fail to take in the perspective of history and explore the possibilities of the future are depressing. They signify the loss of optimism, the acceptance of the prevailing ideology and the failure to recognize that beliefs are the primary initiator for action and change — not the other way around.

www.nytimes.com

Teachers: Will We Ever Learn?
By JAL MEHTA
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.
IN April 1983, a federal commission warned in a famous report, “A Nation at Risk,” that American education was a “rising tide of mediocrity.” The alarm it sounded about declining competitiveness touched off a tidal wave of reforms: state standards, charter schools, alternative teacher-certification programs, more money, more test-based “accountability” and, since 2001, two big federal programs, No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. But while there have been pockets of improvement, particularly among children in elementary school, America’s overall performance in K-12 education remains stubbornly mediocre.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/04/15/essay-how-technology-and-new-ways-teaching-could-upend-colleges-traditional-models
The Real Precipice
By Richard Holmgren
Although massive open online courses have been gathering substantial recent attention, future histories of education will likely only note them as a harbinger of change or transitional step into an educational model that is organized around learning. In most cases, MOOCs operate on a grand scale but use a traditional form in which a faculty member (or two) is responsible for most aspects of course design, delivery, and assessment.

www.ledger-enquirer.com
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/04/14/2461439/federal-funds-for-early-learning.html
Federal funds for early learning should be easy call
Georgia already has one of the most successful and widely emulated prekindergarten programs in the country. Funded with income from lottery sales, it regularly receives the highest possible ratings in every benchmark of quality. Amid all the distressing news about Georgia’s shortcomings in education, pre-K is something at which this state is measurably and demonstrably excellent. About the only thing wrong with Georgia’s pre-K learning programs is that only a little more than half the state’s eligible children are enrolled in them.

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2013/04/14/2437882/no-safe-zone-for-lawmakers-in.html
No safe zone for lawmakers in gun debate
If the debate over guns and how to control them has any purpose, it shows how our lawmakers can be influenced by public opinion and lobbying. There is intense pressure being applied by both sides of the gun debate. The National Rifle Association is issuing almost daily edicts to its members about this or that lawmaker that’s not being true to the cause, and the NRA is not the only group lobbying for the status quo. Gun Owners of America is gaining influence on Capitol Hill as well. While the money flows, lawmakers’ fingers are in the wind trying to judge where the people who elected them stand on the issues.

www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/gainful-employment-rule-f_b_3084580.html
Gainful Employment Rule for For-Profit Colleges: Eminently Fixable, Eminently Necessary
David Halperin
Attorney, advocate, writer at Republicreport.org
The U.S. Department of Education announced this morning that it will conduct new hearings and rulemaking proceedings on a range of higher education issues, including the contested “gainful employment” rule, which is aimed at curbing the abuses of predatory for-profit colleges.

www.thomastontimes.com
http://www.thomastontimes.com/view/full_story/22226706/article-Stupid-liberal…-arts-degree
Stupid liberal… arts degree
by James Morton
Staff Writer
We need to make Spanish America’s official language. Now hold on, I don’t say this for any political reason. I promise it’s completely selfish. I can’t pass the nine more credit hours of Spanish needed for the foreign language portion of my degree, therefore, we need to just go ahead and make Spanish the official language of these United States of America. The Georgia Board of Regents requires that all persons graduating with a Baccalaureate of Arts degree must have twelve hours of a foreign language.

Education News
www.ajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/emory-faculty-vote-shows-support-for-wagner/nXLWK/
Emory faculty vote shows support for Wagner
BY LAURA DIAMOND – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Emory University faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences rejected a motion of no confidence in President James Wagner. Some faculty have concerns with Wagner’s communication style and leadership decisions and have questioned whether he is fit to run the respected private institution. That group was in the minority.

Related article:
www.insidehighered.com
Emory Faculty Rejects Motion of No Confidence in President
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/04/15/emory-faculty-rejects-motion-no-confidence-president

www.forsythnews.com
http://www.forsythnews.com/section/3/article/17644/
Two measures provide boost to colleges
GPA adjustment; scholarships kept
By Jennifer Sami
Staff Writer
Technical college students and aspiring military personnel are among the winners of this year’s legislative session. Two measures, both still awaiting the governor’s signature, are providing more opportunities and financial assistance to students. The first is the fiscal year 2014 budget, which was originally expected to cut funding for military scholarships. The second lowers the grade-point average requirement for technical college students to qualify for the HOPE grant to 2.0 from 3.0.

