2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS
Marietta Daily Journal
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24356559/article-Governor-details-plan-to-help-tech-school-students?instance=secondary_story_left_column
Governor details plan to help tech school students
by Christina A. Cassidy, Associated Press
ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal said Wednesday he will propose the state establish a separate scholarship within the HOPE grant program to provide full tuition for technical college students with a 3.5 grade-point average. Deal, in an interview, said the new Zell Miller Scholarship in the HOPE grant program will help train the state’s workforce to meet critical employer needs. His office estimates about 16,000 technical college students would immediately qualify.
Related articles:
www.sacbee.com
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/08/6057196/ap-interview-deal-details-education.html
AP Interview: Deal details education proposals
www.wsbtv.com
http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/education/ap-interview-deal-details-education-proposals/ncgR3/
AP Interview: Deal details education proposals
www.wctv.tv
http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/GovDeal-Details-Education-Proposals-239349171.html
Gov. Deal Details Education Proposals
www.wjcl.com
http://www.wjcl.com/news/local/technical-college-scholarships
Technical College Scholarship Plan
www.nbc26.tv
http://www.nbc26.tv/story/24398075/gov-deal-details-education-proposals
Governor Deal details education proposals
WXIA TV11
http://www.11alive.com/news/article/318415/3/College-gun-bill-likely-to-get-GA-legislature-priority
College gun bill likely to get GA legislature priority
ATLANTA — Although the Georgia Board of Regents forbids it, the folks who run the Georgia legislature would like to expand the rights of college students to carry guns on campus. They do so especially with an eye on urban campuses like Georgia Tech.
Georgia Report
https://tcsg.edu/newsclips/bill_to_allow_guns_on_campus.php
Lawmakers will take up bill to allow guns on campus
Jan. 9, 2014
By Tom Crawford
College students could get the go-ahead to pack heat on their campuses under a gun carry bill that is expected to get a legislative vote during the upcoming General Assembly session. House Speaker David Ralston made it clear Thursday that he supports the issue of campus carry and is ready to override opposition to the bill from the Board of Regents and the University System.
WABE
http://wabe.org/post/georgias-house-speaker-unveils-legislative-priorities
Georgia’s House Speaker Unveils Legislative Priorities
Jan. 9, 2014
By Michelle Smith
…Speaker Ralston says his biggest priority is the state budget. Now that state revenues are increasing, Ralston says some additional money could go to education, healthcare and the state’s rainy day fund. Ralston is also hopeful state employees will receive a boost in pay. … The House speaker also hopes legislation to allow college students to carry guns on campus will move forward this year. Last year, both chambers approved legislation to expand gun rights but the House and Senate couldn’t come to an agreement by the session’s end. “I’m hoping that our colleagues over on the other side of the Capitol will sit back down take a look at that, that we cans sort of get the special interests out of the way on that.”
Athens Banner Herald
http://onlineathens.com/opinion/2014-01-07/what-others-say-legislators-likely-ignore-tough-issues-rome-news-tribune
OPINION PIECE — What Others Say: Legislators likely to ignore tough issues (Rome News-Tribune)
The upcoming Georgia General Assembly session is almost predictable, a rarity for a legislative body seemingly dominated by rogue rangers who shoot at every imagined target existing. Yes, they’re coming back Monday … even the ones that don’t count and barely have a vote, like the minority Democrats. But it is easy to anticipate this time will be considerably different, and perhaps milder on the nerves, than what most Georgians have come to expect.
University System News
USG NEWS:
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/latest-news/2014-01-09/regents-review-out-state-tuition-waivers?utm_source=Morris%20Digital%20Works&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AfternoonUpdate%3ALatestNewsfromSavannahnow.com#.Us8DACjGEeU
Regents to review out-of-state tuition waivers
By Associated Press
ATLANTA — State regents say they plan policy changes next month that would allow the board — rather than state lawmakers — to make decisions on tuition waivers for out-of-state students at Georgia colleges and universities. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/JJHQ1y) that the regents acknowledged Wednesday that guidelines for out-of-state tuition waivers need to be improved.
www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/news/2014-01-09/regents-target-health-care-costs#.Us8FvijGEeU
Regents target health care costs
By WALTER C. JONES
ATLANTA — A new report shows the University System of Georgia has higher costs for some types of medical treatments and greater insurance risks than private industry, but administrators say the information will help them find savings. Wednesday, the Board of Regents’ Committee on Personnel and Benefits got its first look at the report by Truven Health Analytics and heard how it can lead to cost-reduction strategies.
