University System News
www.myajc.com
GSU, Perimeter merger poses worries for students lacking legal status
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/gsu-perimeter-merger-poses-worries-for-students-la/njqSL/#3a6602e5.3566685.735618
By Janel Davis and Jeremy Redmon – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The planned merger of Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College into Georgia’s largest university has brought new questions about the involvement of immigrants without legal status. Students without legal status from Georgia Perimeter will be allowed to continue their classes, but not on Georgia State’s flagship campus. Whether they are allowed to participate in student government and on sports teams, along with how much tuition they are likely to pay, are all unanswered questions.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Azziz gets year leave, $1.1 million in plan
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-01-16/azziz-gets-year-leave-11-mill-plan
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz will get a paid year of leave plus a $470,000 one-time payment after he leaves the presidency, a package worth more than $1.1 million, according to an agreement obtained by The Augusta Chronicle. The “transition plan” was approved Friday by the Georgia Regents Health System Compensation Committee, with committee member Doug Duncan voting no, and then by the health system’s board, with Azziz abstaining.
www.myajc.com
Big data yielding big results for Georgia State
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/big-data-yielding-big-results-for-georgia-state/njT8H/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Aundrea Nattiel goes in for a session with her college adviser at Georgia State University, there are no secrets. A detailed computer profile provides information about every class taken and every grade earned by Nattiel during her time at the school, as well as her academic history at the college she attended before transferring. If the junior sociology major withdraws from a class, forgets to take a prerequisite or doesn’t register for enough credit hours to keep her on track for graduation, her adviser receives an alert and summons Nattiel.
The high-level tracking and advising done by Georgia State is part of the university’s work to improve retention and graduation rates, prevent students from taking unnecessary classes, and ultimately lower college costs and student loan debt. Its progress has gained the school national attention. It was also one of the key factors in state college leaders deciding to merge the university with Georgia Perimeter College, which has struggled in these same areas.
www.redandblack.com
How the University breaks down your $2,246 in student fees
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/how-the-university-breaks-down-your-in-student-fees/article_27585022-9c54-11e4-a533-b3fad82b4352.html
Taylor West
Each semester students at the University of Georgia pay a series of mandatory fees totaling $2,246 in addition to this year’s tuition. UGA experienced a slight hike in fees this year marking a nearly 35 percent increase from $1,666 five years ago, according to the UGA FactBook. Students taking summer courses are required to pay additional summer fees at 2/3 the cost of the fall semester rate. Overall, Associate Vice Chancellor for Fiscal Affairs and Budget Director at the University System of Georgia Tracey Cook said the fees charged by UGA run fairly middle ground when compared to peer institutions — within USG, UGA’s $2,246 compares to a $2,392 total per year at the Georgia Institute of Technology and $2,128 at Georgia State University.
www.myajc.com
Education benefits in Deal’s $21.8 billion budget proposal
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/education-benefits-in-deals-218-billion-budget-pro/njqHP/#3a99789c.157913.735618
By James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Nathan Deal released a state spending plan Friday that would put most of the new money into education, helping to fill in budget holes left from the Great Recession and offering school districts the chance to give raises and eliminate teacher furloughs. If it is approved by the General Assembly, Deal will in two years have more than sliced in half the austerity spending cuts annually built into the Department of Education’s budget for more than a decade. …The spending plan includes about $800 million in new construction projects, mostly for k-12 schools and colleges. …The governor proposed more than $4.8 million in the midyear budget for medical marijuana trials at Georgia Regents University. …HOPE scholarhsip awards would go up 3 percent next year, largely to make up for college tuition increases, and a program to provide students low-income loans would receive a 30 percent boost under Deal’s budget proposal.
