University System News
www.ajc.com
Governor names education committee
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/governor-names-education-committee/njsgG/
Gov. Nathan Deal named members of the Education Reform Commission to study the state’s education funding formula, provide recommended improvements, increase access to early learning programs, recruit and retain high-quality instructors and expand school options. The commission will meet and review the state’s education system and Quality Basic Education funding formula to provide executive, legislative and agency fixes and will send its recommendations to Deal by Aug. 1. Chuck Knapp, former president of the University of Georgia, will chair both the commission and the subcommittee on funding reform. Other members are: …Matt Arthur, Deputy Commissioner Technical College System of Georgia. …Nels Peterson, Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs University System of Georgia.
www.wabe.drupal.publicbroadcasting.net
Georgia Trails Most Southern States In Professor Salaries
http://wabe.drupal.publicbroadcasting.net/post/georgia-trails-most-southern-states-professor-salaries
By MICHELLE WIRTH
When it comes to paying its professors, Georgia continues to lag behind many other southern states. That’s what the chancellor of Georgia’s University System told state lawmakers yesterday. During a budget presentation at the Capitol, Chancellor Hank Huckaby said, according to the most recent data available, Georgia ranks ninth for average faculty salary. That’s out of 15 states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board.
www.wabe.org
Huckaby Gives More Details On GSU And Georgia Perimeter College Merger
http://wabe.org/post/huckaby-gives-more-details-gsu-and-georgia-perimeter-college-merger
By MICHELLE WIRTH
The Chancellor for the University System of Georgia gave a few more details this week on plans to combine Georgia State University with Georgia Perimeter College. Chancellor Hank Huckaby says one of the reasons he wants to combine the schools is to improve graduation rates at Georgia Perimeter College. “Georgia Perimeter does a good job of getting students enrolled, but their graduation rate is very, very poor, around 6 percent, so we think by combining those two schools, the access mission, given the work of Georgia State, their professionalism, their reputation it’s a win-win for everybody.”
www.ajc.com
UGA chief wants learning beyond lecture halls
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/ugas-morehead-pitches-hand-on-learning-program-in-/njsnd/
Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beginning next fall every undergraduate student at the University of Georgia would participate in a hands-on learning project before graduation, under a proposal announced by President Jere Morehead on Wednesday. …In addition to touting UGA’s initiatives and accomplishments, Morehead also echoed University System of Georgia Chancellor Hank Huckaby’s warning to state lawmakers on Tuesday that a lack of salary increases for system employees had made it difficult to retain and attract top teaching talent.
www.statesboroherald.com
Georgia Southern signs memorandum to begin research in Ecuador
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/65365/
Special to the Herald
Georgia Southern University has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mindo Cloudforest Foundation to establish the Human-Environment Research Station in Milpe, Ecuador. University President Brooks A. Keel, Ph.D., and professor Rob Yarbrough, Ph.D., joined Mindo Foundation President Brian Krohnke and Technical Director Leila Tania Lopez De la Cruz to sign the memorandum Wednesday. “It’s always a good day to see the Eagle Nation spread a little wider,” Keel said. “This historic event … truly does allow us to forge a partnership to establish our first permanent research station in Latin America. Students and faculty will be able to experience South American culture and heritage while gaining valuable research experience.”
Related article:
www.universityherald.com
Georgia Southern University to Establish Human-Environment Research Station
http://www.universityherald.com/articles/15065/20150121/georgia-southern-university-to-establish-human-environment-research-station.htm
www.patriotledger.com
University tells Scituate school that logo is trademarked
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20150122/NEWS/150128717/12662/NEWS
Hatherly Elementary School Principal Mari-An Fitzmaurice received a letter from Georgia Tech regarding the Scituate school’s logo.
By Ruth Thompson
SCITUATE – What does a small town elementary school in New England have in common with a renowned establishment of higher learning in the Deep South? In the case of the Hatherly Elementary School and the Georgia Institute of Technology, it is a similar logo. In September, Hatherly Elementary School Principal Mari-An Fitzmaurice received a letter from Georgia Tech explaining that the bee is a registered trademark and that Hatherly needed to sign a licensing agreement to continue to use it after Oct. 31. Georgia Tech’s logo is a yellow jacket, and Hatherly had a hornet logo that the Atlanta-based university called into question.
www.noodls.com
UNG enrollment grows; focus on student success continues
http://www.noodls.com/viewNoodl/26631137/university-of-north-georgia/ung-enrollment-grows-focus-on-student-success-continues
While many colleges and universities are struggling with declining enrollment, the University of North Georgia (UNG) continues a trend of steady growth. Spring 2015 enrollment is up 5 percent over this past year to 15,702 – a record for spring semester at the university.