Red and Black
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/administration/all-talk-no-vote-smoke-ban-policy-to-be-determined/article_acc79040-78b2-11e3-b1a2-001a4bcf6878.html
All talk, no vote: smoke ban policy to be determined
By Brad Mannion
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia did not vote on the “Tobacco and Smoke-Free Campus Policy” at its monthly meeting Wednesday. For now, the future of a smoke-free campus at UGA is still undecided. …If passed, the policy would ban all on-campus tobacco smoking, with the addition of electronic cigarettes, to more than 30 public colleges and universities in Georgia.
WALBTV10
http://www.walb.com/story/24401797/earning-a-teaching-certificate-is-becoming-tougher-in-georgia
Earning a teaching certificate in Georgia is becoming tougher
By Josh Rhoden
ALBANY, GA (WALB) –
It’s about to get tougher to earn a certificate to teach in Georgia. Wednesday, The Professional Standards Commission briefed the board of regents on new rules that will require teachers to pass tests to demonstrate an understanding of content knowledge and classroom teaching. The University System will also make changes aimed at making sure education majors show they are effective in the classroom.
www.courthousenews.com
http://www.courthousenews.com/2014/01/08/64348.htmt
Fired Georgia Tech Professor Loses Lawsuit
By IULIA FILIP
ATLANTA (CN) – Georgia Tech did not violate the rights of a professor it said it fired for misusing school resources for his tech start-up, a federal judge ruled. Joy Laskar was a tenured professor of electrical engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology until 2011. While teaching graduate students, Laskar did research on chip design at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) and founded a number of tech companies that sold for millions of dollars.
WALBTV 10
http://www.walb.com/story/24409812/sireno-darton-money-issues-reduced-by-over-90
Sireno: Darton money issues reduced by over 90%
Posted Jan. 9, 2014
By Jim Wallace
A Board of Regents audit released Thursday shows major financial and record keeping issues at Darton State College. University System and Darton officials weren’t available to answer our questions, but most students told us they believe the institution is not corrupt.
Albany Herald
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/jan/09/darton-state-darton-foundation-respond-to/
Darton State, Darton Foundation respond to findings of audit
Jan. 9, 2014
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — Darton State College officials and the Darton College Foundation issued statements Thursday in regard to the findings of a University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ audit report critical of the college’s handling of its finances.
Rome News Tribune
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/georgia-highlands-college-presidential-search-committees-named/article_30ab1bc6-787b-11e3-b217-001a4bcf6878.html
Georgia Highlands College presidential search committees named
Posted Jan. 9, 2014
University System of Georgia officials have announced the formation of the two committees required by regents’ policy to conduct a national search for the permanent president of Georgia Highlands College.
USG VALUE:
Ebony Magazine
http://www.ebony.com/career-finance/black-fresh-20-something-eden-bodyworks-founder-jasmine-lawrence-837#ixzz2q07JIaaq
Black, Fresh & 20-Something
January 8, 2014
Jasmine Lawrence is not your typical 22-year-old. … And while she’s running her own successful company, the recent Georgia Tech alumna and aspiring roboticist is also a project manager at Microsoft on the Xbox One team. EBONY.com caught up with Lawrence to learn her keys to success and discover what’s next for this fast-rising star.
GOOD NEWS:
Athens Banner-Herald
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-01-08/regents-ok-new-ac-ugas-brumby-russell-residence-halls
Regents OK new AC for Brumby, Russell
ATLANTA — Residents of the University of Georgia’s largest dorms will have reliably cool rooms with the approval Wednesday of a renovation project.
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted to OK the $2.8 million replacement of the 20-year-old chiller unit serving Brumby and Russell halls, funded by the UGA Auxiliary Housing reserves.
Access North Georgia
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=269716
Renovations at UNG’s Gainesville Campus add space, opportunity
By Staff
OAKWOOD – The University of North Georgia’s Gainesville Campus is undergoing renovations to support science education, add parking capacity, and to add space and equipment for student fitness and recreation. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents is providing $1 million, through the system’s budget for small capital projects, to convert two classrooms in the Science Building into a new multi-use wet lab, which will support high-demand courses in the sciences.