www.savannahnow.com
Deal’s budget includes SSU classrooms, crime lab
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-01-16/deals-budget-includes-ssu-classrooms-crime-lab
By WALTER C. JONES
ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal’s recommendation to lawmakers on how to fund state government for the next fiscal year includes money to build classrooms at Savannah State University and the design to replace the state’s local crime lab. …It includes $16 million for construction of SSU’s new science and technology facility as well as $1.1 million to design a crime lab the Georgia Bureau of Investigation runs in Savannah. …Funding for the University System of Georgia will also swell by $52 million under the governor’s plan to reflect rising enrollment and the maintenance needs for added buildings. But what each school gets will be up to the Board of Regents which is shifting to allocations based on graduation rates instead of the number of students.
www.albanyherald.com
Once again, funding for fine arts center at Albany State University not in the budget
The latest twist in an ongoing 14-year saga a tough pill to swallow.
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/jan/18/once-again-funding-for-fine-arts-center-at-albany/
By Terry Lewis
ALBANY — It’s another swing and a miss for funding a fine arts center at Albany State University. Late Friday, the governor’s office turned in a supplemental FY 2016 budget that does not include a much-anticipated $19.8 million in funding for a new fine arts building at ASU. It’s the latest sting in what has been a wild ride for Albany State. Two years ago the University System of Georgia Board of Regents recommended including $26.8 million in the state’s FY 2015 budget to finally build a performing arts center at ASU. Gov. Nathan Deal, however, reduced the amount to $1.4 million for a redesign of the facility. This past year the BOR recommended $19.8 for a multi-purpose academic building with no performing arts center, and many were hopeful that the university would finally get a facility to replace the aging and over crowded Arts and Humanities center currently located at Holley Hall. But once again, the funding from Atlanta failed to materialize.
Related article:
www.wsfa.com
No money for ASU Fine Arts building again
http://www.wsfa.com/story/27888445/no-money-for-asu-fine-arts-building-again
www.wjbf.com
New Developments for GRU Cannabis Oil Patient
http://www.wjbf.com/story/27886254/new-developments-for-gru-cannabis-oil-patient
By Nicole Snyder, WJBF Reporter
Augusta, GA – It’s been almost a month into the first cannabis oil trial at Georgia Regents University. News Channel 6’s Nicole Snyder has been following the Weaver family through the trial. Preston Weaver was chosen as the first child in Georgia to receive cannabis oil. He has been taking a small dose of the drug two times a day, and his mother says she’s already seeing changes.
www.columbiadailyherald.com
Students turning away from teaching profession, enrollment figures show
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2015-01-18/students-turning-away-teaching-profession-enrollment-figures-show
By LEE SHEARER
Reflecting state and national trends, enrollment in the University’s College of Education has declined sharply in the past five years and is at its lowest level in at least a decade. This fall, 4,220 of UGA’s roughly 35,000 students were graduates or undergraduates in the College of Education. That’s a drop of nearly 14 percent from fall 2009. Other education colleges across the state are also reporting steep declines in education enrollment.
www.americustimesrecorder.com
A conversation with GSW’s interim president, Charles Patterson
http://www.americustimesrecorder.com/news/local_news/a-conversation-with-gsw-s-interim-president-charles-patterson/article_5c263c08-9dbf-11e4-b9d2-27798416a01e.html
By Beth Alston
AMERICUS — Charles Patterson started his job as interim president of Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) Jan. 1. He’s certainly no stranger to GSW or Americus.
The Times-Recorder sat down recently for a brief interview with Patterson. As a vice president at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Patterson said he travels frequently to other campuses in the University System of Georgia, and has visited GSW many times. When he received the call about serving as interim, after former President Kendall Blanchard retired Dec. 31, 2014, Patterson said he was very pleased. “We work closely with the Board of Regents,” he said. “The Regents and the Chancellor are looking for leaders to step in as interim presidents which is a common practice for the University System of Georgia … I was very pleased to receive the Chancellor’s call, as was my boss, President (Brooks A.) Keel of Georgia Southern. He’s very supportive of this as well.” While a search for a new president of the institution could take many months, Patterson has a clear vision for the university during his time here serving as interim. …Patterson was asked about the possibility of GSW merging with another university in the system, a topic of discussion on many campuses around the state. “The Chancellor had pretty much stated that … during the Board of Regents meeting,” Patterson said. “That is, that Georgia State and Perimeter consolidation is going to take a large amount of time and resources of staff and so, right now, there’s apparently no plan for consolidations in South Georgia.
