University System News

2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY SESSION NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/common-core-supporters-rip-bill-that-would-limit-t/nd6dH/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1
Common Core supporters rip bill that would limit testing of material tied to it
BY WAYNE WASHINGTON – THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
Anti-Common Core legislation hit some resistance Wednesday as opponents blasted the bill in front of a House committee and Gov. Nathan Deal pointedly said it is not a “finished product.” Senate Bill 167, which has passed the Senate and appeared headed to smooth passage in the House, would prohibit Georgia from testing students on material tied to the national academic standards called Common Core. At a hearing on the bill, the House committee listened to 68 speakers. Many of them were educators defending the Common Core standards as helpful to Georgia schoolchildren. State Schools Superintendent John Barge spoke out against SB 167, saying it would cause chaos in the system and put federal dollars at risk. However, other speakers decried Common Core as a federal intrusion. Opponents of the bill, speaking in favor of Common Core, weren’t just from the education field.

www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24696311/article-Common-Core-bill-debated-in-Georgia-House?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
Common Core bill debated in Georgia House
by Jon Gillooly
ATLANTA — The House Education Committee on Wednesday heard from 68 people who sounded off about a bill that would provide a pathway to pull Georgia out of the controversial Common Core state standards.State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell), a member of the education committee who is running for state school superintendent, said the division between those who supported Sen. William Ligon’s Senate Bill 167 and those who opposed it was clear. “It’s very apparent that those who are opposed tended to be very right-leaning groups,” Morgan said. “Those who support Common Core are part of a very broad coalition ranging from education experts, educators, the business community and civic organizations, so we’re talking the superintendents association, the math and English language arts teachers associations, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Atlanta and 100 Black Men and the Atlanta Urban League.” Of the 68 people who testified, Morgan said “90 percent” supported Common Core state standards.

USG NEWS:
www.mdjonline.com
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24696445/article-KSU-commissions–artist–but-then-her—Art-ousted?instance=home_lead_story
KSU commissions artist, but then her … Art ousted
by Hannah Morgan
KENNESAW — Officials at Kennesaw State University said they are standing by their decision to keep a piece of controversial artwork out of the newly opened Zuckerman Museum of Art, but are working with the artist to explore re-installation. As of Wednesday morning, Tammy DeMel, a spokeswoman for the university, said the artwork in question, a piece created by Atlanta-area artist Ruth Stanford, an associate professor at Georgia State University, remained banned from the exhibit. “We are not able to say anything right now,” DeMel said.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/06/new-kennesaw-state-statement-removal-art
New Kennesaw State Statement on Removal of Art
Kennesaw State University, under fire for removing an art installation because it would not have been “celebratory” at the opening of a new museum, on Wednesday issued a new statement about its views on the issue. The art that was removed dealt with a woman whose land the university obtained and whose writing have led many to call her an apologist for lynching. The art installation did not focus solely on this issue, but included it among many parts of the woman’s story. The new university statement said: “The exhibit does not exist in a vacuum; it is connected to a sensitive controversy in Kennesaw State’s recent past, which remains extremely raw for many university constituents.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/politics/one-step-closer-to-carrying-concealed-guns-on-campus/article_cc4b4a74-a323-11e3-8501-001a4bcf6878.html
One step closer to carrying concealed guns on campus
Brittini Ray
University of Georgia students’ rights to bear arms could be expanded under new legislation passed by state House of Representatives lawmakers on Feb. 18. “It’s terrifying to know that this is happening,” said Graham Hines, a junior majoring in Chinese language and literature and film from Augusta. “I won’t be carrying one. I think it will cause more problems than it will solve.” House Bill 875 would reduce the penalties faced for carrying a weapon on campus and through airport security checkpoints. Instead of being arrested, citizens who are more than 21 years of age and have passed a background check will be fined a $100 penalty.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/employers-defining-ownership-content-guidelines-for-social-media/article_da496a48-a3eb-11e3-9148-001a4bcf6878.html
Employers defining ownership, content guidelines for social media
Stephen Mays
Facebook posts, tweets and Instagram photos all reflect the host account, but they can also affect others — including an employer. “To a certain extent, you always represent things other than yourself,” said Karen Russell, an associate professor in the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. From a public relations worker being fired after insensitively tweeting about AIDS in Africa or a daughter costing her father $80,000, it doesn’t take long for some user to inadvertently become a social media sensation. Some employers have begun using social media guidelines and pre-employment agreements to help prevent such happenings, said Cayce Myers, a doctoral candidate for mass communications at UGA.