www.mercurynews.com
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_23019560/culinary-programs-at-community-colleges-explode-popularity-thanks
Culinary programs at community colleges explode in popularity thanks to TV chefs
By Rob Kuznia, Staff Writer
It was 2006 when the pilot episode of “Top Chef” aired. At the time, the now-overcrowded culinary arts program at Los Angeles Harbor College in Wilmington didn’t exist. The three-story, $40 million culinary arts complex at Los Angeles Mission College in the San Fernando Valley was but a blueprint. Nationwide enrollment at a group of 17 for-profit culinary schools owned by the company Career Education Corp. had yet to explode. Is there a link between the blazing-hot popularity of food TV – led by “Top Chef” – and the booming market for culinary arts classes? Students and instructors alike say without a doubt.

www.covnews.com
http://www.covnews.com/section/1/article/39752/
Bioscience center in Stanton Springs
By Gabriel Khouli
The state is in negotiations to purchase 6.7 acres of property in Stanton Springs industrial park to build the previously-promised $14 million Georgia BioScience Training Center. The 48,000 square-foot training facility was part of the state’s incentive package for Baxter International’s $1 billion medical manufacturing campus in Stanton Springs and will be used to train not only Baxter employees but workers for other facilities around the state. The project is a collaboration between the Technical College System of Georgia and Georgia Quick Start, the state’s workforce training program.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/52609/
Advocates Say Ethnic Studies Misunderstood, Needlessly Under Fire
by Tina A. Brown
Ron Scapp, president of the National Association for Ethnic Studies, exited the airplane headed to his annual board meeting last Thursday in Fort Collins, Colo., ready to galvanize ethnic studies program chairs from colleges across the country. He said he felt a sense of urgency because there were too many headlines in the news recently that might have detrimental consequences for ethnic studies programs across the board.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/15/conference-highlights-culture-and-language-obstacles-higher-ed-reform
Reframing the Conversation
By Carl Straumsheim
NEW YORK — It’s a cliff! It’s a tsunami! No, it’s the future of higher education, say grant recipients of the Teagle Foundation, who warn that language framing the discussion in a negative light is impeding efforts to change academe to fit the 21st century. The debate was on display here last week as the foundation, which supports undergraduate education in arts and sciences, invited nine grant recipients to discuss how institutions can take innovative teaching technologies and research on cognitive science to change how their faculty spend their time in the classroom.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/15/video-instructor-usc-sets-controversy-context-missing
The Video and the Context
By Scott Jaschik
Video of instructor at U. of Southern California bashing Republicans in class goes viral and is cited as evidence of liberal indoctrination. But critics don’t mention that he was hired as adjunct for program that seeks partisans — liberals and conservatives alike.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/04/15/recent-incidents-point-challenges-community-colleges-facing-safety-issues
Threats at Community Colleges
By Scott Jaschik
The 2007 mass killings at Virginia Tech continue to define for many the risk of violence in higher education. In an earlier generation, the relevant incident might be the deadly shooting in 1966 from the tower at the University of Texas at Austin. Much of the discussion about these tragedies and efforts to protect students assumes that campuses are residential, serve traditional-age undergraduates and have significant resources for counseling and identifying students who may be a danger.

www.news.yahoo.com
http://news.yahoo.com/state-dropping-ged-test-price-spikes-163012139.html
Some state dropping GED as test price spikes
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Several dozen states are looking for an alternative to the GED high school equivalency test because of concerns that a new version coming out next year is more costly and will no longer be offered in a pencil and paper format. The responsibility for issuing high school equivalency certificates or diplomas rests with states, and they’ve relied on the General Education Development exam since soon after the test was created to help returning World War II veterans. But now 40 states and the District of Columbia are participating in a working group that’s considering what’s available besides the GED, and two test makers are hawking new exams.

www.ledger-enquirer.com
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2013/04/13/2463312/state-moves-toward-standardized.html
State moves toward standardized teacher evaluations
Georgia will implement new system by 2014-15 school year if Deal signs law
By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY — Associated Press
ATLANTA — Georgia is moving forward with a plan to standardize annual evaluations for teachers and principals based, in part, on student performance. A pilot program launched a few years ago with federal funds will serve as a roadmap for districts after the General Assembly in recent weeks passed legislation approving the statewide plan. Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign the bill into law, and state education officials are working with local districts to prepare for the new system, to be implemented in every district by the 2014-15 school year.

Related article:
www.accessnorthga.com
Ga. moves toward standardized teacher evaluations
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=260448

www.statesboroherald.com
Testing teachers
Standardized evaluations will consider student performance as criteria
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/49358/