University System News
2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/georgia-lawmakers-drop-campus-carry-effort/nc2Tx/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Georgia lawmakers drop ‘campus carry’ effort
BY AARON GOULD SHEININ AND KRISTINA TORRES – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
House Republicans officially pulled the plug Friday on the concept of allowing qualified college students to carry firearms on campus, with leaders promising to file a bill Monday that would otherwise expand gun rights in Georgia. The coming bill, as expected, will likely let churches allow parishioners to carry weapons, authorize school boards to give school administrators the ability to carry guns and establish a method of ensuring those deemed mentally ill don’t qualify for a license to carry.
USG VALUE:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2014-01-26/gru-police-do-more-patrol-campus
GRU police do more than patrol campus
By Travis Highfield
Staff Writer
Georgia Regents University’s Department of Public Safety played the role of hero Jan. 19 when it caught two armed robbery suspects fleeing a Kroger grocery store, but officials with the department say that’s nothing new. The state-certified agency boasts 45 sworn officers, 12 communications service officers, two majors and two detectives, making it more than capable of handling calls like some of the area’s larger police forces, said Maj. Eugene Maxwell, the assistant chief of police for operations.
“It’s not unusual for (convenience stores) to call us for shoplifters or unruly customers because they know we’ll get there first,” he said.
GOOD NEWS:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2014-01-23/georgia-regents-turns-around-finances
Georgia Regents turns around finances
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
After a bleak first six months last year, Georgia Regents Health System and its physician group is doing much better, but still faces difficulties, officials said. During meetings of the health system board and the board that governs its medical center, a much rosier financial picture appeared. A year ago, the medical center was more than $5 million in the hole, and medical associates was flush only because of a big payment from the federal government for effectively using electronic medical records, said Anthony Wagner, chief business officer for the health system and Georgia Regents University. The health system was “significantly underwater,” he said. This year, it is $8.2 million ahead, though not quite up to the $10.6 million it had budgeted, Wagner said.
USG NEWS:
www.wsav.com
http://www.wsav.com/story/24551975/smoking-ban-could-become-mandatory-for-savannah-area-universities
Smoking Ban Being Considered For Savannah Area Universities
By Raquel Rodriguez, Reporter
SAVANNAH, GA – Students and faculty at our area colleges might not be able to light up a cigarette on campus soon. The board governing Georgia’s university system is expected to vote in February on a system-wide campus tobacco ban. 31 campuses fall under the University System of Georgia including Savannah State University, Georgia Southern University, and Armstrong Atlantic State University.
www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2014/01/26/2900638/credit-agency-gives-fvsu-negative.html
Credit agency gives FVSU negative outlook
BY JENNA MINK
As historically black colleges and universities across the nation struggle, a credit rating agency has again given Fort Valley State University a negative financial outlook. Moody’s Investor Service recently affirmed its credit rating on bonds that were issued in 2006 for student housing at FVSU. The investor service claims the university is facing a $2 million deficit, has a miniscule amount of cash available and has a grim outlook as enrollment drops and funds dwindle, according to a news release from Moody’s.
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/crime/police-student-let-4-burglars-into-uga-dormitory/nc3yK/
Police: Student let 4 burglars into UGA dormitory
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Ga. — Police say four men suspected of burglarizing a dormitory at the University of Georgia got into the building when a student held a door open for them. The Athens Banner-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1ckRDX5 ) UGA police were called to Busbee Hall on the Athens campus early Sunday. Police say a student got into a fight with some of the suspects after finding them stealing items from his dorm. The burglars fled and escaped.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/suit-claims-woman-was-drugged-and-abused-at-georgi/ncz7H/
Suit claims woman was drugged and abused at Georgia Tech fraternity party
By Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Georgia State University student has filed suit against a Georgia Tech fraternity, claiming that she was drugged and had vulgar slurs written on her body while attending a 2012 party at the fraternity’s house on the Tech campus. The suit, filed last Friday by attorney David S. Fried on behalf of a woman referred to in the suit as “Jane Doe,” asserts that the 19-year-old was at an “Islander Week” party at the Phi Gamma Delta house on Fowler Street on April 19, 2012, when she was “handed a drink by a fraternity member.”
RESEARCH:
www.news.yahoo.com
http://news.yahoo.com/study-ids-possible-early-onset-glaucoma-drug-targets-165700217.html
Study IDs Possible New Early-Onset Glaucoma Drug Targets
By Vonda J. Sines
A study led by Georgia scientists has uncovered potential drug targets to halt early-onset glaucoma. This form of glaucoma strikes individuals up to 35 years old. Attendees at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening conference held in San Diego heard a presentation of the findings of the research, led by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The researchers used an unusual screening process to identify molecules that have the potential to block accumulation of a toxic eye protein linked to this form of glaucoma, according to ScienceDaily.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/science_health/body-s-reaction-to-cold-temps-causes-weight-loss/article_25a87916-849d-11e3-b37f-001a4bcf6878.html
Body’s reaction to cold temps causes weight loss
Helena Joseph
Sitting in a cold room for an hour every day can make you lose weight. University of Georgia researcher Clifton Baile is looking at ways to influence and activate brown adipose tissues as well as compounds that can induce the beige adipose tissues in the body.
