UNIVERSITY SYSTEM – GOOD NEWS
Regents pick president for Fort Valley State
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/regents-pick-president-for-fort-valley-state/nYRXx/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 21, 2013
The State Board of Regents on Friday unanimously selected a new president for Fort Valley Sate University. Ivelaw Griffith, the provost at York College of the City University of New York, will begin July 22. He was the sole finalist for the job and will be the college’s ninth president. The current president, Larry Rivers, will step down June 30. Kimberly Ballard-Washington will serve as interim president until Griffith arrives on campus. She serves as the assistant vice chancellor for legal affairs for the University System of Georgia.
New president for Fort Valley State University
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/21/new-president-fort-valley-state-university/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 21, 2013
GET SCHOOLED – with Maureen Downey
From the Board of Regents: Dr. Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith, provost and senior vice president at York College of the City University of New York, has been named as the ninth president of Fort Valley State University by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The Board’s vote was unanimous.
Griffith Named Next President of Fort Valley State
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54122/
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
June 23, 2013
[from the Associated Press]ATLANTA — The Board of Regents has voted to select Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith as the next president of Fort Valley State University in middle Georgia. Griffith is currently the provost and senior vice president at York College of the City University of New York. He was the sole finalist, and the board’s vote on Friday was unanimous.
Ivelaw Griffith named next FVSU president
http://www.macon.com/2013/06/21/2527319/ivelaw-griffith-named-next-fvsu.html
Macon Telegraph
June 21, 2013
By Jennifer Burk
Ivelaw Griffith, the provost and senior vice president at York College of the City University of New York, was named president of Fort Valley State University on Friday. “Dr. Griffith was the outstanding candidate,” Board of Regents Chairman Dink NeSmith said in a news release. “He has this board’s full support to provide the leadership Fort Valley State University needs at this moment.
Griffith named next president of Fort Valley State
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-06-21/griffith-named-next-president-fort-valley-state
Athens Banner Herald
June 21, 2013
[from the Associated Press]ATLANTA — The Board of Regents has voted to select Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith as the next president of Fort Valley State University in middle Georgia. Griffith is currently the provost and senior vice president at York College of the City University of New York. He was the sole finalist, and the board’s vote on Friday was unanimous.
Griffith named next president of Fort Valley State University
http://www.newscentralga.com/news/local/Griffith-named-next-president-of-Fort-Valley-State-University-212522791.html
Fox24 TV
June 21, 2013
ATLANTA (AP) – The Board of Regents has voted to select Ivelaw Lloyd Griffith as the next president of Fort Valley State University in middle Georgia.
Crossing U.S. 80 a treacherous trip for Savannah nesting turtles
http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-06-23/crossing-us-80-treacherous-trip-savannah-nesting-turtles#.Uci68D7wK5F
Savannahnow (Savannah Morning News)
June 23, 2013
By Mary Landers
…Started and still run by Armstrong Atlantic State University alumnus Jordan Gray, who’s now a keeper at the Houston Zoo, the TERPS network brings together students and professionals to protect and study diamondback terrapins. [LINK INCLUDES VIDEO CONTENT]
Georgia Southern University receives EPA grant
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-06-21/georgia-southern-university-receives-epa-grant
Athens Banner Herald
June 21, 2013
[From the Associated Press]
STATESBORO, Ga. — A team of students from Georgia Southern University has earned an award of up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said Friday the nine School of Engineering students received the People, Prosperity, Planet (P3) Award for its work on designing a diesel engine that has even lower emissions. The EPA says the money will be used to further develop the team’s design.
Georgia State Archives to be moved July 1
http://cherokeetribune.com/bookmark/22952039-Georgia-News-Roundup
The Cherokee Tribune
June 21, 2013
ATLANTA (AP) — University System of Georgia officials say the state’s archive collection is being moved and a funding increase is expected to translate to an increase in service. Officials said Thursday that the archives will be moved from the Secretary of State’s office July 1 to the Board of Regents office, and the move comes with a $300,000 budget increase.