www.redandblack.com
Survey shows prosperity for graduates
http://www.redandblack.com/uganews/survey-shows-prosperity-for-graduates/article_fc60258a-a11b-11e4-81e3-3f43358abef1.html
Lindsey Conway
After spending four years in college and earning a degree, the most important thing on most University of Georgia graduates’ minds is determining what comes next. For the 5,131 graduates of the class of 2013 who responded to the UGA Post-Graduate Survey, 62 percent were employed full time after graduation, 15 percent were attending graduate school, 3 percent were part-time employed, 2 percent were self-employed and 4 percent were participating in internships. The remaining students were seeking a job, 8 percent, or not seeking a job, 5 percent.
www.wrbl.com
CSU safety officer spots convicted felon with an outstanding warrant
http://www.wrbl.com/story/27909225/csu-safety-officer-spots-convicted-felon-with-an-outstanding-warrant
By Naomi Keitt
COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Columbus State University Safety Officer was patrolling the Riverpark Campus Tuesday night when she spotted a suspicious person walking through the parking garage on Front Avenue. Patricia Townsend called for back-up and monitored the person. A Columbus State University police officer arrived on scene around 10:00 pm as they person was walking away from CSU’s Corn Center. The officer identified the person at Donald Jerome Hunt. After running Hunt’s information, the officer noted that Hunt had an outstanding felony probation violation warrant through the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office. …As CSU prepares for the additional property and student impact in Downtown Columbus, The CSU Police Department is preparing to expand their patrol area to include these additional buildings and needs.
www.myajc.com
Third arrest made in killing of UGA student from Suwanee
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/third-arrest-made-in-killing-of-uga-student-from-s/njsjz/
By Steve Visser – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Athens-Clarke County police announced another arrest Wednesday in the suspected drug-related killing of a UGA student from Suwanee. Police charged Lucas Amsler Raposo, 20, of Athens, in the Jan. 13 killing of 21-year-old Min Seok Cho. …Raposo is charged with felony murder, tampering with evidence and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Goss and Ruff were arrested earlier on similar charges, including felony murder and aggravated assault. Athens-Clarke County police along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and University of Georgia police collaborated in the investigation.
www.fastcompany.com
THIS SMART KEYBOARD CAN RECOGNIZE ITS OWNER
WHY YOUR TYPING STYLE MIGHT BE AS GOOD AS A FINGERPRINT.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3041222/fast-feed/this-smart-keyboard-can-recognize-its-owner
BY LUKE DORMEHL
From old-fashioned passwords to more modern biometric alternatives like Touch ID, there are plenty of ways we can protect our identities online. Here’s one you might not have considered before: a smart keyboard which identifies users based on the individual ways they type. Developed by U.S. and Chinese researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, and other institutions, the smart keyboard analyzes patterns, such as the pressure applied to keys, and the speed at which key presses are carried out, to distinguish between different users. Even if you happen to know another person’s password, you could be locked out for an inability to emulate their typing style.
www.blogs.naturalnews.com
Ginger Destroys Cancer Cells More Effectively than Cancer Drugs
http://blogs.naturalnews.com/ginger-destroys-cancer-cells-effectively-cancer-drugs/
By Sandeep Godiyal
Most people nowadays have heard of the amazing anti-cancer properties of turmeric, which clinical research is showing to be a truly effective treatment for various forms of this serious disease. Fewer people are aware, however, that ginger – which is botanically related to turmeric – can also be an incredibly effective and natural cancer treatment option. …The literature so far on the effectiveness of ginger on cancer seems to be positive. In one study out of Georgia State University, for example, scientists working with laboratory mice found that the regular ingestion of whole ginger extract can shrink the size of prostate tumors by an impressive 56%.
Editorials/Columns/Opinions:
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Gov. Deal names Education Reform Commission members. A notable bunch.
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/21/gov-deal-names-education-reform-commission-members-a-notable-bunch/
From the Governor’s Office today:
Gov. Nathan Deal today named the individuals who will serve on the Education Reform Commission that he announced during his State of the State address. The commission will study the state’s education system, including its funding formula, and provide recommendations intended to improve the system, increase access to early learning programs, recruit and retain high-quality instructors and expand school options for Georgia’s families.
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Critics of Common Core turn attention to AP U.S. History
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/21/critics-of-common-core-turn-attention-to-ap-u-s-history/
A handful of Georgians are concerned about what’s being taught in Advanced Placement U.S. History. I have a simple solution. Don’t have your child or grandchild take the accelerated class. AP classes are extras. Local systems do not control the content as AP courses are created by the College Board. The College Board also produces the AP exam given at the end of the course to ascertain whether a student knows the material well enough to earn college credit. Georgia has pushed high school students to take more AP classes because colleges look upon them favorably. Now, according to AJC education reporter Eric Stirgus, some folks are showing up at Gwinnett County school board meetings to complain the AP U.S. History course excludes D-Day and the Battle of Bunker Hill and promotes “anti-America” themes.