Related article in the Gainesville Times: http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/93978/
RESEARCH:
Healthcare Info Security
http://www.healthcareinfosecurity.com/supply-chain-finding-bad-devices-a-6344
Supply Chain: Finding Bad Devices
January 8, 2014
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are working on a way to profile devices along the supply chain to identify whether they’ve been compromised.
Red Orbit
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113042729/seaweed-chemical-warfare-competition-coral-reef-010914/#IhfQfa0ZGL4Ypf41.99
Competition Between Coral, Seaweed Occurs On A Chemical Level
January 9, 2014
… “The important takeaway is that competition between corals and seaweeds can cause dramatic changes in seaweed physiology, both in terms of their growth and their defense,” said Douglas Rasher, who was a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology when the research was conducted. “These changes have potentially cascading effects throughout the rest of the reef community.”
Atlanta Business Chronicle
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/01/10/georgia-tech-working-on-solar-charging.html
Georgia Tech working on solar charging technology
January 10, 2014
Georgia Tech is powering a global automaker’s efforts at putting more electric vehicles on the road. The Atlanta-based engineering powerhouse is developing charging technology for Ford Motor Co.’s solar-powered concept vehicle. (Subscription required*)
Atlanta Business Chronicle
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2014/01/10/what-it-takes-for-america-to-compete.html?page=all
What it takes for America to compete
January 10, 2014
Now that Congress has approved a bipartisan budget deal, another discussion can resume in Washington — one that profoundly influences our nation’s future competitiveness. The discussion involves renewing legislation to increase federal investment in universities to generate more breakthroughs in science and technology. The legislation, called “America COMPETES,” would also do more to get new inventions and discoveries out of the labs and into the marketplace… A few of the companies profiled in the report are here in Georgia, including Clearside Biomedical, a spinout of Emory and Georgia Tech. Clearside’s invention is ingenious — a needle just 1 centimeter long, engineered to deliver medication to a tiny space in the back of the eye, where diseases that threaten eyesight often occur. (Subscription required*)
Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/video/2014/01/09/reuters-tv-nano-engineers-produce-liquid-repellent?videoId=276371951&videoChannel=118065
Nano-engineers produce liquid-repellent paper (Video)
January 9, 2014
Through a nano-engineering process, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have changed the chemical properties of paper to give it the ability to repel liquid more efficiently and at lower cost than existing materials. As Ben Gruber reports, it looks and feels like conventional paper, but that’s where the similarities end.
State Needs/Issues
Georgia Public Broadcasting
http://www.gpb.org/news/2014/01/09/georgias-economic-growth-set-to-outpace-the-nations-in-2014
Georgia’s Economic Growth Set To Outpace The Nation’s In 2014
Jan. 10, 2014
By Leah Fleming
MACON, Ga. —
The weather may be chilly in Georgia right now, but the state’s economic forecast is heating up
Even though the state is still climbing out of the recession of 2008, it looks like it’s going to be a good year for the economy. That’s the message given to a room full of business leaders in Middle Georgia on Thursday.
WMAZTV13
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/military/2014/01/09/veterans-training-center-warner-robins-ga/4394727/
Warner Robins Veterans Training Center on the fast track
Jan. 9, 2014
By Lorra Lynch Jones
State and local leaders are putting a Veterans Training Center, to be located in Warner Robins, on the fast track. Governor Nathan Deal is spear-heading the $10 million state-funded project.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
The Albany Herald
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2014/jan/09/limited-audit-shows-big-problems-at-darton-state/
Limited audit shows big problems at Darton State College
ALBANY HERALD EDITORIAL: Interim President Paul Jones has important role in positioning Darton for the future
January 9, 2014
A business, including one operated by a government, has to do the basics of proper bookkeeping.
