University System News

USG NEWS:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2013-10-08/gru-undergrad-enrollment-declines-fall-semester
GRU undergrad enrollment declines for fall semester
By Tracey McManus
Staff Writer
For its first fall semester as a consolidated university, undergraduate enrollment at Georgia Regents University dropped by about 420 students compared with the former Augusta State University’s fall 2012 class, according to a consolidation progress report. The decrease continues an enrollment decline ASU had experienced every year since 2009, but Vice Provost Roman Cibirka said the new demographics indicate a more prepared and qualified student body.

www.i-programmer.info
http://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/6467-admissions-open-for-online-cs-masters-degree-.html
Admissions Open For Online CS Masters Degree
Written by Sue Gee
The Georgia Tech Online Master of Science in Computer Science (OMS CS), being offered on the Udacity MOOC platform, is now accepting applications for Spring 2014 Semester. Numbers for this first presentation are limited and you need to satisfy the admission criteria. In May Georgia Tech, in collaboration with Udacity and AT&T, announced plans to offer a “massive online” MSc course that would cost less than $7,000 – a fraction of the cost of Georgia Tech’s on-campus program.

www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/23790101/article-Great-horned-owl-training-as-KSU-mascot?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
Great horned owl training as KSU mascot
by Nikki Wiley
He doesn’t have a name yet, but a great horned owl is training to become the next face of Kennesaw State University. The university, celebrating its 50th anniversary this week, is adding a live mascot to its repertoire.

www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=266485
UNG to screen documentary about barriers to education
By Staff
OAKWOOD – The University of North Georgia (UNG) will host a screening of a documentary that explores the barriers to education faced by girls and women around the world. “Girl Rising,” which will be shown Oct. 10 on the Gainesville Campus, is free and open to the public. …The screening, held in conjunction with the Oct. 11 International Day of the Girl, aims to increase the awareness of the barriers to education faced by young girls and women around the world.

www.13wmaz.com
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=249047
How the Government Shutdown Affects Your Healthcare
Anita Oh
We continue our look at the government shutdown and what it means for you and your family when you need healthcare. 13WMAZ’s Anita Oh sat down with professor of health administration Chris Tsavatewa from Middle Georgia State College. …All veterans under the VA health care system will still receive their benefits, as usual. Many are also worried about not receiving their Medicare and Medicaid benefits. However, the shutdown will not affect the release of those funds. Tsavatewa says it may delay the processing of new applications.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-10-08/uga-forms-group-plan-extended-federal-shutdown
UGA forms group to plan for extended federal shutdown
By Lee Shearer
As the federal government shutdown drags into its ninth day, University of Georgia administrators have convened a group to develop contingency plans against the still-unfolding event. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars flow into the university annually for purposes such as research, student aid and training grants. Federal dollars are also the core funding for some UGA operations such as the Cooperative Extension Service and the school’s network of agricultural research stations.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-10-08/mobile-devices-make-easier-targets-identity-theft
Mobile devices make easier targets for identity theft
By UGA News Service
Having a mobile device may make some tasks easier, but that on-the-go convenience comes with a higher risk for potential identity theft, according to one security proponent at the University of Georgia in connection to National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/georgia-tech-fraternity-under-investigation-for-ra/nbH2q/
Georgia Tech fraternity suspends member for ‘rapebait’ email
By Alexis Stevens
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
No one knows what a Georgia Tech student was thinking when he sent an email to his fraternity brothers, offering advice for “luring rapebait” at parties. If it was supposed to be a joke, it wasn’t funny. But students, graduates, the institute and the national fraternity office all agreed on one thing: It was embarrassing and derogatory, bringing unflattering attention to the university. The email has been under investigation since Sept. 18, when the university received a copy of it, a Tech spokesman said Tuesday. The Phi Kappa Tau fraternity then placed itself on probation and suspended the member accused of sending an email with instructions for “hooking up” with females.

