University System News
USG NEWS:
www.myajc.com
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/tax-measure-on-georgia-ballot-would-benefit-privat/nhtL7/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstub1#746507d1.3566685.735535
Tax measure on Georgia ballot would benefit private operators of dorms
By Janel Davis and James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Toward the bottom of the general election ballot, Georgia voters are being asked to consider whether a property tax exemption should be extended to private companies that operate dorms on the campuses of the state’s public colleges and universities. The statewide referendum is one component of the University System of Georgia’s plan to ultimately get out of the student housing business, turn the work over to private industry and at the same time clear some of the almost $4 billion in debt on its books.
www.ledger-enquirer.com
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/10/29/3379330_should-university-systems-property.html?rh=1
Should university system’s property tax exemption continue when facilities are privatized?
BY MARK RICE
Georgia voters will decide on the Nov. 4 ballot whether the property tax exemption the state’s universities and colleges receive for student housing and parking decks should be extended when those facilities are operated by private companies. It would give private companies incentive to partner with the University System of Georgia to finance such projects. In exchange for revenue from student rent and parking fees, the private companies would be responsible for the debt and maintenance. The ballot measure is called Georgia Private College Buildings Tax Exemption Referendum 1.
www.onlineathens.com
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2014-10-28/referendum-local-implications-and-two-state-constitutional-amendments-tuesday
Referendum with local implications and two state constitutional amendments on Tuesday ballots in Georgia
By JIM THOMPSONpublished Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Relatively short ballots could find any number of Georgia voters moving into unfamiliar territory in the Nov. 4 general election. With “ballot fatigue” — the tendency of voters to stop marking lengthy ballots before making all choices — possibly less of a factor in Tuesday’s election, many Georgia voters could make it all the way to the last items on the ballot, a statewide referendum that could have some application in Athens-Clarke County and two state constitutional amendments. The statewide referendum, the final item on the ballot, asks voters to consider whether property owned by the University System of Georgia that is “utilized by providers of college and university student housing and other facilities” should “continue to be exempt from taxation to keep costs affordable … .”
www.bizjournals.com
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2014/10/28/decision-expected-soon-on-giant-student-housing.html?page=all
Decision expected soon on giant student housing deal
David Allison
Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University System of Georgia is nearing a decision to select a developer for 3,000 beds of new on-campus student housing at seven Georgia universities. The Board of Regents is scheduled to approve a concessionaire and issue a notice of award at its meeting on Nov. 12.
www.northwestgeorgianews.com
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/region/news/ghc-joins-ecore-to-provide-more-online-courses/article_f8b029ec-5ed8-11e4-86e4-001a4bcf6878.html
GHC joins eCore to provide more online courses
Georgia Highlands College partnered with eCore, the University of Georgia System approved online class provider, to offer students greater online class availability beginning spring 2015. Jessica Blakemore, eCore associate director of marketing for collaborative programs, said, “eCore, which began in 2000, allows students to take the first two years of their curriculum online and offers Georgia’s core courses in English, mathematics, science, history, and the social sciences. Course credit earned in eCore is transferable to any USG institution.
RESEARCH:
www.lagrangenews.com
http://lagrangenews.com/news/news/50576037/Preventing-alcohol-drug-abuse
Preventing alcohol, drug abuse
By Melanie Ruberti
These days, getting drunk or high is taking on a whole new meaning. …“Kids aren’t doing the things we did … they’re going from zero to ten, getting as drunk as they can, as fast as they can, and as cheaply as they can,” explained Jamie Daniel, project coordinator with the Troup County Prevention Coalition. Daniel also points out that more and more teens continue to mix alcohol with prescription painkillers. Pills they usually find inside a medicine cabinet in their homes. These are just some of the reasons why the Troup County Prevention Coalition (TCPC) and Twin Cedars Youth and Family Services are holding their first Prevent Event on Wednesday at LaGrange College. The organizations are bringing in doctors and officials who are on the front lines of drug and alcohol abuse. The panel includes Dr. Merrill Norton, a faculty member at the University of Georgia, Marc Fomby, CEO of FTC Prevention Services, and Sue Ruesche, head of National Families in Action.
www.redandblack.com
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/working-late-at-night-increases-risk-of-breast-cancer-uga/article_fa068a9a-5e0e-11e4-ac8d-0017a43b2370.html
Working late at night increases risk of breast cancer, UGA study finds
Lauren McDonald
Working through the night rather than sleeping can lead to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a recent University of Georgia study. According to the research findings, staying up all night means a person is receiving artificial light during the time they should be sleeping. On a biological level, this alters the way the body secretes melatonin, an important regulator of one’s sleep-wake cycle known as circadian rhythm.
www.usatoday.com
http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/10/28/low-skill-workers-face-mechanization-challenge/16392981/
Could a robot do your job?