From the results of a three-month audit of Darton State College that was conducted last year, that, sadly, doesn’t appear to be the case. It also should generate concern as to what else might be awry should a more intensive audit covering a longer period be ordered by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303933104579302951214561682
How the College Bubble Will Pop
January 9, 2014
The American political class has long held that higher education is vital to individual and national success. The Obama administration has dubbed college “the ticket to the middle class,” and political leaders from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have hailed higher education as the best way to improve economic opportunity. Parents and high-school guidance counselors tend to agree.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
http://www.myajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/jan/08/board-regents-becoming-teacher-georgia-will-be-har/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Board of Regents: Becoming a teacher in Georgia will be harder
From the Georgia Board of Regents today:
Becoming a teacher in Georgia is getting a lot more rigorous and college programs that prepare teachers are being held to a much tougher and higher level of accountability, according to Georgia officials in charge of teacher preparation programs and teacher certification. This is the theme of a statewide effort to provide more data-driven oversight to improve the quality of teacher preparation efforts. This effort complements those being made by the University System of Georgia to use data to track and strengthen the effectiveness of its teacher programs.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
http://www.myajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/jan/06/barge-gov-deal-we-arent-funding-education-same-rat/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Barge to Gov. Deal: We aren’t funding education at the same rates we did nearly 30 years ago
John Barge is both Georgia’s top education official and a candidate for governor. He is a conservative Republican running against an incumbent GOP governor. It makes for interesting drama, including this open letter to Gov. Nathan Deal and the Legislature that Barge just issued. Barge speaks a lot to the increasing frustration of rural districts, a voting bloc he is clearly targeting in his campaign.
Atlanta Journal Constitution
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/01/09/arthur-blank-michael-stipe-and-more-parsing-the-big-time-georgia-political-donors/#sthash.RDwFBKCh.5o96NqAT.dpbs
Your Daily Jolt: Nathan Deal aims big money at Georgia’s technical schools
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
Jan. 9, 2014
We have a more complete sweep of education issues on myajc.com this morning, but Georgia’s tech schools are an early winner in this year’s session of the state Legislature: Gov. Nathan Deal wants to establish a scholarship that would provide full tuition for tech college students who earn a 3.5 grade point average, his spokesman Brian Robinson said Wednesday. … The move is a continued attempt to address one of the biggest missteps of the first four years of the Deal administration – the move to require a 3.0 grade point average for tech school students in order to keep HOPE scholarship money.
www.atlantamagazine.com
http://www.atlantamagazine.com/colleges/2014/01/02/hope-scholarship-cons
HOPE Scholarship: The cons
Did the legislature’s 2011 reforms ruin HOPE?
by Betsy Riley
The letter arrived about three years too late. Six, really, but who’s counting? It said my younger son had been admitted to the University of Georgia. He’d put in his transfer application during a moment of uncertainty, but then decided to stay at Elon University in North Carolina. When both of my boys graduated from high school—each with HOPE-eligible GPAs—they wanted UGA or nothing. We got nothing. Nothing but huge out-of-state tuition bills, that is. For my family, all the HOPE Scholarship did was put our state’s flagship school just out of reach.
www.atlantamagazine.com
http://www.atlantamagazine.com/colleges/2014/01/02/hope-scholarship-pros
HOPE Scholarship: The pros
The program has surpassed its goals. So why are people complaining?
by Rebecca Burns
The HOPE scholarship program was launched two decades ago with three specific goals: increase the number of Georgians with postsecondary education, improve the overall quality of the state’s university system, and stanch the exodus of high-achieving students. HOPE has accomplished all three aims—and then some. Over the past two decades, the number of Georgians with college degrees increased from 19 to 28 percent. The state’s big schools, not just Tech and UGA, have become more competitive (see the chart of rising SATs here). And kids who could go anywhere in the country stay here; a decade after HOPE’s debut, more than 40 percent of Georgia high school seniors who scored between 1400 and 1490 on the SAT elected to stay in-state for college—double the rate before the scholarship existed. –
www.atlantamagazine.com
http://www.atlantamagazine.com/colleges/2014/01/02/hope-scholarship-by-the-numbers
HOPE Scholarship by the numbers
A graphical look at the program over the past 20 years
by Betsy Riley and Mary Jo DiLonardo
The ten public high schools with the most HOPE-eligible students and the ten with the most students eligible for the even more elite Zell Miller Scholarship (fourteen schools total because of overlap) are clustered in five metro Atlanta counties. NOTE: These schools were ranked by number of scholars. Percentages are provided for the reader’s information. –
www.seattletimes.com
http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2022486331_samsmithopedhighereducationxxxml.html?syndication=rss
Guest: A way back from the decline in college enrollment
Many in the educational community are incorporating technological innovations to produce new and affordable delivery methods, writes guest columnist Samuel H. Smith.
By Samuel H. Smith
Special to The Times
IT’S a tough time to be a college student, and it’s a tough time not to have a degree. Despite dim reports of high cost and limited accessibility, however, we are seeing a revolution of immense changes, many brought on by technological innovations reshaping how we learn. Recent College Board and census data show the average cost of a four-year college education has increased by more than 250 percent, to about $22,000 per year, since 1980.