www.statesboroherald.com
Obama’s college plan resembles HOPE
But uncertainties haze crystal ball for Ga. Students
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65311/
By Al Hackle
Many ifs stand between President Barack Obama’s proposal for two years of free community college and reality, but community college spokespeople say they will be listening for more details. The federal proposal resembles Georgia’s HOPE programs in some ways, complicating the question of how many Georgia students would stand to gain. …Access Colleges East Georgia State College is the Statesboro area’s clearest example of what was traditionally meant by a “community college.” A part of the University System of Georgia, the college offers courses that lead to two-year degrees but are also transferable to four-year institutions, such as Georgia Southern University. “Access colleges,” however, is the term Georgia officials often use for East Georgia and similar schools. This emphasizes that their admission requirements are less stringent than those of the state’s universities, and the costs generally lower, allowing more open access. …Technical colleges
However, Georgia has a different HOPE system, providing grants instead of scholarships, for certificate and diploma programs such as those offered by Ogeechee Technical College. Like the president’s proposed federal program, these state grants have no GPA requirement for qualifying high school graduates. As a result, a majority of Technical College System of Georgia students either receive HOPE Grants, covering more than 70 percent of their tuition, or Zell Miller Grants, covering 100 percent.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
There’s what Azziz said, and what he really meant
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/government/city-ink/2015-01-17/theres-what-azziz-said-and-what-he-really-meant
By Sylvia Cooper
Columnist
Augusta might lack the cool factor, as Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz once said, but the Georgia Regents Health System is paying him a cool $1.1 million for his resignation. How cool is that? Now Augusta’s not only cool, it’s frosted. WHAT THEY SAID, AND WHAT IT MEANT: Azziz: “I came with a very specific mission. I was brought in to do some fairly difficult work and serve as that kind of change agent, if you would. And five years into it, we’ve achieved it, we’ve achieved lots of goals.” Translation: I was a hired gun brought in to shake the place up. Azziz: The resignation has “been in the works for months.” Translation: I saw the handwriting on the wall some time ago.
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/18/teachers-colleges-of-education-on-firing-line-for-student-test-scores-wrong-target-wrong-aim/
Teachers, colleges of education on firing line for student test scores. Wrong target. Wrong aim.
Here is an essay on testing by Stephanie Jones, professor of educational theory and practice at the University of Georgia.
…This is what will happen to our education system if the latest proposal for teacher preparation regulations from the federal government is accepted. And the entire House of Cards is balancing precariously upon one fulcrum: the testing regime. In the regime’s last-ditch effort to force us (parents, K-12 educators, teacher educators, students, and citizens) to quietly comply with standardized testing that has turned into U.S. 21st century child labor, as well as ruining childhood and real learning, they are pinning Colleges of Education against the wall: Make your graduates’ future students’ test scores improve, or else.
Higher Education:
www.statesboroherald.com
Deal proposes $45B Georgia budget as economy improves
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65306/
By KATHLEEN FOODY and RAY HENRY
ATLANTA — Gov. Nathan Deal proposed a $45 billion budget plan Friday that would narrow the spending gap in public education, hire more child protection workers and give state employees low-level raises.