As a personal care aide, Marcia Olson spends 35 hours a week cooking, cleaning, giving insulin shots or just spending time with her elderly client … But advances in technology mean such workers may be replaced by robots like HERB, the “Home-Exploring Robot Butler” under development at Carnegie-Mellon. HERB is learning to retrieve and deliver objects, prepare simple meals and empty a grocery bag … Low-skill workers, experts say, need to look past any short-term job growth. “We’re moving the unskilled jobs into skilled jobs. And that is going to be a challenge for us going forward,” says Henrik Christensen, director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “If you are unskilled labor today, you’d better start thinking about getting an education.”
www.theengineer.co.uk
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/energy/news/new-safer-nuclear-reactor-offers-hopes-for-waste-disposal/1019416.article
New ‘safer’ nuclear reactor offers hopes for waste disposal
By Stephen Harris
British scientists are to research whether a new type of supposedly safer, smaller, cheaper nuclear reactor could help reduce the UK’s radioactive waste stocks. A team from Cambridge will investigate the potential for using thorium-based fuel in a new reactor under development in the US that would be small enough to manufacture in a factory but produce as much energy as current power plants … The Cambridge team, led by Dr Geoff Parks, plan to use computer models to research how well this thorium fuel-cycle would work in the “integral inherently safe light water reactor” (I2S-LWR) being developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology.
www.dailymail.co.uk
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2806799/Will-apps-replace-SCHOOL-Google-s-vice-president-research-says-children-learn-tech-instead-teachers.html
Will apps replace SCHOOL? Google’s vice-president of research says children could learn from technology instead of teachers
By JONATHAN O’CALLAGHAN
Will children of the future be taught solely by a computer? That could be a possibility, according to Google’s vice-president of research Alfred Spector. He said he thinks apps and technologies that are widely derided as being distracting could actually improve how we learn … Learning to read Braille – the tactile writing system used by people who are blind and visually impaired – is notoriously difficult. To make this a little easier, researchers have designed vibrating gloves that help people learn to read and write Braille with minimal effort. ‘The process is based on passive haptic learning (PHL),’ said Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor involved in the project.
www.vendingtimes.com
http://www.vendingtimes.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=EB79A487112B48A296B38C81345C8C7F&nm=Vending+Features&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=1672199B166E45ED9CFD0432E3BC1370
Florida’s Vending Association Gathers For Technology Update
Emily Jed
More than 30 operators and suppliers gathered for the Automatic Merchandising Association of Florida’s annual meeting on Oct. 24 at the Holiday Inn here. The association brought Florida members up to date on issues impacting the vending industry. A panel discussion focused on technology, and experts from Vendors Exchange International, Crane Streamware, USA Technologies, PayRange and Gimmee Technologies led that discussion. (Gimmee is a vending technology startup led by Georgia Institute of Technology students who developed software designed to help small- and mid-size vending operators increase efficiency.)
Editorials/Columns/Opinions
www.vox.com
http://www.vox.com/2014/10/27/7072505/college-costs-baby-boom
Baby boomers broke the social contract in American higher education — can we fix it?
Updated by Kevin Carey
When the first Millennials were born in the early 1980s, the American economy was in the midst of rapid and profound transformation. Good blue-collar jobs were melting away in the face of globalization, mechanization, and de-unionization. They were replaced by new and very different jobs in the nation’s sprawling white-collar economy: banking, insurance, healthcare, education, IT, the management of complex systems and organizations. So when this generation reached adulthood two decades later, the best path forward was blindingly obvious: go to college, get a degree, and lead a good life. True, college had been getting more expensive. Outstanding college debt had risen to over $200 million, within shouting distance of total credit card balances owed. Borrowing to get a bachelor’s degree was becoming the norm.