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/cops/uga-employee-arrested-on-six-charges-include-possession-of-cocaine/article_cc7ab91a-a4dd-11e3-8f72-0017a43b2370.html
UGA employee arrested on six charges, including possession of cocaine
Rachel Brannon
A building services worker at the University of Georgia was arrested Monday with numerous charges after Athens-Clarke County police saw him driving on Oak Street with one headlight out. Police said in the report charges against the worker, Sammy Thomas Beasley, include possession of cocaine, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, a headlight not working, failure to maintain lane, fleeing or attempting to elude police and failure to obey traffic signs.

GOOD NEWS:
www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/stem-education-georgia-joins-national-teaching-fellowship
STEM Education: Georgia joins national teaching fellowship
Gwinnett Daily Post
Five Georgia colleges and universities were selected as sites for the Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellowship, Gov. Nathan Deal announced on Monday. Columbus State University, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Mercer University and Piedmont College joined a national initiative to increase the supply of teachers in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM fields, and to change how they are prepared to teach. Each of the institutions will develop a model master’s-level teacher preparation program that offers fellows a rigorous yearlong experience in local school classrooms

www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/campus/uga-recognized-for-trees-on-campus-for-fourth-consecutive-year/article_acda8d9e-a477-11e3-ade2-001a4bcf6878.html
UGA recognized for trees on campus for fourth consecutive year
By Taylor West
The University of Georgia has received Tree Campus USA recognition for the fourth year in a row from the Arbor Day Foundation. UGA was recognized for its promotion of a healthy campus tree management program in 2013, according to a UGA press release. …The Foundation gives awards on the basis of a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student learning project, according to the release.

RESEARCH:
www.georgiatrend.com
http://www.georgiatrend.com/March-2014/Digging-Through-Georgias-Past/
DIGGING THROUGH GEORGIA’S PAST
UGA’s Brown Media Archives is uncovering a wealth of video from WSB-TV spanning nearly 100 years of Georgia history.
Ed Lightsey
Each day, Paul Van Wicklen shows up for work in an underground vault at the Richard B. Russell Library on the campus of the University of Georgia (UGA), where he stands guard over a cavernous collection of items so rare their value cannot be estimated. The vault’s environment is carefully maintained at a temperature of 50 degrees, and humidity is set at 30 percent. Other numbers are even more impressive in the 30,000-square-foot room, with 50 miles of shelving under a ceiling 30 feet above. Van Wicklen is a librarian by profession, but he is better known to his younger staffers as the “Vault Master,” the man you must see to gain admittance to the chilly room and its treasure troves of historic documents, film, video, artwork, rare books and manuscripts. This day Van Wicklen has allowed a visitor to see how a valued film and video collection from Atlanta’s WSB television station is being maintained. Since the collection was donated in 2013, it’s already becoming known as the crown jewel of The Walter J. Brown Media Archives, with news footage on 16-millimeter film going back to 1948 and videotape news from the late 1970s to the present. The collection is a rare research tool, say experts.

STATE NEEDS/ISSUES:
www.accessnorthga.com
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=272030
Ga.’s unemployment rate declines to 7.3 percent in January
By Staff
ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 7.3 percent in January, down one-tenth of a percentage point from 7.4 percent in December. The rate was 8.6 percent in January a year ago. “This is the seventh consecutive month that the unemployment rate has declined,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “The rate fell because 15,928 more Georgians were employed and the number of new layoffs for January fell to the lowest level in eight years.”

Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.ajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/05/georgia-house-leader-we-need-more-kids-taking-ap-c/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Georgia House leader: We need more high school students enrolled in AP classes
Republican State Rep. Terry England represents portions of Barrow County. This is the first piece for the Get Schooled blog. In calling for more Georgia students in AP classes, England is essentially calling for more kids in a program based on national standards and national testing. As a member of the House Education Committee, he will be attending a hearing on a bill that bans national standards and testing from Georgia in an hour from now. It will be curious to see where he stands on Senate Bill 167.

www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/weblogs/get-schooled/2014/mar/05/sat-loses-essay-returns-1600-scale-and-looks-more-/
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
SAT makes essay optional, returns to 1600 scale and looks more like Common Core
The College Board introduced an essay section in 2005 because it felt a stronger focus on writing was needed in American high schools. The College Board now says the timed essay didn’t prove useful to many college admissions officers so it will become optional, part of an extensive overhaul of the college admissions test announced today. Gone with the mandatory essay is the 2400 scale; the SAT returns to a 1600 scale.

www.washingtonpost.com
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/03/05/the-key-problem-the-sat-changes-wont-fix/?wpisrc=nl_cuzheads
The Answer Sheet By Valerie Strauss
The key problem the SAT changes won’t fix
Big changes are coming (again) to the SAT, the once almighty college admissions test that was overtaken in popularity by the ACT. The essay portion of the exam, added in 2005 with great fanfare as a crucial new part of the exam, is now being made optional, because apparently, it wasn’t all that crucial after all. And those silly vocabulary words that nobody ever needed to know except for the SAT (and weren’t on the ACT) are being dumped.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/when-it-comes-chronic-illness-college-campuses-have-lot-learn
When it comes to chronic illness, college campuses have a lot to learn
90.9 WBUR
I recently received e-mails from a frustrated graduate student with chronic disease who was tired of administrative roadblocks at her particular school, and a distraught parent of a college student who was about to withdraw from another school because of her health. Both e-mails sought commiseration and advice, and both speak to the same issue: What happens when patients with chronic illness enter higher education? 

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/getting-degree
Getting that degree
Providence Journal
Last year, the four-year graduation rate at the University of Rhode Island was 44 percent, nearly the lowest of any state university in New England. As reported by Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi, only the University of Maine fared worse, at 33 percent. The numbers are even bleaker at Rhode Island College, predominantly a commuter school, where the rate fell to a dismal 13 percent last spring. High college costs and a struggling economy are both factors.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/education-gateway-middle-class-and-more
Education is the gateway to middle class and more
The Town Talk
The same study found educated citizens are less likely to be incarcerated, less dependent on government services, have lower mortality rates and are more likely to vote. A higher education degree is a proven road to a better, more productive life and a gateway to a secure, middle class income.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/what-should-we-do-123-billion
What should we do with $1.23 billion?
Minnesota Daily
Dayton has already called for state lawmakers to use at least $500 million of the surplus on levying and removing some of the harsher taxes that put Minnesota in the position to have a surplus, especially the taxes affecting small businesses and the middle class. With budget projections showing more surpluses in the next few years, the state has too much funding to simply create a “rainy day” fund. It has the power to give funding to the groups who need it more than anyone else, including road construction projects, businesses and the education sector. However, the state’s schools need money the most.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/five-ways-21st-and-20th-century-learning-will-differ
Five Ways that 21st and 20th Century Learning Will Differ
By Steven Mintz
How will teaching and learning in the early 21st century differ from its 20th century predecessor? Some shifts are already well underway. These include the growing embrace of open educational resources and of courses collaboratively designed and developed by teams including content area specialists, educational technologists, and instructional designers. Peer mentoring and grading are becoming more common, as is a gradual shift toward learner-centered pedagogies and competency-based, outcomes-oriented approaches.
Alongside these developments are five far-reaching developments.

Education News
www.ajc.com
http://www.ajc.com/videos/news/major-changes-to-sat-announced-for-2016/vCSddy/
Major Changes To SAT Announced For 2016 (video)
College Board, the organization behind the test, announced major changes, including more relevant vocabulary and the end of the mandatory essay.

www.macon.com
http://www.macon.com/2014/03/06/2974629/under-new-sat-1600-is-perfect.html
Under new SAT, 1,600 is perfect again
BY KIMBERLY HEFLING
AP Education Writer
WASHINGTON — The perfect score will again be 1,600. What’s more, the essay will be optional, students will no longer be penalized for wrong answers and the vocabulary is shifting to do away with some high-sounding words such as “prevaricator” and “sagacious.” The SAT college entrance exam is undergoing a sweeping revision. College Board officials said Wednesday the update — the first since 2005 — is needed to make the exam more representative of what students study in high school and the skills they need to succeed in college and afterward. The test should offer “worthy challenges, not artificial obstacles,” said College Board President David Coleman at an event in Austin, Texas. The new exam will be rolled out in 2016, so this year’s ninth-graders will be the first to take it, in their junior year.