State Archives to Join University System
http://www.coosavalleynews.com/np103010.htm
Coosa Valley News
June 22, 2013
Georgia’s Archives will have a new home as of July 1, with the official transfer of the agency from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office to the Board of Regents. Along with the move comes a budget increase of $300,000 for the new fiscal year that will be used to expand operations and improve public access to the State Archives. The additional funds will be used to hire three professionals and increase part-time staff hours.
Quebec Delegate Praises Georgia Ties at ‘National Day’ Celebration
http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/26340/quebec-delegate-praises-georgia-ties-at-national-day-celebration
Global Atlanta
June 21, 2013
The ties between Georgia and Quebec including a new agreement between Montreal and Atlanta were celebrated June 21 during a “national day” reception of the Quebec Trade Office. Joane Boyer, Quebec’s delegate to the Southeast who assumed her post in February of last year, made light of the three-day hiatus between the reception and the official June 24 holiday… The collaboration with the Montreal Botanical Garden “goes both ways,” she added, because 19 plant sculptures based on designs from previous Mosaiculture competitions are currently on display at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. She also pointed to academic collaborations between the Georgia Institute of Technology where professors have received separate grants from Quebec to study photonics and to compare immigration policies between the province and the U.S.
Miss Atlanta wins Miss Georgia pageant
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local/miss-atlanta-wins-miss-georgia-pageant/nYSdn/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 23, 2013
Miss Atlanta, Carly M. Mathis, 22, won Miss Georgia 2013 in Columbus on Saturday. Mathis, of Leesburg, won a $15,000 scholarship and will represent Georgia in the Miss America pageant. Miss Cobb County, Maggie Bridges, 20, of Brinson was the third runner-up and won a $3,500 scholarship. Bridges is a biochemistry major at Georgia Tech. She was one of four Tech students competing in the Miss Georgia Pageant, but the only one who placed.
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM – NEWS
Report slams teacher prep in Georgia
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/51072/
Statesboro Herald
June 22, 2013
By Jason Wermers
A national report released last week slams the vast majority of teacher preparation programs across the country, including in Georgia and specifically at Georgia Southern University. Leaders of teacher prep programs fired back quickly — in some cases, even before the report was released — criticizing the National Council on Teacher Quality’s heavy reliance on syllabi and course documentation and lack of on-site program evaluation.
Study says VSU’s education programs don’t make grade
http://valdostadailytimes.cnhi.newsmemory.com/publink.php?shareid=0480b992b
The Valdosta Times
June 23, 2013
By Kristin Finney
VALDOSTA — Findings recently released by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) have many Americans concerned about the education the nations K-12 educators are receiving during college. Of the 594 elementary education programs that were scored in this study, only 53 of the programs scored better than ‘mediocre,’ which means at least two stars on a four star system.
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM – RESEARCH
Earth ‘Surrounded by Bacteria Bubble’
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/21/bacteria-bubble-earth_n_3477307.html
Huffington Post
June 21, 2013
Planet Earth is surrounded by a bubble of live bacteria scientists have found. According to a report by Popular Science the colonies of bacteria live at about 33,000 feet – roughly the cruising height of a passenger jet. But while it might sound strange, it appears the phenomenon is a crucial part of the ecosystem in which we all live. Scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology found that despite the atmosphere at that height being relatively thin, lacking in oxygen, freezing cold and high in UV radiation, bacteria are able to happily survive at that height.
UGA study shows civic engagement low in Georgia communities
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-06-21/uga-study-shows-civic-engagement-low-georgia-communities
Athens Banner-Herald
June 21, 2013
A new report reveals that Georgia communities exhibit lower levels of civic engagement than the national average. The Georgia Civic Health Index, which was prepared by the University of Georgia Carl Vinson Institute of Government in collaboration with GeorgiaForward, the Georgia Family Connection Partnership, the National Conference on Citizenship and a number of community foundations, presents the results of a study that measured the degree to which citizens participate in their communities.
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM – VALUE
Clayton State wraps up summer business academy
http://www.henryherald.com/news/2013/jun/22/clayton-state-wraps-summer-business-academy/
The Henry Daily Herald
June 22, 2013
MORROW — The College of Business at Clayton State University has wrapped up its annual Summer Entrepreneurship and Business Academy for high school students. The weeklong, overnight academy was designed to help prepare young people for life in the business world after high school.