Education News
www.ccnewsnow.com
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/release-feeling-the-squeeze-to-improve-college-access-and-affordability-cap-proposes-federal-state-action-to-reverse-the-decline-in-state-support-for-higher-education/?utm_campaign=102914ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ac32d0a15d0542afbd41bdcaa63aeb4a&elqCampaignId=450
To Improve College Access and Affordability, CAP Proposes Federal-State Action to Reverse the Decline in State Support for Higher Education
Source: americanprogress.org
Washington, D.C. — Since the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, state governments have slashed their direct investment in public colleges, a move that has resulted in devastating real-world effects on American families. As a result, these institutions of higher learning have increased their reliance on tuition paid by students and families—and in the states that cut funding the most, low- and middle-income families are feeling the greatest economic squeeze. Today, the Center for American Progress unveiled new research on the “great retreat” of state support for public higher education, finding that that the reduction of state funding coincided with an increased reliance on tuition revenue; low- and middle-income families in states with the highest disinvestment pay the highest net price relative to students in the same income groups in other states; and the cuts disproportionately affected two-year community colleges. CAP also launched a new, state-by-state interactive map that measures the direct state investment in and enrollment at public universities and community colleges since the Great Recession.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67622/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ea4f080f0ea146898e804c3f83f1b8f4&elqCampaignId=415
Free College Advising to Be Offered to Students from Poor and Middle Class Families
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
In an effort to guide more students from poor and middle-class families to the nation’s top colleges and universities — institutions from which research shows they tend to shy away — a new initiative announced Tuesday will provide free college advising via video chat and other forms of technology.
www.ccnewsnow.com
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/why-elite-universities-should-admit-more-community-college-grads/?utm_campaign=102914ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ac32d0a15d0542afbd41bdcaa63aeb4a&elqCampaignId=450
Why elite universities should admit more community college grads
Source: washingtonpost.com
Every year about 3 million students graduate from high school in the United States — and only about 50,000 will have the qualifications to begin their academic careers at one of the country’s top 30 private research universities. These are schools that not only teach, but also inspire scientific innovation, social progress and artistic expression. Yet these universities are often branded as perpetrators of high student debt or bastions of privilege. But they need not be. An important step toward reversing this perception would be to expand the ways that low-income, academically qualified students can gain access to these institutions. In this regard, the University of Southern California has been leading the way by widely recruiting and admitting transfer students from two-year community colleges.
www.news.yahoo.com
http://news.yahoo.com/ohio-college-uses-infomercials-prod-students-151759189.html
Ohio college uses infomercials to prod students
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A university in northeast Ohio is lampooning infomercials as a way to push students to graduate on time. The Finish In Time, or F.I.T., effort at the University of Akron urges students to take at least 15 credit hours per semester to stay on pace. The emailed videos show co-hosts dancing awkwardly and touting side effects of on-time graduation such as “more cash in your pocket” and “a craving for an extremely large burrito.” They also get across the benefits of graduating with less college debt in a way the school hopes will connect with students.
www.globalatlanta.com
http://www.globalatlanta.com/article/27246/the-future-of-moocs-on-both-sides-of-the-atlantic/
The Future of MOOCs on Both Sides of the Atlantic
by Marcus K. Garner
Continuing innovations in technology around the world are bound to make massive open on-line courses, so-called MOOCs, more sustainable than traditional college and university system campus offerings. But how soon remains in doubt, according to U.S. and French educators participating in the “Digital learning in 21st Century Universities” panels held Oct. 20-21 in Atlanta. The two-day workshop and seminar at the Georgia Institute of Technology were part of France-Atlanta 2014, a two-week overview of Franco-American collaborations in business, education, culture and humanitarian pursuits. “This subject was chosen because it’s a very current topic in which the U.S. and French approaches could be complementary and enrich each other through cooperation projects,” said Anne Corval, attaché for science and technology at the Consulate General of France and co-organizer of the event.
www.blogs.wsj.com
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/10/28/are-online-courses-democratizing-education-or-killing-colleges/?KEYWORDS=%22colleges%22
Are Online Courses Democratizing Education or Killing Colleges?