www.nytimes.com

A New SAT Aims to Realign With Schoolwork
By TAMAR LEWIN
Saying its college admission exams do not focus enough on the important academic skills, the College Board announced on Wednesday a fundamental rethinking of the SAT, ending the longstanding penalty for guessing wrong, cutting obscure vocabulary words and making the essay optional. The president of the College Board, David Coleman, criticized his own test, the SAT, and its main rival, the ACT, saying that both had “become disconnected from the work of our high schools.”

Related articles:
www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/06/college-board-unveils-plans-new-sat-including-completely-revamped-writing-test
Grading the New SAT

www.cnn.com
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/05/living/sat-test-changes-schools/
Major changes coming to 2016 SAT test: Here’s what, how and why

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61058/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=e5eb397bd2d248b6bb926c06bdbeb9cb&elqCampaignId=173
New SAT: Essay Portion to Become Optional

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Plans-for-New-SAT-Spark-Mixed/145141/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Plans for New SAT Spark Mixed Reviews

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Group-Proposes-Improvements-in/145137/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Group Proposes Improvements in Higher-Education Data Systems
By Beckie Supiano
The country’s higher-education data systems are outdated and unable to help students, colleges, and policy makers answer some of their most pressing questions. That’s the premise of a new paper from the Institute for Higher Education Policy that suggests improvements. The paper, “Mapping the Postsecondary Data Domain: Problems and Possibilities,” was released on Thursday as part of the second round of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Reimagining Aid Design and Delivery” project. The institute, known as IHEP, is part of the project’s consortium on simplification and transparency.

www.savannahnow.com
http://savannahnow.com/bryan-county-now/2014-03-06/pathways-offer-educational-focus#.UxirHygrseU
Pathways offer educational focus
By Jamie Parker
At Richmond Hill High School more than 1,200 students, almost three quarters of the enrollment of the school have followed Career and Technical Education (CTAE) pathways designed to focus their education in specific areas of study this year. These career pathways allow students who intend to go to college to establish a basis for their higher education and continue to build on it after graduation; and at the same time equip those who plan to join the workforce after graduation with the skills they will need to successfully apply for a job in their chosen field.

www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/CostFinancial-Aid/145143/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Cost and Financial Aid Increasingly Influence Students’ Choice of College
By Taylor Harvey
Academic reputation and graduates’ job prospects are still the top reasons students choose which college to attend. But cost and financial aid are increasingly influencing enrollment decisions, according to the annual Freshman Survey, released on Thursday by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, part of the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/06/incoming-freshmen-more-driven-money-ever-survey-shows
Cash Is Still King
By Allie Grasgreen
The 2013-14 academic year marks a half-decade since the economic recession hit, but concerns about the costs of attending college are influencing incoming freshmen more than ever, a new survey shows.

www.insidehighered.comhttp://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/03/06/few-freshmen-expect-take-fully-online-classes-study-finds
Online Ed Disconnect
By Carl Straumsheim
The most independent and self-motivated students entering college are more likely to expect they will take a fully online course as undergraduates, a new survey says, but the vast majority of students still connect higher education with the traditional residential experience.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/06/edx-adds-first-non-university-consortium-partners
EdX Adds First Non-University Consortium Partners
The 32 colleges and universities of the edX consortium were joined by six non-university members on Thursday, as the massive open online course provider announced a new membership structure. New members include international organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Mexican public broadcaster Televisión Educativa, as well as the Learning by Giving Foundation, the Linux Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/06/kansas-faculty-release-social-media-policy-draft
Kansas Faculty Release Social Media Policy Draft
A group of seven faculty members from the six public institutions governed by the Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday released its draft of a new social media policy for the system, which if enacted would give employees of the institutions broad freedom to communicate online. “In keeping with the Kansas Board of Regents’ commitment to the principles of academic freedom, the Board supports the responsible use of existing and emerging communications technologies, including social media, to serve the teaching, research, and public service missions of Kansas universities,” the draft reads.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/sex-art-higher-education
Sex, Art & Higher Education
Santa Fe Reporter
Artist Sophia Wallace had recently visited the campus with her artwork called “Cliteracy, 100 Natural Laws.” The work, according to Wallace’s website, was intended to explore a paradox she defines as “the global obsession with sexualizing female bodies in a world that is illiterate when it comes to female sexuality. Cliteracy is a new way of talking about citizenship, sexuality, human rights and bodies.”

