University System News
USG NEWS:
www.statesboroherald.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/53568/
Huckaby: College consolidation still on the table
By JASON WERMERS
The University System of Georgia recently consolidated eight public higher education institutions into four. That might not be all, University System Chancellor Hank M. Huckaby told the Downtown Rotary Club of Statesboro during its weekly meeting Thursday morning at RJ’s Steakery. “There may be an announcement or so in the next 14 months,” he said in response to a question. “I’m not here to make an announcement about consolidation this morning. But it’s clear that we have too many institutions for a state this size and, so, consolidation is something we will continue to give consideration to.”
www.thecoastalsource.com
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/53546/
EGSC to hold investiture for new president
Boehmer to be honored at Friday celebration
Special to the Herald
The investiture of East Georgia State College’s fifth president, Robert “Bob” G. Boehmer, will be held Friday morning.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-09-25/uga-fundraisers-retirement-wont-slow-capital-campaign-morehead-says
UGA fundraiser’s retirement won’t slow capital campaign, Morehead says
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia’s top development officer will retire next June, but that won’t slow down a $1 billion UGA fundraising campaign, UGA president Jere Morehead said Wednesday. “We don’t have time to wait on raising money for the University of Georgia,” he said. Landrum, UGA’s vice president for development and alumni relations since 2007, announced last month he would retire June 30.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/shiny-new-uga-president-morehead-talks-projects-new-faculty-at/article_a5ab459c-2612-11e3-b8e5-0019bb30f31a.html
Shiny new UGA: President Morehead talks projects, new faculty at cabinet meeting
By Stephen Mays
University of Georgia President Jere Morehead discussed capital projects, new faculty and pride for the university and its students at his cabinet meeting Wednesday. Although reluctant to brag about rankings, Morehead noted UGA’s recent ranking by the U.S. News and World Report as number 20 in the list of top public universities. … The president opened his topic of capital projects with mention of the proposed Science Learning Center that the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved at their last meeting.
www.forest-blade.com
http://www.forest-blade.com/news/education/article_460b1ee4-1fc0-11e3-928f-0019bb2963f4.html
Creating history at EGSC
by KATELYN MOORE
East Georgia State College has been in the news many times recently as they are preparing for their three-day 40th Anniversary Celebration next week. Much has been said about the upcoming activities, but not a lot has been said about the team behind the scenes.
www.forest-blade.com
http://www.forest-blade.com/news/education/article_bdd67aa0-252d-11e3-a129-0019bb2963f4.html
MOOCs: Ready or not, they’re coming!
MOOCs-Massive Open Online Courses-are big news in education. What is a MOOC? Essentially, it’s an online course with “open” enrollment. A person can sign up, for free, and join a course on almost any subject imaginable, from oceanography to Russian literature. … The Georgia Institute of Technology and Kennesaw State University already offer MOOCs, and the University System of Georgia is eager to add more. …East Georgia State College hopes to join them soon.
www.fastcompany.com
http://www.fastcompany.com/3015303/the-10000-technology-degree
The $10,000 Technology Degree
Instead of going to college to learn how to code, use this guide to hack your way into a career as a programmer.
By: Anya Kamenetz
Everyone knows that the tech industry is a good one to be in these days. Information Technology is in the top-20 projected fastest growing industries in the United States between 2010 and 2020, with 4% annual growth, according to the federal government. Occupations across the industry from computer programmers to software developers and systems analysts have high annual earnings, in the $70-$95,000-a-year range… You’re interested in the career advancement that may come from an official degree-granting institution, preferably a prestigious one. But you don’t want to pay top dollar. In computer science, there’s an option: the Udacity/Georgia Tech/AT&T master’s degree in computer science.
GOOD NEWS:
www.suwanee.patch.com
http://suwanee.patch.com/groups/schools/p/ggc-to-waive-application-fees-for-a-period
GGC To Waive Application Fees for a Period
The effort is aimed at encouraging an early start.
Posted by Steve Burns
By Kristi Reed
It’s that time of year — high school seniors across the country are beginning the college application process. In an effort to encourage more students to get an early start on their applications, Georgia Gwinnett College is waiving the $20 application fee during the week of Oct. 14-20.
www.jbhe.com
Record Black Enrollments at Georgia State University
Georgia State University in Atlanta announced that is has enrolled the largest and most diverse entering class in university history. The first-year class has nearly 3,200 students, an increase of 6 percent form a year ago.