By SHIRA OVIDE
There’s a debate whether a recent boom in online-university courses democratizes higher education, or provides a playground for the wealthy. Both a supporter and a sometime critic of online courses had the same message on Tuesday: Commuter and community colleges may get squeezed as the Web increasingly becomes alternative to traditional courses. If massive open online courses, or MOOCs, become more prevalent “all of a sudden you have a new reverse digital divide,” Gene Block, the chancellor of the University of California in Los Angeles, said at the WSJD Live global technology conference. He said that students from wealthy families will continue to send their children to residential four-year colleges, where they learn in the classroom, and in interactions among students and between students and faculty. But community colleges or other non-residential higher-educational institutions are at risk of getting usurped by the MOOCs, he said.
www.insidehhighered.com
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/online-ed-skepticism-and-self-sufficiency-survey-faculty-views-technology
Online Ed Skepticism and Self-Sufficiency: Survey of Faculty Views on Technology
By Carl Straumsheim
The massive open online course craze may have subsided, but the debate about the role of online courses in higher education persists. Even as more faculty members experiment with online education, they continue to fear that the record-high number of students taking those classes are receiving an inferior experience to what can be delivered in the classroom, Inside Higher Ed’s new Survey of Faculty Attitudes on Technology suggests.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67625/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ea4f080f0ea146898e804c3f83f1b8f4&elqCampaignId=415
NCAA Graduation Rates Improve, Critics Cry Foul
by Michael Marot, Associated Press
The NCAA’s newest graduation report, released Tuesday, showed 84 percent of athletes who entered college in 2007-08 earned a degree within six years, a 2 percentage-point increase over last year’s previous high mark. The four-year average of 82 percent is another record, up 1 percentage point from the 2013 report. Emmert also said there were increases in almost all demographics in the one-year measurement — some rare good news for a governing body in tumult.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/Wary-Colleges-Ratchet-Up/149685/
Wary Colleges Ratchet Up Scrutiny of Athletes in the Classroom
By Katherine Mangan
Six-figure incentive bonuses for coaches and athletic directors whose players excel on the field have long been a fixture in big-time college sports. But unless those players are also cutting it in the classroom, the University System of Maryland will no longer pay out.
www.talkingpointsmemo.com
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/montana-election-mailer-state-seal-stanford-dartmouth-professors
Profs Bumble Into Big Legal Trouble After Election Experiment Goes Way Wrong
By DYLAN SCOTT
Political scientists from two of the nation’s most highly respected universities, usually impartial observers of political firestorms, now find themselves at the center of an electoral drama with tens of thousands of dollars and the election of two state supreme court justices at stake. Their research experiment, which involved sending official-looking flyers to 100,000 Montana voters just weeks before Election Day, is now the subject of an official state inquiry that could lead to substantial fines against them or their schools. Their peers in the field have ripped their social science experiment as a “misjudgment” or — stronger still — “malpractice.”
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/article/DartmouthStanford/149687/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Dartmouth and Stanford Apologize After a Political-Science Experiment Gone Wrong
By Tom Bartlett
A joint letter from the presidents of Stanford University and Dartmouth College will be sent to nearly 100,000 Montana voters to apologize for an experiment by three political-science professors at the two institutions. The letter comes after voters and state officials objected to a mailer, sent by the professors, that featured the state’s official seal and offered information about the political leanings of candidates for the state’s Supreme Court as part of an attempt to see whether such information would alter how Montanans voted. The experiment has been condemned by other researchers in the field as unwise and perhaps unethical.
www.diverseeducation.com
http://diverseeducation.com/article/67628/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=ea4f080f0ea146898e804c3f83f1b8f4&elqCampaignId=415
Cheyney University Coalition to File Federal Lawsuit to Save School
by Dianne Hayes
A broad-based coalition of Cheyney University supporters plan to file a federal lawsuit today claiming a history of racial discrimination from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania toward the nation’s oldest Black institution of higher learning. …The Coalition, which is named “Heeding Cheyney’s Call,” was formed in 2013 and is modeling its approach after Maryland’s successful litigation against the state for underfunding and neglect of its three HBCUs.