USG VALUE:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/college-town-how-area-schools-impact-community/nbJDN/
College town: How area schools impact the community
Higher education institutions bring jobs, money, culture, talent, ideas and more
By Laura Raines
For EDU Atlanta
In September, Beverly Tatum and other city leaders took part in a trade mission to Brazil to promote higher education in Atlanta. What’s a college president doing on a trade mission, you might ask? “The Brazilian government has plans to send 100,000 students to the United States, and we wanted to introduce them to what Atlanta has to offer,” said Tatum, president of Spelman College and chair of the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education. …Few cities can match the quality and diversity of its 66-plus higher education institutions that enroll more than 275,000 students. The list includes Emory University (ranked 20th by U.S. News & World Report in 2013) and Georgia Tech, one of the nation’s finest engineering schools. Georgia State, with its renowned business college, is one of the fastest-growing public universities in the nation.

www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2013-10-08/pushing-cars-light-clarke-students-learn-about-energy
Pushing cars with light: Clarke students learn about energy
By Lee Shearer
Nearly 200 seventh-graders learned about energy Tuesday at the University of Georgia’s first Bioenergy Day. Clarke County school buses full of Hilsman Middle School students started pulling into the State Botanical Garden of Georgia shortly before 10 a.m. Their first stop was an actual biomass gasification plant, which converts woody biomass such as wood chips into gasoline and diesel fuel.

www.newtoncitizen.com
http://www.newtoncitizen.com/news/2013/oct/08/mobile-bug-zoo-visits-cousins-middle-school/
Mobile Bug Zoo visits Cousins Middle School
From staff reports
Seventh-grader AnhThu Nguyen isn’t sure she really wants to hold the tarantula that was brought to Cousins Middle School last week as part of the University of Georgia’s Mobile Bug Zoo, while her classmate Molly Pickrell, center, seems to be happy to keep a safe distance.

GOOD NEWS:
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/ggc-new-kid-block/nbJCx/
GGC is the new kid on the block
In just seven years, the school has grown into a ranked regional college with almost 10,000 students
By Laura Raines
For EDU Atlanta
In September, when U.S. News & World Report released its 2013 college rankings, Georgia Gwinnett College was ranked fifth among Southern public regional colleges. That’s a remarkable achievement for a school that didn’t even exist seven years ago. The nation’s first four-year public college founded in the 21st century, Georgia Gwinnett College had 118 students when it opened its doors on Aug. 18, 2006. This fall GGC welcomed almost 10,000 students and more than 500 faculty members to its 160-acre campus, which now houses 11 buildings and sports facilities for six intercollegiate teams.

www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/bridge-to-broaden-access-to-ksu-campus/nbJYF/?icmp=ajc_internallink_textlink_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajc_launch
Bridge to broaden access to KSU campus
BY ANDRIA SIMMONS – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
A bridge over I-75 set for a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday will give Kennesaw State University students better access to their football stadium, restaurants and retail. As if college students needed an easier way to shop. Joking aside, the so-called Skip Spann Connector is expected to be a big bonus for the university’s 25,000 students as well as north Cobb County commuters.

RESEARCH:
www.thepoducenews.com
http://www.theproducenews.com/index.php/news-dep-menu/test-featured/11489-center-for-produce-safety-awards-3-million-to-16-projects
Center for Produce Safety awards $3 million to 16 projects
The Center for Produce Safety at the University of California-Davis announced 16 new grant awards valued at $3 million. The research awards are directed at answering critical questions in specific areas of food-safety practices for fruit, vegetable and tree nut production; pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest handling; and co-management of food safety and the environment. …Research work on these projects will begin in January 2014. They are: …George Vellidis, University of Georgia: Does Salmonella move through the irrigation systems of mixed produce farms of the Southeastern United States? George Vellidis, University of Georgia: Does splash from overhead sprinkler irrigation systems contaminate produce with Salmonella in the Southeastern United States?

www.ibtimes.com
www.ibtimes.com/study-measures-digital-natives-around-world-heres-where-millennials-use-internet-most-1417826
Study Measures ‘Digital Natives’ Around The World: Here’s Where Millennials Use The Internet The Most
By Philip Ross
Show us a millennial who hasn’t opened an Internet browser in the last 24 hours, and we’ll show you a photo of Miley Cyrus without her tongue sticking out. These days it seems every young person is perpetually plugged into the Web. But globally, that’s not really the case: Less than one in three young people around the world between age of 15 and 24 has been active on the Internet for at least five years, according to a new study. Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the International Telecommunication Union, or ITU, looked at Internet use among young people globally, measuring the proportion of people between the ages of 15 and 24, and then measuring the percentage of “digital natives” — those who grew up with personal computers — by country, focusing on populations as a whole with the highest proportion of Internet-savvy millennials.