The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303933104579302951214561682
Richard Vedder and Christopher Denhart: How the College Bubble Will Pop
In 1970, less than 1% of taxi drivers had college degrees. Four decades later, more than 15% do.
By RICHARD VEDDER And CHRISTOPHER DENHART
The American political class has long held that higher education is vital to individual and national success. The Obama administration has dubbed college “the ticket to the middle class,” and political leaders from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have hailed higher education as the best way to improve economic opportunity. Parents and high-school guidance counselors tend to agree. Yet despite such exhortations, total college enrollment has fallen by 1.5% since 2012.
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303870704579298302637802002?KEYWORDS=%22georgia+tech%22
Degrees of Value: Making College Pay Off
For Too Many Americans, College Today Isn’t Worth It
Jan. 7, 2014
By Glenn Harland Reynolds
In the field of higher education, reality is outrunning parody. A recent feature on the satire website the Onion proclaimed, “30-Year-Old Has Earned $11 More Than He Would Have Without College Education.” Allowing for tuition, interest on student loans, and four years of foregone income while in school, the fictional student “Patrick Moorhouse” wasn’t much better off. His years of stress and study, the article japed, “have been more or less a financial wash.” (subscription required)
www.jbhe.com
Educating the African American Male for the 21st Century
by Jà Hon Vance
Over the past twenty-five years, there has been great concern regarding the African American male student in higher education — primarily at the community college level. Often, he, meaning the African American male, has been written out of the learning achievement paradigm. Far too many educational programs have been created, but not developed nor structured for him to achieve the outcome of graduation while being competent, proficient and skilled to matriculate within the workforce or continuing onward to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Macon Telegraph
http://www.macon.com/2014/01/10/2871454/2014s-economic-forecast-has-georgia.html
2014’s economic forecast has Georgia looking up
It’s been a long, dry drain, but top state economists predict 2014 will be the year when we will start feeling better about the state of the nation’s economy and particularly the economy in Georgia. Dr. Charles Knapp, president emeritus of the University of Georgia and now dean of the Terry School of Business, and Dr. Roger Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University, were the bearers of the good news at the Economic Outlook Luncheon at the Museum of Aviation.
Education News
The Atlantic
ttp://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/01/whats-ahead-for-education-in-2014/282924/
What’s Ahead for Education in 2014
January 9, 2014
The last several years in education have been filled with turmoil: cheating scandals, debates and protests over curriculum and testing, big changes in the way students are taught. The new year offers brings more changes—but also an opportunity to find solutions to old problems and reach common ground on the divisions of the past. Here’s a look at some of the big questions in education for 2014… Will people finally calm down about MOOCs? Massive Open Online Classes inspire hyperbole. The Washington Post declared the 2013-2014 school year the “year that the MOOC truly goes mainstream.” The New York Times breathlessly proclaimed that an all-online Master’s degree at Georgia Tech “could signal a change to the landscape of higher education.”
Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/01/10/us-urges-private-lenders-and-servicers-help-borrowers
U.S. Urges Private Lenders and Servicers to Help Borrowers
Jan. 10, 2014
Top Obama administration officials on Thursday summoned the heads of more than a dozen financial institutions and loan servicing entities to the Treasury Department to discuss ways to improve the private student loan market.
The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324049504578545884011480020?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424127887324049504578545884011480020.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories
More Students Subsidize Classmates’ Tuition
Jan. 9, 2014
By Douglas Belkin
Well-off students at private schools have long subsidized poorer classmates. But as states grapple with the rising cost of higher education, middle-income students at public colleges in a dozen states now pay a growing share of their tuition to aid those lower on the economic ladder. (subscription required)
Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/10/liberal-arts-colleges-pool-their-resources
Cross-College Collaboration
Jan. 10, 2014
By Megan Rogers
Faced with increasingly tight budgets, liberal arts colleges are looking to share resources to reduce costs and expand programs. But when the end goal is collaboration and not a merger, how should administrators decide which services are appropriate to share?
Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/10/alabama-university-limits-presidents-love-life
President’s Home or Prison?