www.insidehighered.com
http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/03/06/debate-sexuality-graffiti-and-punishment
Debate on Sexuality, Graffiti and PunishmentAdministrators, unable to find those responsible, said that they would fine every student who lives on campus $250.
The Santa Fe University of Art and Design has been debating how to respond to graffiti in response to an art project, The Santa Fe Reporter reported. The art exhibit was about female sexuality, and was called “Cliteracy: 100 Natural Laws,” by the artist Sophia Wallace. After the exhibit was on campus, one or more people started leaving graffiti on hallways and doors on campus with depictions of certain female body parts and the words “solid gold clit” or the abbreviation SGC.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/university-chicago-pulls-plug-fabulous-fab-teaching-gig
University of Chicago pulls plug on ‘Fabulous Fab’ teaching gig
The Wall Street Journal
Fabrice Tourre’s teaching gig stopped before it ever started. Mr. Tourre, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader found liable for defrauding investors, will no longer teach an honors economics course to undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. The move is an abrupt change, considering Mr. Tourre , nicknamed as the “Fabulous Fab,” had been slated to begin teaching the course during the spring quarter, which begins later this month.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/u-virginia-faces-higher-payments-virginia-retirement-system
U. of Virginia faces higher payments to Virginia Retirement System
The News Virginian
The Senate and the House of Delegates have passed separate state budget proposals, and members are mulling over the differences in conference committee. The House plan calls for an additional $5 million in funding for the university in each of the next two years. The Senate plan would set aside just under $4 million in additional funding for UVa in the first year of the biennium and another $4.6 million in the second year.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/new-group-promote-higher-education-nc
New group to promote higher education in NC
WRAL.com
Higher Education Works will “remind both citizens and elected officials that our public universities and community colleges have helped distinguish this state from other states and it is worth preserving them as gems,” said David Rice, the new group’s executive director. Rice is a former newspaper reporter turned lobbyist who has represented Citizens for Higher Education – a booster group the primarily promotes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – at the legislature since 2005.

www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/61055/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=e5eb397bd2d248b6bb926c06bdbeb9cb&elqCampaignId=173
Class Action Suit Hits at Core of Popular Online Nursing Program
by Lois Elfman
In February, 17 students from 11 states filed a class-action lawsuit against Excelsior College alleging some details of the distance learning program for the accredited nursing associate degree (ADN) were withheld and others misleading. The students, who are seeking $10 million in damages, claim they were not given adequate details about fees and failure rates prior to enrolling. They further claim Excelsior was motivated by profit because students pay an annual registration fee and also have to pay to retake the final exam. Although not part of the initial complaint, allegations have also been raised about racial bias in the administration of the final exam.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/slippery-rock-university-addresses-alleged-audit-discrepancy
Slippery Rock University addresses alleged audit discrepancy
New Castle News
As Slippery Rock University officials continue to tackle budget issues that include a potential deficit of up to $10 million, they’re also addressing concerns that a recent audit alleges a $1 million discrepancy. The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties, which represents more than 6,000 faculty members and coaches at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities, commissioned an audit of seven of those schools that had claimed they need to lay off faculty members to balance their budgets: Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Kutztown, Mansfield and Slippery Rock.

www.universitybusiness.com
http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/hackers-turn-attention-american-universities
Hackers turn attention to American universities
The News Record
“Unfortunately, every organization in the world is vulnerable and is at a risk of being breached by a hacker or group of hackers,” said Bogdan Vykhovanyuk, associate director of UCIT information security. At the University of Cincinnati, private information — including students’ names, social security numbers, addresses, dates-of-birth, phone numbers and Bearcat Card information — are in danger of being illegally accessed on a daily basis. …Recently, hackers have been targeting universities around the country, forcing many higher education institutions to reevaluate their security standards.