University System News
www.patch.com
Georgia Gwinnett Students Score Among Nation’s Best Colleges
GGC’s fall 2014 retention rate of 68.2 percent is high for an access institution, and indicative of the college’s success at engagement.
http://patch.com/georgia/peachtreecorners/georgia-gwinnett-students-score-among-nations-best-colleges
By Scott Bernarde
According to senior college students participating in the 2014 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), Georgia Gwinnett College’s innovative approach to higher education not only works, it outperforms many other institutions across both the state and nation. NSSE annually surveys students across the country to measure how well colleges and universities perform in several areas that nurture student engagement, a critical predictor of student success. According to NSSE, survey items on The College Student Report “represent empirically confirmed good practices in undergraduate education.” …GGG’s fall 2014 student retention rate of 68.2 percent is unusually high for an access institution, and indicative of the college’s success at engaging its students. The data revealed that GGC’s average scores were better than the average composite scores of NSSE-participating University System of Georgia institutions in all of the student engagement indicators. It also outperformed a classification of similar institutions in several indicators, and outperformed the 2013 and 2014 NSSE overall average scores.
www.statesboroherald.com
Georgia Southern online business programs earn top rankings
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65226/
Special to the Herald
Georgia Southern University’s College of Business Administration online programs were ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the best online programs for 2015.
www.gazette.com
GSU awarded youth mental health training contract
http://gazette.com/gsu-awarded-youth-mental-health-training-contract/article/feed/195197
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia State University officials say the school has been awarded a contract to coordinate mental health intervention training to help youth throughout the state.
GSU officials said in a release that they’ve been awarded a five-year $800,000 contract from the Georgia Department of Education and the program will be administered by the GSU Center for Leadership in Disability.
www.theatlantavoice.com
News BRIEFS – JAN 9-15-2015
Board approves GSU, Georgia Perimeter merger proposal
http://theatlantavoice.com/news/2015/jan/12/news-briefs-jan-9-15-2015/
ATLANTA (AP) – The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has approved a proposal to merge Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College. The board approved University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby’s proposal during a meeting Tuesday.
www.dailyreportonline.com
Ga. Tech Invention Company Sues Ralph Lauren, Adidas and Victoria’s Secret Over ‘Smart Shirt’ Patents
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/home/id=1202714754881?kw=Ga.%20Tech%20Invention%20Company%20Sues%20Ralph%20Lauren%2C%20Adidas%20and%20Victoria%27s%20Secret%20Over%20%27Smart%20Shirt%27%20Patents&et=editorial&bu=Daily%20Report&cn=20150113&src=EMC-Email&pt=Morning%20News&slreturn=20150013103533
R. Robin McDonald, Daily Report
A company cofounded by a Georgia Tech professor and acclaimed inventor has sued apparel companies Ralph Lauren, Adidas and Victoria’s Secret, among others, alleging patent infringements of a shirt he helped to design that monitors a wearer’s vital signs.
www.newsnet5.com
CNN Tries To Move FAA Polices Along With Drone Testing Deal
http://www.newsnet5.com/newsy/cnn-tries-to-move-faa-polices-along-with-drone-testing-deal
Ben Lawson , Jay Strubberg
Hoping to speed up government regulators, CNN has signed an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration to test drone use in reporting. The FAA currently bans the use of drones in news coverage and is still in the middle of developing policies on commercial drone use as a whole. (Video via Parrot) The agency has concerns about drone safety. Chief among them is any potential interference with commercial planes. Last October, 41 pilots reported seeing a drone during flight. CNN is among several companies growing frustrated with the FAA’s pace at hammering out its polices. So, in June, the news network announced it was partnering with the Georgia Institute of Technology for a research initiative.
www.onlineathens.com
UGA student dies in car while out with friends
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2015-01-12/uga-student-dies-car-while-out-friends
By JOE JOHNSON
A University of Georgia student died Saturday morning while returning home from a night out with friends. Michael McClary, 19, was in the back seat of a car when his friends realized he was unresponsive, UGA police said. After pulling into an East Campus parking deck, the friends tried again to rouse the 19-year-old student. They were unsuccessful, and called police at about 2 a.m.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.insidehighered.com
Following Up on Free Community College
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/following-free-community-college
By Matt Reed
Last week, I offered a quick first response to President Obama’s suggestion of making community college free. Having had a few more days to think about it, and having seen the academic Twitterverse explode, I have a few more suggestions for points to consider: Assessing Adults: …Local Funding: …Federalism: …Four-Year Publics: …Four-Year Privates: …For-Profits: …Performance: …Politics and Cost Controls: …Definitions: …The Faculty Role: …Politics, Part Deux: …The Message: “Free’ is a magic word. Even if the proposal doesn’t pass, just getting the word out there about Pell grants and the true, after-aid cost of community colleges may plant the seed for some people that “I can do this.” If so, I see that as entirely to the good.