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/your-good-news/2013-09-26/armstrong-signs-memorandum-understanding-martin-luther-university#.UkWN77yAEXx
Armstrong Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Martin Luther University
By Savannah Morning News
Officials from Armstrong Atlantic State University signed a memorandum of understanding earlier today with representatives from Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany, underscoring the growing relationship between the two universities. Armstrong president Dr. Linda M. Bleicken signed the memorandum of understanding with Martin Luther University professors Jens Marggraf and Adrezej Morky. The event marked the delegation’s first visit to Savannah and to the Armstrong campus.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2013/09/27/cummings-to-fund-startups-at-georgia.html
Cummings to fund startups at Georgia Tech
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
David Cummings launched the first of a series of tech startups as an undergraduate at Duke University. The 33-year-old wants to replicate his success with a $1 million investment fund, focused on Georgia Tech students. The Atlanta Student Fund, referred to internally as the “dorm room fund,” will make micro investments of $5,000 to $10,000 in Georgia Tech student-led startups.
USG VALUE:
www.onlineathenscom
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-09-26/hilsman-middle-school-students-attend-first-bioenergy-day-uga
Hilsman Middle School students to attend first Bioenergy Day @ UGA
By UGA News Service
More than 200 Athens seventh-graders will experience firsthand how wood and other organic materials generate energy at the first Bioenergy Day @ UGA on Oct. 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the State Botanical Garden. The event is free and open to the public. The University of Georgia Bioenergy Systems Research Institute is sponsoring the event.
RESEARCH:
www.myfoxatlanta.com
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/23529316/students
Students create games to encourage healthy living
By Beth Galvin, FOX Medical Team reporter
MARIETTA, Ga. – If your kids are into X-Boxes and PlayStations, the good news is that it may not be such a bad thing. Students at one metro Atlanta college are creating their own computer games with a healthy spin. Gamers know what they like and what they don’t like, so the Georgia Game Developer’s Association challenged them to channel their experience into creating new kind of computer game. They gave students at Southern Polytechnic State University 48 hours to create a game to make health fun.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/a-healthy-conversation/2013/09/helping-detect-liver-cancer-early.html
Helping detect liver cancer early
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Regents University researchers have found a way to make early liver cancer show its true colors. They have developed a test that will help pathologists clearly distinguish early liver cancer cells from nearly identical normal liver cells by giving them a distinctive red-brown hue, according to a study.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-09-25/uga-receives-7-million-nih-grant-study-building-blocks-life
UGA receives $7 million NIH grant to study building blocks of life
By UGA News Service
A team of senior researchers at the University of Georgia have received a five-year $7.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to help better understand one of the most fundamental building blocks of life.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2013/09/27/emory-childrens-to-test-vaccine-for.html?page=all
Emory, Children’s to test vaccine for bird flu
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will begin testing a vaccine designed to protect against H7N9 influenza, the bird flu strain that caused severe illness and death in China last spring. …
LympHedema research
Georgia Tech has received a $2 million federal grant to study the mechanical forces at play in lymphedema, a disease with no cure. Lymphedema develops when the body fails to circulate lymphatic fluid, a mixture of immune cells, proteins and lipids, according to a statement.
www.post.jagran.com
http://post.jagran.com/overbearing-mothers-responsible-for-daughters-poor-social-skills-1379939294
Overbearing mothers responsible for daughters’ poor social skills
Washington: Young women are more likely to have poor social skills and psychological distress when their mothers are too critical and over-involved in their children’s lives, a new study has found.
Young adult females whose mothers frequently engaged in “family expressed emotion” tended to have poorer social and relationship skills, researchers said. ‘Family expressed emotion’ was defined by researchers as “an extraordinarily harmful pattern of criticism, over-involvement, excessive attention, and emotional reactivity that is usually communicated by parents toward their children.” … Although prevalent in US women, women with these attitudes do not always have eating disorders, according to the study’s lead author, Analisa Arroyo, assistant professor of communication at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/political-insider/2013/sep/25/how-state-lawmakers-might-avoid-guns-campus-fight/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
How state lawmakers might avoid a guns-on-campus fight
A series of recent events may have created a climate that could allow the state Legislature to avoid a public meltdown next year over whether to allow students to tote concealed weaponry as they stroll the campuses of Georgia’s public universities.
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2013/09/27/higher-ed-partners-for-economic.html
Higher ed: Partners for economic development
Kyle Marrero
Three months ago, I became the seventh president of the University of West Georgia. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, but I am thrilled with what I have discovered during my time in Carrollton. … The UWG family and our local community agree: It is our responsibility to prepare students for success — in all aspects of life.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/09/27/communications-officials-must-fight-decision-anecdote-essay
Beyond Anecdote
By David Brond and Teresa Valerio Parrot
David Brond is senior vice president of communications and marketing at Georgia Regents University. Teresa Valerio Parrot is principal of TVP Communications.