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/athens/college-towns-breeding-ground-for-homelessness/article_f84c865c-849b-11e3-ae77-001a4bcf6878.html
College towns breeding ground for homelessness
Michelle Baruchman
Homelessness in college towns is not limited to Athens. In a documentary called “Homeless In A College Town.” Sari Gagnon followed individuals in Amherst, Mass. who lost their jobs and often their homes due to the economic recession. Amherst, which is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College and the University of Massachusetts, has similarities with Athens. Gagnon found college students affect living conditions, and their influence is magnified in college towns. The cost of rent is driven up due to the high demand of housing from college students, so low income wage earners have fewer options for affordable housing, especially when compared to larger cities.
www.news.cnet.com
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57617778-38/crypto-security-comp-sci-specialists-speak-out-on-nsa/
Crypto, security, comp-sci specialists speak out on NSA
In an open letter, more than 50 luminaries in computer science, cryptography, and security join together to decry reported efforts by the agency to undermine encryption and network security.
by Edward Moyer
More than 50 big names in the fields of computer science, security, and cryptography have published an open letter calling for an end to the NSA’s controversial spying practices, including reported efforts to undermine encryption and network-security standards. …Other signatories include Shai Halevi, director of the International Association for Cryptologic Research, and researchers from MIT, Georgia Tech, Carnegie-Mellon, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and a raft of other respected universities.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/01/26/a-messaging-battle-over-the-coming-changes-to-state-health-care-plan/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
The messaging battle over changes to state health care plan
By Greg Bluestein
State health officials are readying big changes to the state’s new health care plan in response to the outcry from some of the 650,000 teachers, public employees and others covered by the policies. But behind the scenes, a debate is raging over how to explain them. The argument from Gov. Nathan Deal and other conservatives is that President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is partly to blame for the rising costs and fewer options under the new state plan. Deal said as much last week, and some Republican lawmakers are using the tumult to push legislation that seeks to exempt the state health plan from changes under the Affordable Care Act.
http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/01/27/nathan-deal-taps-100-million-in-reserves-to-provide-fix-for-state-employee-health-care-plan/
Political Insider with Jim Galloway
By Jim Galloway, Greg Bluestein and Daniel Malloy
Nathan Deal taps $100 million in reserves to provide fix for state employee health care plan
Soothing complaints from teachers over the state’s new health care plan won’t come cheaply. Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday that it would cost about $100 million to make the changes that the Department of Community Health is expected to approve today in response to the outcry from some of the 650,000 teachers, public employees and their dependents. He’s tapping the insurance plan’s reserve funds for the money rather than take from other parts of the budget, a move that would leave the account with roughly around $300 million.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/views/our-take-morehead-s-plan-to-freeze-fees-a-step/article_8ada2c30-8628-11e3-9b78-001a4bcf6878.html
Our take: Morehead’s plan to freeze fees ‘a step in the right direction’
No one told us going to college would be inexpensive. That being said, it is always appreciated when the administration at the University of Georgia makes an effort to make our degrees a little bit more financially attainable. On Thursday, President Jere Morehead announced the decision to freeze many of the prices for auxiliary services at UGA. Such programs include housing, parking and food services, and are often especially important to those living on campus.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/stanford-economist-elite-colleges-should-not-give-credit-for-moocs/49811
Stanford Economist: Elite Colleges Should Not Give Credit for MOOCs
If highly selective colleges begin awarding credit to students who pass massive open online courses created by their faculty members, the institutions could undermine their ability to invest in promising students, according to an analysis by a well-known Stanford University economist.
www.huffingtonpost.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-j-hurley/stopping-the-privatizatio_b_4617230.html
Stopping the Privatization of American Public Higher Education
Daniel J. Hurley
Associate Vice President for Government Relations and State Policy at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)
The American public higher education finance system is broken. States’ disinvestment in higher education in recent decades has driven tuition prices ever higher, placing us at the precipice of a college affordability crisis. The federal government’s investment in student aid is substantial, yet the productivity of these dollars is not maximized to make college affordable for all students attending the nation’s public colleges and universities. The end results are decreasing college affordability, increasing student debt, and a quickening state-to-student cost shift in who pays for a public college education.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Its-Time-for-a-New-Definition/144207/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
It’s Time for a New Definition of Accreditation
By Milton Greenberg
The impending review and renewal of the Higher Education Act will be a defining moment in the tumultuous relationship between higher-education accreditation and the political forces of government. Many people in the academic world resist the inevitable and continuing political demands for greater openness, clinging to an almost romantic view of the academy, rooted in self governance, independence, and collegiality.
www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/01/26/poverty-and-the-education-opportunity-gap-will-obama-step-up-in-sotu/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss
Poverty and the education opportunity gap: Will Obama step up in SOTU?