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/11/where-is-evidence-state-has-ability-to-turn-around-struggling-schools/
Where is evidence state has ability to turn around struggling schools?
We are a state that favors easy solutions. That penchant is apparent in Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposal to empower the state to take over failing schools. The proposal – which Deal intends to pursue with the Legislature this year – is patterned after the recovery school district model in New Orleans. Here’s the first problem. Georgia is not New Orleans post Katrina. Underperforming schools in rural Georgia will not see the outpouring of donations New Orleans inspired.
Higher Education:
www.accessnorthga.com
Gov. Deal begins 2nd term focused on crime, education
http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=283930
By The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal re-committed to supporting criminal justice changes and alternatives to public schools on Monday as he was sworn in for a second term in office, and said his mission for the next four years is “building upon the foundation we have laid.” …Deal said the students of Utopian Academy benefited from a state commission to authorize charter schools, which was established by a constitutional amendment. Without that change, Deal said, some of the students “would still be sitting in schools that are underperforming.” “In several years, many of them will be the first in their families to attend college,” Deal said. “These are exciting new beginnings, and we will work in this term to plant more of these opportunities.”
Related article:
www.wabe.org
In Inaugural Speech, Deal Stresses Education and Jobs; Transportation Not Mentioned
http://wabe.org/post/inaugural-speech-deal-stresses-education-and-jobs-transportation-not-mentioned
www.insidehighered.com
New Higher Ed Federalism
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/12/white-house-plan-could-change-relationship-between-government-and-higher-education
By Ry Rivard
President Obama’s proposal to make community college free could rearrange the relationship between the federal government, states and colleges. Behind the talk of a free two-year college education is a shift in the federal government’s role. Conservatives are saying the president’s plan may go too far — calling it a federal regulatory regime dressed up as a free tuition plan. For others, a federal government that spends more than $140 billion a year on higher education is justified in attempting to get the right bang for its buck. The White House said its effort would involve “restructuring the community college experience.”
www.insidehighered.com
California Budget Plan Tops $1B for Community Colleges
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/01/12/california-budget-plan-tops-1b-community-colleges
California Governor Jerry Brown’s higher ed budget plan for the next year would give give a chunk of new money to community colleges. The proposal released late last week also, as expected, threaten the four-year University of California system if it goes ahead with a plan to raise tuition by up to 5 percent each of the next five years.
www.tampabay.com
Scott unveils plan to boost per-student spending
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/scott-unveils-plan-to-boost-per-student-spending/2213327
Kathleen McGrory
Following up on a campaign promise, Gov. Rick Scott on Monday released a plan to increase education spending in Florida to a record high. Scott wants the state to spend $7,176 on each public-school student — a $261 bump over this year’s figure and $50 more than the record set in 2007-08. His proposal would boost the education budget from $18.9 billion to $19.75 billion.
www.diverseeducation.com
Freshman Year Key to College Career
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68800/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=67a975510546432a90f0a1eb6dbe963d&elqCampaignId=415
by Catherine Morris
VANCOUVER — The classes a student takes in his or her freshman year have the power to make or break the rest of their college career. Yet fundamental courses like first-year composition are increasingly relegated to the instruction of adjunct instructors or are moved online. For the MLA, the topic of teaching first-year classes, particularly composition courses, is a critical issue, as evidenced by the many panels dedicated to the topic of first-year instruction at the 2015 MLA Conference.
www.diverseeducation.com
Suspension of NC A&T’s Nursing Program Has Significant Impact on Students’ Future
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68803/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=67a975510546432a90f0a1eb6dbe963d&elqCampaignId=415
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Pick another major or study nursing somewhere else. That is the harsh reality that dozens of lower division nursing students at North Carolina A&T State University face as they return to school this semester after admission to the upper division of the school’s traditional nursing program was suspended due to lackluster pass rates on nursing licensure exams.
www.diverseeducation.com
Police: No Proof That Rape in Article Occurred at UVaFfrat
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68811/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=67a975510546432a90f0a1eb6dbe963d&elqCampaignId=415
by Associated Press
Police said Monday that they’ve been unable to confirm that an alleged gang rape occurred at a University of Virginia fraternity house as described in a Rolling Stone article, and the school announced that it reinstated the group and its activities.
www.diverseeducation.com
Drone Use Approved for Clemson Agricultural Research
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68809/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=67a975510546432a90f0a1eb6dbe963d&elqCampaignId=415
by Associated Press
BLACKVILLE, S.C.— A researcher from Clemson University has permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to use a drone in agricultural research in Barnwell County.