OPINION/EDITORIALS/COLUMNS/BLOGS & ESSAYS
School board chairman on right track with online resources focus
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/22965287/article-School-board-chairman-on-right-track-with-online-resources-focus?instance=lead_story_left_column
OPINION – Marietta Daily Journal
June 23, 2013
By Don McKee
Controversy over Common Core national education standards in Cobb County revolves around the issues of local control and costs.
Where are the Savings?
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2013/06/24/essay-sees-missing-savings-georgia-techs-much-discussed-mooc-based-program
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Christopher Newfield
Love MOOCs or hate them, there’s something to disappoint everyone in the Udacity/Georgia Tech services contract amendments that Inside Higher Ed’s Ry Rivard obtained through a public records request.
Tenure of University Presidents
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/world-view/tenure-university-presidents
Inside Higher Education
June 23, 2013
By Andres Bernasconi
In the U.S. university presidents are serving longer (8.5 years on average) and into older age: 49 percent are now older than 60 years of age, compared to 14 percent 20 years ago. In this regard, the US is an anomaly since presidents serve at the discretion of their boards and can remain in office longer than presidents elected by the professoriate (the traditional European model) whose tenures are usually limited in length by regulation, internal politics, or national changes in government.
What Counts?
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/university-venus/what-counts
Inside Higher Education
June 23, 2013
By Janine Utell
…Some of us might push back — a little or a lot — against productivity measures that seek to weigh the work faculty do; this move in Texas is one example of thinking about productivity that makes me uncomfortable. I worry over people in and out of academia thinking our work can be measured by overly simple metrics, that my version of productivity doesn’t look like the bean counters’. The ways work gets measured in universities in the UK, particularly the Research Excellence Framework, are also cause for concern, as outlined in this piece. Keith Thomas describes the case of a faculty member who published an important book, the work of years of scholarship, only to find it counted less because it was only one (potentially magisterial) study. Why didn’t he break it up into four discrete publications?
10 Dubious Claims About Technology and Learning
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/10-dubious-claims-about-technology-and-learning
Inside Higher Education
June 23, 2013
By Joshua Kim
Following along the lines of Arthur M. Hauptman’s excellent essay 10 Dubious Claims About Higher Ed Decline, I offer a similar list for technology and learning.
Illiberal Arts: ‘Is College Worth It?’ and ‘College (Un)bound’
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/books/review/is-college-worth-it-and-college-un-bound.html?pagewanted=all
New York Times – Opinion
June 21, 2013
More than a century ago, the president of Harvard, A. Lawrence Lowell, issued a warning to America’s colleges and universities. “Institutions,” he said, “are rarely murdered. They meet their end by suicide. . . . They die because they have outlived their usefulness, or fail to do the work that the world wants done.” Most of the institutions he had in mind are still around today, but the doomsday talk is back. William J. Bennett, secretary of education under President Reagan, and Jeffrey Selingo, an editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, believe our system is self-destructing… And some true believers in the online future — whether on the relatively modest scale of the Carnegie Mellon program or in the form of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) — are convinced that all but the wealthiest colleges will be swept away by economic pressure and technological innovation. Selingo is right to doubt it. (Subscription required)
Common Core, common politics: can someone throw a bucket of water on Cobb board?
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/21/common-core-and-increasingly-common-politics-can-s/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 21, 2013
GET SCHOOLED – with Maureen Downey
Can someone please fill a bucket with cold water and throw it on the Cobb County school board? During a time of furloughs and larger classes, Cobb is considering squandering $2 million to redesign middle and middle and high school math books to eliminate all icons that reference the “Common Core Georgia Performance Standards.”
Supreme Court Weighs Cases Redefining Legal Equality
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/us/supreme-court-weighs-cases-redefining-legal-equality.html
New York Times – Opinion
June 23, 2013
Within days, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a series of decisions that could transform three fundamental social institutions: marriage, education and voting. The extraordinary run of blockbuster rulings due in the space of a single week will also reshape the meaning of legal equality and help define for decades to come one of the Constitution’s grandest commands: “the equal protection of the laws.”… Consider the case of Abigail Fisher, a white woman who was denied admission to the University of Texas. She says the university, an arm of the state government, should not classify people on the basis of race because that violates a colorblind conception of the Constitution’s equal protection clause. (Subscription required)
What does Supreme Court ruling mean for race admissions decisions?