“I received an unflattering letter from a parent.” “An employee stopped me in the hall to comment on a recent decision by the board/president.” “We received a negative tweet about an article on our news website.” “A member of our board heard some feedback at last week’s alumni event.” “My husband was reading the comment section of an article in the local paper and one entry in particular caught his eye.” What do all of these anecdotal quotes have in common?
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/theres-an-embarrassing-flaw-in-stem-the-hottest-school-trend/2013/09/24/bfc015ee-1fea-11e3-b7d1-7153ad47b549_story.html?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
There’s an embarrassing flaw in STEM, the hottest school trend
By Jay Mathews
U.S. education lusts for STEM. Prepare to be pitied if you ask at a school conference what the acronym means (science, technology, engineering, math). There are STEM schools, STEM programs, STEM books, STEM experts. STEM grant applications get more respect. Everybody says STEM careers mean more money. I Googled STEM and got 146 million results. So I hesitate amid all that excitement to expose a flaw in the STEM movement.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/09/27/education-department-needs-writing-lessons/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss
Education Department needs writing lessons
Do you ever read a report and wonder who wrote it and why they didn’t get a good editor? I bring this up in regard to the U.S. Education Department’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-18. (By the way you have until Friday, Oct. 4, 2013, to submit comments to the department. You can listen to a video about the plan here, or read it here.) If you follow the education debate you will recognize the thrust of the report: Work on implementing the Common Core State Standards, make higher education more affordable, increase graduation rates, etc. etc.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/09/26/why-the-new-sat-scores-are-meaningless/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss
Why the new SAT scores are meaningless
The 2013 SAT scores are out and states around the country are either crowing or crying over the results. They shouldn’t expend the energy. … The real question isn’t about why the scores went up or down, but whether or not the results tell us anything valuable about a student’s achievement and abilities. They don’t.
Education News
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/sat-scores-flat-in-georgia-us/nZ7X9/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
SAT scores flat in Georgia, U.S.
By Wayne Washington – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No bad news on the Scholastic Aptitude Test this year. But no good news, either. Georgia’s average score on that highest-of-stakes test remained the same as last year’s score: 1,452 out of a possible 2,400, according to the College Board, which administers the SAT. National SAT scores remained flat, too, holding steady at 1,498 out of 2,400.
Related articles:
www.savannahnow.com
Average SAT scores flat in Georgia, nationwide
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2013-09-26/average-sat-scores-flat-georgia-nationwide#.UkSLX7yAEXw
www.chronicle.com
Most Students Are Unprepared for College, SAT Results Show
http://chronicle.com/article/Most-Students-Are-Unprepared/141919/
www.orlandosentinel.com
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-florida-sat-scores-2013-20130925,0,5418737.story
SAT scores 2013 released: Florida students below nation
By Lauren Roth, Orlando Sentinel
September 26, 2013
Florida’s students continue to perform below the national average on the SAT college entrance exam, mirroring results from the ACT test. Results for the Class of 2013, released today, show SAT scores have hardly budged from 2012, and the number of test-takers remained nearly flat. The mean scores were 492 in reading, 490 in math and 475 in writing on a 200 to 800 point scale. Nationally, the scores averaged 496, 514 and 488, nearly identical to 2012.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/56281/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=198d9b393f9944a0a05cadcc93431185&elqCampaignId=62#
Survey: State Higher Education, K-12 Systems Collaborating on Common Core Implementation
by Ronald Roach
It’s widely understood that implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is going to require collaboration between public K-12 systems and higher education institutions to help ensure the K-12 curriculum reform is on track for the 2014-15 academic year. In a national survey report released recently by the Center on Education Policy at George Washington University, the states that have adopted the CCSS indicate that their K-12 and higher education systems have begun working together to implement the standards.
www.usnews.com
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2013/09/25/3-ways-to-make-your-college-application-a-winner
3 Ways to Make Your College Application a Winner
Plan your college prep path as early as middle school to become a competitive applicant.