Jan. 10, 2013
By Ry Rivard
The new Alabama State University president’s contract comes with strings attached — to her love life. Gwendolyn Boyd is coming back to her alma mater from Johns Hopkins University to shepherd Alabama State through a rough patch involving a damning audit aimed at the university. Boyd’s new contract is pretty standard — $300,000 a year, a car and the presidential residence – except she can’t have lovers staying overnight for an extended period of time.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/article/At-the-MLA-Differing-Views-on/143943/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
At the MLA, Differing Views at Separate Sessions on Academic Boycotts
January 10, 2014
Two sessions on academic boycotts and the Israel-Palestine question, one official and one organized outside the conference, drew relatively small but passionate crowds on Thursday as the Modern Language Association’s annual meeting opened here. The panels helped set the stage for a vote on Saturday by the MLA Delegate Assembly, which will consider a resolution that calls on the U.S. State Department “to contest Israel’s arbitrary denials of entry to Gaza and the West Bank by U.S. academics who have been invited to teach, confer, or do research at Palestinian universities.” (subscription required)
Inside Higher Education
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/10/mla-event-and-counter-event-debate-over-israel-boycott
The Two Session Solution
Jan. 10, 2014
By Scott Jaschik
…Session 48 may have attracted more scrutiny than any other at this year’s MLA. It featured a panel of scholars, all highly critical of Israel, and most supportive or sympathetic to the movement to boycott Israeli universities. The lack of strong critics of the boycott prompted other scholars to set up an alternative panel, which met right after the MLA session, at another hotel.
www.thechampionnewspaper.com
http://thechampionnewspaper.com/news/local/local-college-has-states-largest-esl-program/
Local college has state’s largest ESL program
Posted by Andrew Cauthen
When marriage brought Priscilla Rincon Jimenez, now 44, from Colombia to the United States, she knew very little English. “I studied English in my country, but only when I [was in] high school,” Jimenez said, her English conversational but still broken. She also studied English for a year in college in Latin America. In February 2013, Jimenez began studying English as a second language (ESL) at Georgia Piedmont Technical College (GPTC). Georgia Piedmont has “good teachers, quality teachers,” Jimenez said. Although she studied English at a Latin America institution, she prefers the education she received at GPTC, she said.
www.education.yahoo.net
http://education.yahoo.net/articles/jobs_needing_an_associate_s.htm?kid=1O1ME
Five in-demand jobs to pursue with an associate’s
There are lots of hot, high-growth jobs out there – and you can prepare to pursue them in as little as two years with an associate’s degree.
By Jennifer Berry
Do you feel like your professional life is not getting the attention it needs, but you don’t want to spend years in school to earn a four-year degree and change paths? Believe it or not, you can prepare to pursue an in-demand – possibly even a high-growth – career in as little as two years.
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/analyst-more-reforms-needed-of-federal-education-loans-to-parents/2014/01/08/48c9c3ea-7873-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html?wprss=rss_local
Analyst: More reforms needed of federal education loans to parents
By Nick Anderson, Published: January 8 E-mail the writerFor the past two years, many colleges have scrambled to help students find the money they need to stay in school because the federal government tightened standards for lending to parents. The flux was especially intense for historically black colleges and universities, including Howard and Morgan State universities, which serve a large share of students in financial need. On Wednesday, the New America Foundation — a think tank with backing from the Lumina, Ford and Gates foundations, among others — said the government was right “in trying to prevent parents from borrowing loans they might not be able to afford.”
www.cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/us/ncaa-athletes-reading-scores/
CNN analysis: Some college athletes play like adults, read like 5th-graders
By Sara Ganim, CNN
(CNN) — Early in her career as a learning specialist, Mary Willingham was in her office when a basketball player at the University of North Carolina walked in looking for help with his classwork. He couldn’t read or write. “And I kind of panicked. What do you do with that?” she said, recalling the meeting. Willingham’s job was to help athletes who weren’t quite ready academically for the work required at UNC at Chapel Hill, one of the country’s top public universities. But she was shocked that one couldn’t read. And then she found he was not an anomaly.
www/money.msn.com
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Jobs become more elusive for recent U.S. college grads -NY Fed
WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Recent college graduates in the United States face a more challenging job market, causing them to remain unemployed or take lower paying jobs than their counterparts in the past two decades, an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found. The report, released on Monday, analyzed more than 20 years of data and found that, while it generally takes new graduates some time to transition into the job market, today’s graduates are having an even tougher time and many are accepting jobs for which they are overqualified, low-wage jobs or part-time work.