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
New federal high school graduation data: Georgia still trails nation
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/21/new-federal-high-school-graduation-data-georgia-still-trails-nation/
The National Center for Education Statistics released nationwide high school graduation rates this week. Georgia’s 2012-2013 graduation rate of 72 percent ties with Alaska’s and puts us in the bottom of the nation. The only places with lower grad rates on the list are the District of Columbia with 62 percent, Oregon with 69, New Mexico with 70 and Nevada with 71. Georgia’s rate is improving. In 2010-2011, the feds showed our high school graduation rate at 67 percent, so it advanced by five percentage points in two years. We have a long way to go to catch up to top performing states.
www.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
To improve education outcomes, advocates urge school choice for all students.
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/22/to-improve-education-outcomes-advocates-urge-school-choice-for-all-students/
Rich Thompson, an Atlanta parent, is executive director of the Georgia Parent Teacher Organization. Allen West, a former Florida congressman and Atlanta native, is CEO of the National Center for Policy Analysis. The pair co-wrote this essay to mark the 2015 National School Choice Week, which begins Sunday.
www.insidehighered.com
Help Community College Students: Restore Year-Round Pell
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/01/22/better-way-help-community-college-students-bring-back-year-round-pell-essay
By Jason Delisle and Ben Miller
With President Obama’s new proposal to greatly expand federal support for community colleges getting all the attention, many on Capitol Hill want to bring back a large program tailor-made for the students who attend these institutions – one that the president himself led the charge to cut.
www.insidehighered.com
Thoughtful Experiment
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-beta/thoughtful-experiment
Anne Cushing, Erin Mackey Kistler and Philip Lovejoy
HarvardX for alumni rethinks engagement in the MOOC era.
Higher Education:
www.diverseeducation.com
Diverse Analysis: Why President Obama’s New Community College Plan Matters
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68935/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=4acdccdc79fd4f528e75743d25bae8cf&elqCampaignId=415
by Ronald Roach
With President Obama proposing tax increases to fund his new plan guaranteeing two years of tuition-free community college study for responsible U.S. students, tax-cutting congressional Republicans may find it easy to dismiss the ambitious proposal and the ideas behind it. Nonetheless, the plan known as America’s College Promise offers a vision around which states, community colleges, foundations, research organizations, corporations, activists and citizens can mobilize to bring long-term innovation to the community college sector. While it may take years before something like the America’s College Promise to see enactment by the federal government, there’s plenty in the plan that others can accomplish to improve community colleges.
www.diverseeducation.com
White House Taking Optimistic View on Prospects for Free Community College
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68941/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=4acdccdc79fd4f528e75743d25bae8cf&elqCampaignId=415
by Catherine Morris
President Obama’s proposal of free community college, a theme he elaborated on in Tuesday night’s State of the Union Address, has caught the nation’s imagination at the very least, even if some are saying that it is too visionary to ever be implemented. Republican lawmakers, such as Mitch McConnell, have already said that they are unlikely to go for President Obama’s proposal. But White House Domestic Policy Director Cecelia Muñoz attempted to frame the concept as “bipartisan” in its origins in a press call with reporters on Wednesday.
www.insidehighered.com
A Call for Restoring Year-Round Pell
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/01/22/call-restoring-year-round-pell
The 2011 decision to end a short-lived program that let students earn two Pell Grants in a single academic year was blamed on a range of factors, including that the program’s costs raged out of control and that it failed to encourage students to finish their degrees more quickly.
www.insidehighered.com
Should Berkeley Worry It Rejects ‘Normal Students’?
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/01/22/should-berkeley-worry-it-rejects-normal-students
In discussing a new committee to examine the finances of the University of California, Governor Jerry Brown has raised a new issue for consideration, whether “normal students” can get into the University of California at Berkeley, Capital Public Radio reported.
www.insidehighered.com
A Global Hub, Close to Home
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/22/uc-berkeley-proposes-global-educational-hub-its-own-backyard
By Elizabeth Redden
While other U.S. universities have built branch campuses abroad, the University of California at Berkeley is betting it can create a global higher education hub in its own backyard.