By Margaret Loftus
Getting a jump on your college prep is a key way to grab the advantage in a field that’s more competitive than ever. The average number of applications per college went up 60 percent between 2002 and 2011, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. And the latest round proved the most cutthroat yet at many schools.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/09/27/program-helps-baby-boomers-complete-degrees
Program Helps Baby Boomers Complete Degrees
More than 7,000 baby boomers have completed a degree or credential at a community college through the Plus 50 Completion Strategy, the American Association of Community Colleges announced Thursday.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/09/26/a-bachelors-degree-could-cost-10000-total-heres-how/
A bachelor’s degree could cost $10,000 — total. Here’s how.
By Dylan Matthews
A couple years ago, Rutgers historian David Greenberg noticed a defect endemic to books about social, political and economic problems: The last chapter always sucks. “Practically every example of that genre, no matter how shrewd or rich its survey of the question at hand, finishes with an obligatory prescription that is utopian, banal, unhelpful or out of tune with the rest of the book,” Greenberg noted. … To that end, Third Way is publishing a new report by Anya Kamenetz, one of the most interesting writers on higher ed innovation in the game, that lays out a detailed plan for pushing the total cost of a public bachelor’s degree down to $10,000.
www.nytimes.com
A Surge in Growth for a New Kind of Online Course
By ALAN FINDER
ONLINE course work has been a staple of American higher education for at least a decade. But over the last few years, a new, more ambitious variant known as a MOOC — massive open online course — has challenged traditional assumptions of what an online course can be. MOOCs have exploded in that short time, redefining who can enroll in college courses, as well as where, when and even why people take online classes.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/26/fall-pilot-under-way-wake-forest-u-joins-2u-online-course-consortium#ixzz2fzuUbOB4
Back to 2U
By Carl Straumsheim
The online course pool Semester Online is growing again after Wake Forest University this month decided to join ed-tech company 2U’s consortium. With a fall pilot that attracted only 100 students and six course-providing universities, some participating institutions are waiting for results before they commit more resources to the effort.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/27/ea-settlement-athletes-portrayed-video-games-bodes-poorly-ncaa#ixzz2g6FpDXbU
A Step Closer to Pay-for-Play?
By Allie Grasgreen
Tens of thousands of current and former college athletes could now be eligible for a cut of the revenue generated through video games and other merchandise that portrays their likeness, after Electronic Arts Inc. and the Collegiate Licensing Company settled in the massive antitrust suit O’Bannon vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/56225/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=f3291cd3faa04041af17471469ec7372&elqCampaignId=62#
Education Secretary: Cuts in Federal Spending a ‘Big Issue’ for Education System
by Reginald Stuart
Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who anticipates several days of tough sledding with leaders of the nation’s historically Black colleges, said Wednesday the imminent cuts in federal spending mandated by Congress pose a “bigger issue” for the nation’s education system than for Historically Black Colleges and Universities alone.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/56269/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=198d9b393f9944a0a05cadcc93431185&elqCampaignId=62#
Education Secretary Issues Apology to HBCU Leaders
by Jamal Watson
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued a public apology to the leaders of the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for the Obama administration’s decision to change the criteria of the popular Parent PLUS Loan program without consulting with them first.“I have talked with many of the people in this room about the PLUS Loan challenges, and I know it’s been hard, it’s been frustrating, and some of you are angry,” Duncan told the HBCU college presidents, administrators and faculty who gathered at the Hilton in Washington, D.C. for the kickoff of the National HBCU Week Conference. “I am not satisfied with the way we handled the updating of PLUS Loans, and I apologize for that.”
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/26/higher-education-braces-government-shutdown-and-more-fiscal-fights#ixzz2fzuLslrG
Shutdown Looms
By Michael Stratford
The impending shutdown of the federal government is expected to affect higher education only modestly, at least in the short term, but the debate has already kicked off several months of unpredictable fiscal fights that threaten to further cut funding for some financial aid programs and scientific research. The federal government will shut down on October 1 unless Congress agrees in the next five days to a stopgap spending measure to keep it open.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/56229/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=f3291cd3faa04041af17471469ec7372&elqCampaignId=62#
Education Group Sponsors ‘Bake Sale’ to Highlight Federal Budget Sequester Cuts
by Ronald Roach
WASHINGTON – With Americans bracing for a possible government shutdown over Republican opposition to Obamacare, a Washington-based education coalition group found a novel theme Wednesday to dramatize the effects of the federal budget sequestration. At a Capitol Hill briefing, The Committee for Education Funding (CEF), a coalition of 111 national education associations and institutions, took the opportunity to hold a “Sequestration Bake Sale.” During the briefing, which was held in a U.S. Senate hearing room, officials from organizations representing federal programs, such as Head Start and TRIO Student Support Services, urged attendees to help end the federal budget sequester.