www.redorbit.com
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112968847/brain-games-does-not-boost-intelligence-100813/
Brain Training Games Do Not Make You More Intelligent
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com
Brain teasers and other IQ games can be found nearly anywhere online, promising to improve mental function and even boost intelligence. Now one Georgia Institute of Technology researcher says these claims are only half true. While these types of games may improve mental dexterity, particularly where memory is concerned, they cannot improve overall intelligence. According to lead researcher Randall Engle, the difference lies in the definitions of intelligence and memory.

www.redorbit.com
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112968826/global-digital-native-youth-online-report-100813/
US Ranks Sixth In Percentage Of ‘Digital Natives’
reOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
Roughly 30 percent of the world’s population between the ages of 15 and 24 has been active online for the past five years or longer, according to a new report (PDF) from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The findings show South Korea has the highest percentage of its young people active online – 99.6 percent – while the Asian island of Timor Leste has less than one percent, the lowest of any country.

www.informationweek.com
http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/google-dont-fear-android-malware/240162399
Google: Don’t Fear Android Malware
Mathew J. Schwartz
Don’t fear the Android malware. That was the gist of a presentation at last week’s Virus Bulletin conference in Berlin by Google’s Android chief of security Adrian Ludwig, who reported that only 0.001% of apps downloaded by Android users pose any harm to their devices or data… A study released Monday by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and security firm Damballa, “The Core of the Matter: Analyzing Malicious Traffic in Cellular Carriers,” found that mobile malware “appears in a minuscule number of devices” in the two networks they studied.

www.herald-review.com
http://herald-review.com/entertainment/video-games/the-cult-of-the-cookie-clicker-when-is-a-game/article_66e19dd4-2b7b-11e3-9b3c-001a4bcf887a.html
The cult of the cookie clicker: When is a game not a game?
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
There’s a growing obsession online with cookies, imaginary chocolate chip cookies. In early August, avant-garde game developer Orteil put his latest prototype online: “Cookie Clicker.” In the free game, players have to click on a cookie to produce a cookie. Those cookies can, in turn, be used to increase cookie production through the purchase of virtual grandmas, farms, time machines and the like. an Bogost, video game designer, critic and researcher at Georgia Institute of Technology, created his own take on clicking games in 2010.

www.cnbc.com
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101096185
Education start-ups are exploding
By Julia Boorstin | CNBC Media and Entertainment Reporter
At the Education Nation summit over the past few days a recurring theme has been how new tech tools can improve education and tackle soaring costs. A relatively new category of “EdTech” start-up looks to use technology to make education more effective and accessible to hundreds of millions of people. “Anyone in the world should be able to take high-quality courses, whether at the college or high school level,” said Anant Agarwal, the president of nonprofit EdX, which makes college courses available online. “They should be able to take it freely, maybe pay a small amount to get a credential.”… Udacity also helps schools like Georgia Tech offer an online master’s program for less than $7,000.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.jacksonville.com
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2013-10-08/story/state-revenue-continues-increase-governors-office-says
State revenue continues to increase, Governor’s Office says
By Terry Dickson
Georgia’s net tax collections for September were up $132 million over last year, Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday. When the $1.72 billion in tax revenue for September was added in, the state has collected $4.48 billion since a new fiscal year began July 1, Deal’s office said. That is an increase of $247.5 million, or 5.8 percent, compared to the same point a year ago, Deal’s office said.

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Give-Low-Income/142163/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
How to Give Low-Income Students the Chance They Deserve
By Jack Markell
While Washington policy makers continue to spend most of their time consumed by manufactured budget crises, serious threats to our nation’s future competitiveness go unaddressed. One challenge that demands immediate attention is the gap in education quality based on a family’s wealth—a factor in the nation’s rising income inequality.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/10/08/women-in-science-or-not/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Women in Science (or Not)
By Ann Adjie Shirley-Henderson
After a few drinks with male scientists at a bar, I was hit with the question, “So what do you babes in the sciences want?” The quick answer I gave, after suppressing an obscenity, had to do with creating a level playing field. But that’s not what I really want. I want retribution, remuneration, and recognition, right now. But I would settle for an even split between male and female scientists in all favorable factors for success, immediately.

www.nytimes.com

Let’s Build a More Secure Internet
By ELI DOURADO
ARLINGTON, Va. — CAN we ever trust the Internet again? In the wake of the disclosures about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, considerable attention has been focused on the agency’s collaboration with companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google, which according to leaked documents appear to have programmed “back door” encryption weaknesses into popular consumer products and services like Hotmail, iPhones and Android phones.