President Obama is expected to talk about the issue of wealth inequality in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday. The question is whether he will advocate policies that actually address it or continue to push education policies that ignore the real problems facing poor children.
Education News
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/early-education-wins-in-spending-bill-but-universa/ncy2R/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Early education wins in spending bill, but universal pre-k a long way off
BY DANIEL MALLOY – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
WASHINGTON — Compared to the big plans President Barack Obama brought to Decatur a year ago, the nearly $1 billion in new early childhood education money Congress just handed out is a pittance. But advocates see the funds in the spending law signed last week – at a time when cuts have been dominating the federal budget conversation – as a bipartisan building block that will bring results for tens of thousands of children nationwide.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Giving-Prospective/144219/?cid=wb
Why Giving Prospective Students More Information Is Unlikely to Change Where They Go to College
By Beckie Supiano
Going to college generally pays off. But not all colleges are the same, and not all students end up at places where they’re likely to fare well. Dropping out or overborrowing—or both—are widely recognized problems. To try to prevent them, the federal government has unveiled a bunch of new tools to give prospective students more information. College Navigator offers a trove of searchable data. The College Scorecard features comparative performance measures. The Shopping Sheet is a standardized financial-aid award format.
http://chronicle.com/article/Parents-Now-Get-Themselves/144193/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en
Parents Now Get Themselves Involved in Graduate Admissions, Too
By Benjamin Mueller
Michele R. Mahoney, assistant director of graduate admissions at Wheelock College, was startled to hear an applicant’s father on the other end of the line. She had left a message for his son, an applicant to the master’s-degree program in social work. The father explained that he had returned her call because his son was busy doing music therapy with elderly people in New York. …Thus began one of the many uncomfortable encounters that graduate admissions officers, not used to parental meddling, say they are facing ever more frequently. “Helicopter parents,” already ubiquitous in undergraduate admissions, are invading the graduate-school process, too, driven by the rising cost of advanced degrees as well as by hard-to-break habits of coddling.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/27/uva-backs-away-loan-free-offer-its-poorest-students#ixzz2rbxpY3uI
Killing Off a Success
By Ry Rivard
Instead of guaranteeing that poor undergraduates can get through college debt-free, the University of Virginia decided it’s going to make low-income students borrow up to $28,000. That’s still a good deal, university officials say, for four years at one of American’s top public universities. The changes, which take effect for incoming students this fall, have caused uproar on campus and raise questions about whether any good deed can stay funded.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Chapel-Hill-Researcher-s/144169/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en
Chapel Hill Researcher’s Findings on Athletes’ Literacy Bring a Backlash
By Robin Wilson
Mary C. Willingham, the North Carolina learning specialist who has sparked controversy with her data about the poor reading skills of college athletes, says her latest work illuminates issues that she has been concerned about her whole life.
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/01/27/new-statement-seeks-reframe-academic-debate-about-israel-boycott
Against Boycotts and More
By Scott Jaschik
Amid all the shouting (in person and online) about the academic boycott of Israel, a new effort by boycott critics seeks to broaden the discussion. They have launched a petition that opposes both the boycott of Israeli universities and also attempts to interfere in tenure cases based on whether the candidates are seen as pro- or anti-Israel.
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/8-questions-co-founders-civitas-learning
8 Questions for the Co-Founders of Civitas Learning
Analytics is hot. And no company is currently hotter than Civitas Learning. Joshua Kim The buzz around Civitas in the edtech space is largely attributed to the track record of co-founders Mark Milliron (Chief Learning Officer) and Charles Thornburgh (CEO). Mark and Charles are well known in edtech circles for both their entrepreneurial track records as well as their deep connection to the education sector. (Charles was an in-house entrepreneur at Kaplan for many years, while Mark was the founding Chancellor of WGU Texas). I had the opportunity to chat with both Mark and Charles about the specifics of Civitas Learning, and where higher ed is going in general.
Other News
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/health-board-reverses-itself-on-teacher-employee-h/nc386/
Health board spends $100 million reversing itself on teacher, employee health plan
By James Salzer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After an outcry from teachers and state employees, a key state board this morning voted to make major changes to their health care plan to reduce out-of-pocket expenses that have hammered many recipients since Jan. 1.