Chancellor Nicholas Dirks has proposed that the Berkeley Global Campus at Richmond Bay will be “a new form of international hub” in which a group of leading foreign universities and technology companies will establish satellite locations on a 130-acre parcel of Berkeley-owned land located a mere 10 miles from the main campus.
www.chronicle.com
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/facebook-addiction-and-gpa/55573?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Steve Kolowich
Facebook is a tempting distraction. I have it open as a tab in my browser as I write this. And look, it’s showing that I have a new notification! I must see it, immediately. Facebook designed the site to make me feel that way. This doesn’t bode well for college students. If professionals, and even some professors, have a hard time resisting the lure of Facebook, then what chance do 18-year-olds have? New research suggests that the kids may be all right. A study of Facebook activity and grade-point averages suggests that students may learn to regulate their use of Facebook, both as a distraction from coursework and in their free time, as they move through college.
www.diverseeducation.com
Bill to Allow Guns on State University Campuses in Florida Passes First Hurdle
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68938/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=4acdccdc79fd4f528e75743d25bae8cf&elqCampaignId=415
by Brendan Farrington, Associated Press
TALLAHASEE, Fla. — A House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would allow guns on state university campuses just two months after a shooter wounded three people at a Florida State University library. Rep. Greg Steube argued his bill (HB 4005) would make campuses safer because a shooter could be stopped by a gun owner before police respond to a shooting scene. He said gun-free zones don’t prevent people from going on shooting sprees.
www.chronicle.com
Tracking the Elusive Ph.D.
http://chronicle.com/article/Tracking-the-Elusive-PhD/151339/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Vimal Patel
Due in part to a weakening academic job market, some colleges and higher-education groups are scrambling to collect data on what sorts of jobs Ph.D.’s are getting. The American Historical Association recently pinpointed where 2,500 history Ph.D. recipients were working, while many university departments and individual researchers conduct formal and informal tracking projects of their own. But those efforts, while lauded for shedding at least some light on Ph.D. employment outcomes, offer only disparate snapshots of the labor market and ultimately do not allow for comparisons because of a lack of uniform data.
www.chronicle.com
In an Evolving Career Landscape, How Should Colleges Prepare Students?
http://chronicle.com/article/In-an-Evolving-Career/151345/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Casey Fabris
Washington
By all accounts, the career paths of today’s students will hardly resemble those of their parents. So what are colleges doing to help them prepare? On Wednesday the Kettering Foundation, the National Issues Forums Institute, and Augsburg College gathered a group of leaders from higher education, business, government, and other fields here to begin what the organizations hope will be a national conversation on the question of how colleges should adapt to a working world changed by technology, globalization, and the aftermath of the recession.
www.insidehighered.com
NYU Student Charged in Bizarre Crime
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/01/22/nyu-student-charged-bizarre-crime
Authorities have arrested a New York University student and charged him with setting the mattress on which a fellow student slept on fire, The New York Post reported.
www.diverseeducation.com
NYU Says it Erred in Not Immediately Reporting Alleged Assault
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68946/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=4acdccdc79fd4f528e75743d25bae8cf&elqCampaignId=415
by Colleen Long, Associated Press
NEW YORK — New York University said Wednesday it erred in not immediately reporting to police accusations that a student set a sleeping classmate on fire over the summer, then recorded her putting out the flames. Jaime Castano was charged Tuesday with assault and reckless endangerment and prosecutors said at his arraignment the university had not reported the case until mid-October. The incident occurred at his NYU dorm in August.
www.insidehighered.com
2015 Survey of Chief Academic Officers
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/survey/2015-survey-chief-academic-officers
By Scott Jaschik
A majority of provosts are concerned about declining faculty civility in American higher education. And a large majority of provosts believe that civility is a legitimate criterion in hiring and evaluating faculty members. Generally, the provosts are confident that faculty members show civility in their treatment of students, but have mixed views on whether professors show civility in dealings with colleagues and doubt how much civility is shown to administrators.
www.chronicle.com
California Regents Seek Stronger Policy Tying Coaches’ Bonuses to Academics
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/jp/u-of-california-regents-seek-stronger-policy-tying-coaches-bonuses-to-academics?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
by Nick DeSantis
Some members of the University of California’s Board of Regents have raised concerns that a new policy tying coaches’ bonuses to the academic performance of athletes is not strong enough, The Sacramento Bee has reported. Gavin Newsom, the state’s lieutenant governor and a member of the board, said that the standard, which requires coaches to keep their teams above a score of 930 on the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate, was too weak. That’s the same benchmark the association uses for determining teams’ postseason eligibility. Janet Napolitano, the university’s president, approved the policy. Mr. Newsom called on the university to “set a more ambitious goal.”
www.insidehighered.com
U. of Oregon Releases 22,000 Pages of Private Records
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/01/22/u-oregon-releases-22000-pages-private-records
The University of Oregon is investigating why it released 22,000 pages of information with confidential information about students and faculty members, The Oregonian reported. Two employees have been placed on leave as a result. The documents were given to a faculty member who requested them as public records. But the university did not go through the documents to remove confidential information that the institution was not required to release.
Related article:
www.diverseeducation.com
2 on Leave at University of Oregon After Records Illegally Released
http://diverseeducation.com/article/68948/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=4acdccdc79fd4f528e75743d25bae8cf&elqCampaignId=415