Education News
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/marketplacek12/2013/10/opened_recommends_common_core-aligned_resources.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
OpenEd Recommends Common Core-Aligned Resources
By Michele Molnar
An entrepreneur today announced the launch of OpenEd, an online catalog of more than 250,000 web-based educational videos, games, and exercises through a platform designed to sort and recommend materials based on their alignment to the Common Core State Standards. Each resource has been reviewed by a teacher in the appropriate subject area. Almost all of the academic materials recommended on the site are free, and OpenEd itself is free to use.

www.blogs.edweek.org
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/10/business_leaders_push_for_pane.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2
Business Group Calls for Panel to Vet Common-Core Teaching Materials
By Catherine Gewertz on October 9, 2013 10:09 AM
An organization of top business leaders is calling for the establishment of a panel of judges who would decide which instructional materials are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The idea has been kicking around for several years, but the Business Roundtable formally proposed it in a document released on Monday. The paper is a broad policy statement about the group’s educational priorities. In the section about the common core, it includes a proposal for an alignment group:

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/desire2learn-enters-mooc-market-as-it-updates-its-platform/47217?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
Desire2Learn Enters MOOC Market as It Updates Its Platform
By Hannah Winston
The course-management company Desire2Learn unveiled a MOOC-enabled version of its online-learning platform on Tuesday, joining two competitors, Blackboard and Instructure, in entering the market for massive open online courses.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Council-of-Graduate-Schools/142211/
Council of Graduate Schools’ President Is Stepping Down
By Lindsay Ellis
Washington
Debra W. Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools since 2000, announced this week that she would be leaving the position at the end of June 2014. The announcement comes at a time when graduate education faces a number of challenges, including increased calls for programs to demonstrate their worth. Ms. Stewart said that graduate schools today must expand access to their programs, increase understanding among policy makers and others of the programs’ public benefits, and improve data collection on career outcomes and student trajectories.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/bottomline/on-her-way-out-u-of-michigans-president-gives-1-million-for-study-abroad-scholarships/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en
On Her Way Out, U. of Mich. Chief Gives $1-Million for Scholarships
By Don Troop
Everyone loves to knock college presidents for drawing exorbitant salaries at a time when many students are struggling to pay tuition. On Tuesday the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor’s president, Mary Sue Coleman, announced that she and her husband, Kenneth M. Coleman, would give something back: $1-million to support study-abroad scholarships for Michigan students.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/4-Other-States-Could-Be/142217/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
4 Other States Could Be Affected by Desegregation Ruling in Maryland
By Eric Kelderman
A federal district court’s ruling on Monday that Maryland has failed to fully desegregate its public higher-education system is the first significant judicial decision on the topic since 1992, said an expert on the case, and could spur federal action or similar lawsuits in a handful of other states.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/After-One-Week-Federal/142215/?cid=at
After One Week, Federal Shutdown Is Already Taking a Toll on Higher Ed
By Kelly Field, Andy Thomason, and Jennifer Howard
Washington
The government shutdown that began last week is already taking a toll on higher education, despite assurances from policy makers that colleges and students would be largely spared in the short term. Research projects have been interrupted, academic meetings have been postponed or canceled, and some students are being urged to put off their educations until the federal-budget impasse ends.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Big-12-Commissioner-Backs-New/142205/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en
Big 12 Commissioner Backs New Benefits Short of Payments for Athletes
By Brad Wolverton
Three months ago, the commissioner of the Big 12 Conference emerged as a leading voice in the makeover of the NCAA’s top division, calling for “transformative change” in the association and its governing structure. Since then, Bob Bowlsby and his fellow commissioners have led efforts to create a more diverse Division I leadership model and have begun discussions about cleaning up the NCAA’s flawed enforcement system. But as athletes’ rights have moved to the center of the conversation, the Big 12 chief is urging major-college programs to consider new ideas for helping players.