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2013/jun/24/what-does-supreme-court-ruling-mean-race-admission/
Atlanta Journal Constitution
June 24, 2013
GET SCHOOLED – with Maureen Downey
So what does the long-awaited Supreme Court ruling today in Fisher v. The University of Texas mean for affirmative action admissions? Essentially, the high court sent Fisher vs. the University of Texas back to the lower court, but it did caution that colleges should exhaust all “workable race-neutral alternatives” to create diversity on their campuses before resorting to policies that consider race.
‘Fisher’ Is Not the Point
http://chronicle.com/article/Fisher-Is-Not-the-Point/139989/
Chronicle of Higher Education – Commentary
June 24, 2013
By Susan P. Sturm
…Allowing questions like those raised by Fisher to frame the public dialogue closes down crucial conversations about one of the most pressing issues of our time. We shouldn’t be too preoccupied with debating what admissions officers are legally allowed to do with race. Instead, we should be talking about how institutions of higher education can identify, equip, admit, and eventually graduate all students with the potential to succeed, rather than simply rewarding those who have been prepped for college from birth.
The Need for Courageous Dialogue in Admission
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Need-for-Courageous/139987/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh
…The demographic and economic contexts of the United States have changed, yet we are still stuck in the 18th-century reasoning that a gain for one demographic group is a loss for another. And we are still fooled by the simplistic rationale that equality means treating everyone the same all of the time. We will not flourish without the resources that diversity offers, and our diversity must be inclusive, domestic as well as international. The Fisher decision provides an opportunity for us to reflect deeply on the kind of society we want to be and to design the processes, strategies, resources, and policies to get us there. In the wake of this decision, we must remind ourselves of the purpose of higher education and recalibrate our thoughts about who wins and who loses when we endeavor to broaden access to it. Fisher provides an opportunity to innovate.
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS — SUPREME COURT RULING ON AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Justices Send Affirmative Action Case to Lower Court
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/us/affirmative-action-decision.html?hp
New York Times
June 24, 2013
By Adam Liptak
WASHINGTON — Courts must take a skeptical look at affirmative-action programs at public colleges and universities, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, in a decision that is likely to set off a wave of challenges to race-conscious admissions policies nationwide. The 7-to-1 decision avoided giving a direct answer about the constitutionality of the program, from the University of Texas at Austin, which will allow it to continue for now. But the justices ordered an appeals court to reconsider the case under a demanding standard that appears to jeopardize the program. The ruling was simultaneously modest and significant, and its recalibration of how courts review the constitutionality of race-conscious decisions by the government will reverberate beyond higher education.
Live Analysis of Supreme Court Decision
http://projects.nytimes.com/live-dashboard/2013-06-supreme-court-decisions
New York Times
June 24, 2013
The Supreme Court did not reject the University of Texas at Austin’s affirmative-action program on Monday, but it did ask a lower court to take a newly tough look at it. Adam Liptak, our Supreme Court correspondent, called the decision“simultaneously modest and significant” and said it was “likely to give rise to a wave of challenges to admissions programs at colleges and universities nationwide.”
Supreme Court sends Texas affirmative action plan back for further review
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-sends-texas-affirmative-action-plan-back-for-further-review/2013/06/24/62707a22-dcde-11e2-9218-bc2ac7cd44e2_story.html?hpid=z2
The Washington Post
June 24, 2013
By Robert Barnes
The Supreme Court brokered a compromise on affirmative action in college admissions Monday, telling courts to look more closely at the justifications for such programs but keeping alive for now the use of race to achieve diversity. The court voted 7 to 1 to send the University of Texas’s race-conscious admissions plan back for further judicial view, and told the lower court to apply strict scrutiny, the toughest judicial evaluation of whether a government’s action is allowed. “A university must make a showing that its plan is narrowly tailored to achieve the only interest that this Court has approved in this context: the benefits of a student body diversity that ‘encompasses a . . . broad array of qualifications and characteristics of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element,’ ” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
Supreme Court Puts Off Big Legal Questions in Texas Affirmative Action
http://chronicle.com/article/Supreme-Court-Puts-Off-Big/139991/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Peter Schmidt
Rather than deciding a legal battle over a race-conscious admissions policy at the University of Texas at Austin, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday called for that battle to be waged anew, by striking down a summary judgment in the university’s favor and instructing the lower courts to give the policy much stricter legal scrutiny than they had given it before. In a 7-to-1 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had erred in presuming that the university had made a good-faith effort to consider race-neutral alternatives to its policy, and in putting the burden on the plaintiff in the case, a white applicant rejected in 2008, to prove otherwise.