www.times-herald.com
Georgia Moving Forward With Common Core
http://www.times-herald.com/local/20150118-Georgia-moving-forward-with-Common-Core
by CELIA SHORTT
Mike Royal, the vice chair for Georgia’s State Board of Education, said Georgia needs to move forward with the Common Core standards for schools. The Common Core State Standards are a national initiative with the goal of providing national standards for students. Currently, there are only Common Core standards implemented in English/language arts, and math. “The standards we’ve come up with are Georgia specific,” he said at the ninth annual media symposium recently held by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
Officials: Common Core standards misunderstood
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/officials-common-core-standards-misunderstood/article_eebb34ff-592f-52b8-a2a9-f729be0def66.html
By Mary Starr
Glynn County School System administrators say there is some misinformation circulating about the Common Core. Georgia adopted Common Core Performance Standards in the fall of 2012 for academic standards in mathematics and English language arts in grades K-12. It replaces the Georgia Performance Standards that were adopted in 2005. Forty-five other states also have signed on to some form of Common Core. “Common Core is a nationwide effort to unify the expectations for what students in kindergarten through 12th grade should know and do in each grade level in preparation for college and the workforce,” said Sung Hui Lewis, executive director of early academics for Glynn County Schools. One of the most common misconceptions is that Common Core gives the federal government control of public education. Glynn County Schools Superintendent Howard Mann says that is not the case.
www.diverseeducation.com
University of North Carolina System Head Tom Ross Pushed Out of Job
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68899/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=bdee2022dde64b7083573f531f5344ff&elqCampaignId=415
by Emery P. Dalesio, Associated Press
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The head of North Carolina’s public university system was pushed out of his job Friday by an oversight board that heaped praise on his four years of service but didn’t explain the reasons for their move.
www.ccnewsnow.com
City College of S.F. accrediting commission broke law, judge says
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/city-college-of-s-f-accrediting-commission-broke-law-judge-says/?utm_campaign=012015ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=95f65b31682148c3bc58cc0e8feed8ea&elqCampaignId=492
City College of San Francisco will have another chance to challenge the critical findings of an accrediting commission that could close the doors to the school’s nearly 80,000 students, a judge ruled Friday. The long-awaited ruling of Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow did not invalidate a commission’s decision to revoke City College’s accreditation, as San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s lawsuit requested. The revocation has never been enacted and remains on hold. But Karnow said the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges broke state law in four ways during its evaluations of the school in 2012 and 2013, tainting its conclusion to revoke the college’s accreditation.
www.ccnewsnow.com
Obama offers revenue raisers for community college plan
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/obama-offers-revenue-raisers-for-community-college-plan/?utm_campaign=012015ccnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=95f65b31682148c3bc58cc0e8feed8ea&elqCampaignId=492
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama will propose several tax measures in his State of the Union address Tuesday night to finance his proposal to let qualified students attend community college free of charge. The new revenue also would pay for middle-class tax breaks that include a new $500 “second earner” tax credit for families with two working parents, an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income workers and an increase in the child and dependent care tax credit for families with children under 5. The community college initiative would cost $60 billion over 10 years to cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college.
www.ccnewsnow.com
How Obama’s Free Community College Proposal Will Impact HBCUs
http://www.ccnewsnow.com/how-obamas-free-community-college-proposal-will-impact-hbcus/?utm_campaign=01615ccnewslette&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=3d64fad6f3424261a125b0ebc986a590&elqCampaignId=491
Last week, President Obama stirred quite a bit of controversy when he announced a plan to make two years of college free for American students who maintain good grades, but some fear that the proposal will undermine historically black colleges and universities. That won’t be the case, University of Pennsylvania professor Marybeth Gasman argued on HuffPost Live on Tuesday. Gasman, who is the director of the Penn Center for Minority-Serving Institutions, said that the proposal would not have a negative effect on black universities. …But she added that the plan would definitely create some changes for the historically black college system. With the push for plans like Obama’s, which emphasizes performance metrics including a student’s GPA, HBCUs are beginning to create more agreementswith community colleges to ease the transition between a 2-year college and a 4-year HBCU.
If Obama’s plan is approved by Congress, it would likely facilitate that trend, Gasman said.