Supreme Court Puts Affirmative Action Case Back in Lower Courts’ Hands
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54130/
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Chuck Devarics
WASHINGTON — After months of speculation about how it might alter affirmative action in college admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday opted for a more cautious course by sending the Fisher v. University of Texas case back to lower courts for additional review. As a result of the decision, experts say colleges should be able to continue using race as a small factor in admissions for the short term. But they will have to approach the issue even more carefully.
Another Round on Affirmative Action
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/24/supreme-court-orders-new-appeals-court-consideration-affirmative-action-case
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Scott Jaschik
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court today issued its long-awaited ruling on affirmative action — but didn’t offer a definitive opinion on whether colleges may consider the use of race in admissions.
Ruling 7-1, the court found that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had erred in not applying “strict scrutiny” to the policies of the University of Texas at Austin. The case is Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, in which Abigail Fisher, a white woman rejected for admission by the university, said that her rights were violated by UT-Austin’s consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions decisions. Fisher’s lawyers argued that the University of Texas need not consider race because it has found another way to assure diversity in the student body.
Guesses on Why the Supreme Court Has Taken So Long
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/06/24/guesses-why-supreme-court-has-taken-so-long
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
Today is another day that the U.S. Supreme Court might rule on a landmark decision on affirmative action in college and university admissions. The affirmative action case is by far the case in this Supreme Court term that was argued the longest ago (back in October) without a ruling yet issued. A hashtag based on the name of the plaintiff #waitingforfisher has turned up on Twitter.
What Happens Without Affirmative Action: The Story of UCLA
http://www.npr.org/2013/06/23/194656555/what-happens-without-affirmative-action-the-story-of-ucla
NPR
June 24, 2013
The Supreme Court is expected to rule this week on a case that may shake up race-conscious admissions in higher education. The justices could change the shape of affirmative action or even strike it down altogether. California is one of eight states that have already scrapped affirmative action. That means state schools can no longer consider the race of its applicants. At the University of California, Los Angeles, the change has been messy, ambiguous — and sometimes a little ugly. After the state passed the ban in 1996, the percentages of black and Latino students at UCLA quickly began to fall. Things came to a head in 2006. That year, in a freshman class of nearly 5,000 students, just 96 were African-American.
HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS
New Opportunities: WGTC’s New Coweta Campus Opening Soon
http://www.times-herald.com/education/569022-20130623_WGTC-NEW-COWETA-CAMPUS-SQ
The Times-Herald
June 23, 2013
By Celia Shortt
West Georgia Technical College’s new Coweta campus on Turkey Creek Road is poised to open soon and bring with it many new opportunities for Coweta County’s students, industries and community. “Newnan has wanted this for a long time,” said WGTC’s president, Dr. Skip Sullivan. “I’m excited that we are bringing this to Newnan and Coweta County. We want to be the first choice of education in Coweta County.” Currently, the new facility consists of two buildings on 38 acres of land. The master plan includes eight total buildings.
SACS Satisfied with BPC Progress
http://www.southeastgeorgiatoday.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10976&Itemid=117
Southeast Georgia Today
June 24, 2013
June 24– The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is giving Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon a year to get off accreditation probation. College President Dr. Mike Simoneaux says the “Good Cause” extension means students who attend BPC don’t have to worry about the credibility of their college courses.
Employees need technical skills to land hard-to-get jobs
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2013-06-22/employees-need-technical-skills-land-hard-find-jobs?v=1371862268
Augusta Chronicle
June 22, 2013
By Steve Crawford
A lot of people want to work, but not everyone has the skills to get hired.
Scott LaPorte sees it every day. “The unemployment out there is so intense that we are inundated by folks with college degrees that can’t find jobs for more than $8 an hour,” said LaPorte, vice president and partner with Trojan Labor and Acrux Staffing in Augusta.
Report Urges Better Preparation, More Active Recruitment of Community College Leaders
http://diverseeducation.com/article/54109/
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Ronald Roach
WASHINGTON — This past Friday, national leaders, including Dr. Walter Bumphus of the American Association of Community Colleges, joined officials with the Aspen Institute and the Achieving the Dream organization to urge major improvements in how two-year college presidents are recruited, prepared, hired and evaluated.
The Hidden Life of University Faculty
http://www.forbes.com/sites/collegeprose/2013/06/24/the-hidden-work-life-of-university-faculty/?utm_source=customfollowed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=20130624
Forbes
June 24, 2013
It’s summer at last in Ithaca, New York. At Cornell University, the lawns have turned emerald, ancient sycamores and oaks are flourishing, sunbeams glance off the bronze head of Ezra Cornell. Most of the undergraduates have left for internships or summer jobs—but what are the faculty doing? There’s a popular perception that professors don’t work in the summer—and don’t work as much as they should during the rest of the year. From time to time legislators make political hay by portraying academics as elitists who teach a few hours a week, scribble jargon-filled essays, take cushy trips to do “research” or deliver papers on irrelevant topics, and take the whole summer off.
AP IMPACT: Post-recession, higher ed paths diverge
http://news.yahoo.com/ap-impact-post-recession-higher-154519924.html;_ylt=A2KJ2PZFfshRyUAAmKTQtDMD
Yahoo News
June 24, 2013
[From the Associated Press]
CHONGQING, China (AP) — On the outskirts of this sprawling megalopolis of 29 million in southwest China stand a pair of college campuses — one representing education’s past in the world’s most populous country, and the other, perhaps, its future. In its mission and dreary name, the College of Mobile Telecommunications is typical of China’s hundreds of Soviet-era universities: rote learning, hyper-specialization and a lock-step course of study for all. On a hill above it, surrounding a secluded courtyard, stands Yuanjing Academy, a new experiment with a very different feel. Here, college students take a broad array of subjects their first year, in small classes, learning to do things like argue about literature and play the guitar.
Support for Shared Governance
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/24/lawyers-meeting-show-support-shared-governance
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Doug Lederman
PHILADELPHIA — The more conspiracy-minded of professors probably think that whenever college presidents and other senior administrators talk among themselves at conferences or out-of-the-way meetings, they bemoan the extent to which faculty involvement in decision making impairs their ability to make quick decisions and move nimbly.
Fresh Report Sets a High Bar for Governance, College Lawyers Say
http://chronicle.com/article/Freeh-Report-Sets-a-High-Bar/139979/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
When Stephen Dunham describes why he took the job of general counsel at Pennsylvania State University,following the revelations of a child-sexual-abuse scandal there, he doesn’t focus on the complex challenge of defending the university from numerous lawsuits and investigations. Instead, Mr. Dunham says, the opportunity to make significant changes in the university’s governance practices, including the operations and policies of the Board of Trustees, was the main reason he left his job at the Johns Hopkins University 11 months ago to go to Penn State. (Subscription required)
Online Accessibility a Faculty Duty
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/24/faculty-responsible-making-online-materials-accessible-disabled-students
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Lauren Ingeno
PHILADELPHIA — In a traditional classroom setting, a university or college’s disability services office typically coordinates a disabled student’s accommodation issues. But with the growth of online education, it is now largely the obligation of the instructors themselves to proactively design courses that are equally accessible to all students.
Student Aid Scams Targeted by Schools, Government
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323300004578557393479395544.html?mod=ITP_pageone_1
Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2013
Federal officials are cracking down on fraud in student-aid programs, responding to evidence that a growing number of recipients—acting alone or as part of organized crime rings—are pocketing federal loans and grants without any intent of going to school. The Education Department in January began using a database to flag applicants for federal Pell grants who have an “unusual enrollment history”—having received aid for three or more schools within a year, primarily. (Subscription required)
Colleges Draw Criticism for Their Role in Fostering Unpaid Internships
http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Draw-Criticism-for/139977/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
The debate over unpaid internships has largely focused on the employers that offer them. But as interns are taking companies to court, advocates are taking colleges to task, arguing that they are complicit in the exploitation of students. “The unfortunate reality is that colleges and universities have very much abetted this practice of having young people working for free,” said Juno Turner, a lawyer representing a group of former interns who are suing Fox Searchlight Pictures for alleged violations of federal and state labor laws. (Subscription required)
Higher-Ed Groups Unveil Alternative to Federal Student-Success Measures
http://chronicle.com/article/Higher-Education-Groups-Unveil/139981/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
Six major higher-education associations have teamed up to develop a new method of measuring student success that provides a more comprehensive look at how students progress through college and how many of them eventually graduate. Beginning on Monday, colleges seeking a voluntary alternative to the federal government’s method of calculating completion can sign on to the Student Achievement Measure. Using information from the National Student Clearinghouse, they will be able to post data that includes graduation rates for transfer students and, for two-year colleges, those attending part time. (Subscription required)
Funding Science with Scholarships
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323683504578563862578196422.html?mod=ITP_newyork_3
Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2013
Tom Sullivan, the millionaire founder of Lumber Liquidators, LL -6.73% never attended college, but he’s making it possible for two Long Island teens to pursue their studies in science and technology. Twin sisters Shilpa and Shweta Iyer of Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., this month each received a $50,000 scholarship from Mr. Sullivan. The grants from Mr. Sullivan’s personal foundation are awarded through a scholarship contest organized by Proton OnSite, his Wallingford, Conn.-based company that produces on-site gas generators. Mr. Sullivan’s scholarship is awarded to young people who have made scientific innovations in alternative, clean energy sources. (Subscription required)
MOOC Provider: Dropouts Shouldn’t Be Seen as ‘Negative’
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/06/24/mooc-provider-dropouts-shouldnt-be-seen-negative
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
FutureLearn, the British provider of massive open online courses, is planning to create “badges” that can be earned for each section of its MOOCs, Times Higher Education reported.
Terrorism Experts Sought by Public but Not by Academe
http://chronicle.com/article/Terrorism-Experts-Sought-by/139957/
Chronicle of Higher Education
June 24, 2013
Gregory D. Johnsen knows a great deal about Yemen. He has traveled to the country several times over the past decade to conduct research on the civil war that divided the country in the 1960s. He speaks and reads Arabic, is pursuing a doctorate in Near Eastern studies at Princeton University, and has earned several fellowships, including a Fulbright, to further his work. Along the way he has also become something of an expert on Al Qaeda’s growing influence in the Arabian Peninsula, which culminated in a book published last year, The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al Qaeda, and the Battle for Arabia (W.W. Norton & Company). That work earned him spots on National Public Radio and in The New York Times. When it came time to look for a tenure-track position, though, he was warned by colleagues to play down his Al Qaeda expertise. The reason? Nobody wants to hire a scholar focused on terrorism. (Subscription required)
New Measure of Success
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/24/college-associations-introduce-new-ways-measure-student-completion
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Scott Jaschik
…Today six higher education associations (representing two-year and four-year institutions, public and private) are endorsing a new system called the Student Achievement Measure, with the hope of changing the debate about measuring college completion. While individual colleges will have to decide whether to participate, the endorsement of associations representing every nonprofit sector suggests at least the possibility of broad participation. The major financial backer for the new effort is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has in recent years played a prominent role in discussions of college completion.
An Adjunct’s Vindication
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/24/florida-atlantic-rehires-adjunct-center-controversy-over-class-exercise
Inside Higher Education
June 24, 2013
By Scott Jaschik
Florida Atlantic University on Friday announced that it was rehiring Deandre Poole — who was at the center of what was called the “stomping on Jesus” controversy — as an adjunct instructor in communications for the summer and fall terms. The university administrator who made the decision, asked if Poole had done anything wrong, said — without hesitation — “No.”
EDUCATION NEWS
Common Core becomes uncommon controversy for GOP
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/common-core-becomes-uncommon-controversy-for-gop/nYSGt/
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
June 22, 2013
By Greg Bluestein
Milledgeville —The most controversial issue in Georgia’s Republican Party right now may not be tax cuts or social issues. It may be the contentious debate surrounding Common Core, the voluntary set of reading, math and writing standards that has inspired a groundswell of opposition. …On Saturday the forces rallying against the education standards notched their biggest win yet. The leaders of Georgia’s Republican Party voted unanimously to urge state leaders to withdraw from the program because it “obliterates Georgia’s constitutional autonomy.”
Ga. GOP leaders want state to withdraw from Common Core
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=262846
AccessNorthGa.com
(from the Associated Press)
June 23, 2013
ATLANTA (AP) — Leaders of Georgia’s Republican Party voted Saturday to press state officials to withdraw from a national program that creates a basic set of educational standards. Party leaders voted unanimously to ask the state to withdraw from Common Core – an initiative aimed at creating basic reading, math and language arts requirements. The initiative has been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia.
School board mulls options after voting down Common Core
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/22956705/article-School-board-mulls-options-after-voting-down-Common-Core?instance=secondary_story_left_column
Marietta Daily Journal
June 22, 2013
By Megan Thornton
MARIETTA – Cobb School Board Chair Randy Scamihorn said he’s still digesting options for alternative math resources proposed by school district staff in the wake of the board’s rejection of $7.5 million worth of textbooks affiliated with the controversial Common Core state standards. He said his primary concern is finding an affordable alternative now that the board voted 4-3 to reject the Common Core textbooks.
Georgia should wait on new teacher evaluation system, educators say
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-06-21/georgia-should-wait-new-teacher-evaluation-system-educators-say
Athens Banner Herald
June 21, 2013
By Lee Shearer
The U.S. Department of Education recently offered states with waivers from the federal No Child Left Behind Law permission to wait another year before implementing controversial new teacher evaluation methods. Georgia qualifies, but state education officials don’t know yet if they will accept the offer to wait until the 2015-16 school year to implement a new assessment method that heavily weighs student achievement and test scores
High school “career pathways” courses approved
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-06-23/high-school-career-pathways-courses-approved
Athens Banner-Herald
June 23, 2013
By Lee Shearer
The state Department of Education has developed its first set of foundational courses under a new high school curriculum model designed to integrate career training with regular academic courses. Under a 2011 state law that authorized the new Career Clusters/Pathways model beginning next fall, public school students must choose a career pathway as they enter ninth grade. They can pick among 17 “Career Clusters,” or alternatively from advanced academics, fine arts or world languages.
OTHER NEWS
Men are disappearing from the workforce
http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/19/news/economy/men-workforce/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
CNNMoney
June 19, 2013
By Tami Luhby
Men have been steadily disappearing from the workforce for more than half a century. In the 1950s, nearly every man in his prime working years was in the labor force, a category that includes both those who are employed and those actively applying for jobs. The “participation rate” for men ages 25 to 54 stood at 97.7% in early 1956, but drifted downward to a post-war record low of 88.4% at the end of 2012. (It ticked up very slightly at the start of this year to 88.6%.) … The trend is particularly pronounced among the less educated. As the job market shifted away from blue-collar positions that required only a high-school degree to more skilled labor, many men were left behind, labor analysts say.
Kids faring better in Georgia, nation, report says
http://onlineathens.com/breaking-news/2013-06-24/kids-faring-better-georgia-nation-report-says
Athens Banner Herald
June 24, 2013
By Lee Shearer
More Georgia children are living in poverty, but the state’s children show progress in education and health measures, according to a new report on the wellbeing of children in the United States. About 26 percent of Georgia’s children, about 647,000, were living in poverty as of 2011, up from 20 percent in 2005, according to the latest “Kids Count” Data Book, an annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Ga. drops to 43rd in well-being of children study
http://www.macon.com/2013/06/23/2530277/ga-drops-to-43rd-in-well-being.html
The Macon Telegraph
June 23, 2013
By Phillip Ramati
Georgia has dropped six spots, to No. 43, in an annual survey of the overall well-being of the nation’s children. According to the 2013 Kids Count study, released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, one in five Georgia children lives in poverty, while the number of children living in households where their parents lack a full-time job is now 866,000 — nearly 25 percent higher than four years ago. The survey examined data from all 50 states in four areas: education, economic well-being, health, and family and community.