University System News:
www.ajc.com
Emotional pleas, but no vote on in-state tuition bill for immigrants
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/emotional-pleas-but-no-vote-on-in-state-tuition-bi/nj8DG/
Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite advance notice that no vote would be taken Tuesday, a full contingent of immigrant students and supporters turned out at a Senate committee, urging lawmakers to pass legislation granting in-state tuition for certain immigrants without legal status. Senate Bill 44, sponsored by Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, applies to immigrants accepted into the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. That program grants temporary deportation deferrals and work permits to immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children. Currently, DACA recipients must pay more expensive out-of-state tuition rates to attend schools in Georgia’s University System. The high costs have prevented many of them from attending colleges to which they were accepted, the students said.

USG Institutions:
www.consumerelectronicsnet.com
OnlineSchoolsCenter.com Publishes List of 30 Schools of Higher Education That Go Above and Beyond the College Experience
http://www.consumerelectronicsnet.com/article/OnlineSchoolsCentercom-Publishes-List-of-30-Schools-of-Higher-Education-That-Go-Above-and-Beyond-the-College-Experience-3744670
NASHVILLE, Tenn. –OnlineSchoolsCenter.com has released their list of 30 Colleges With The Best Extras recognizing colleges and universities with benefits and amenities geared towards enhancing the overall experience of students. …Below we have listed the schools making the grade for our picks of the 30 Colleges With The Best Extras: …19. Georgia Institute of Technology – Atlanta, Georgia …30. Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw, Georgia

www.usnews.com
Online Bachelor’s Programs With the Highest 6-Year Completion Rates
More than 70 percent of students graduated within six years at these online bachelor’s programs, according to U.S. News data.​
http://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/the-short-list-online-programs/articles/2015/02/10/online-bachelors-programs-with-the-highest-6-year-completion-rates
By Devon Haynie
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. …Below are the 10 ranked online bachelor’s programs with the highest six-year completion rates based on students who entered in 2007-2008. Unranked schools, which have fewer than 10 students or did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report. University of Georgia – Percentage of students starting in 2007-2008 who graduated in six years – 100%; US News rank 90 (tie)

www.chronicle.augusta.com
Search committee to find Azziz replacement named
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-02-10/search-committee-find-azziz-replacement-named
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
Among the many community members who will also be part of the search committee is University Hospital CEO Jim Davis, whose health care system is discussing potential partnerships with Georgia Regents Health System, according to the news release. Regent Jim Hull of Augusta will chair the search committee to find the next president of Georgia Regents University, the University System of Georgia announced Tuesday. USG Board of Regents Chair Neil Pruitt announced the committee will conduct a national search to replace GRU President Ricardo Azziz, who announced his resignation on Jan. 15 and will step down on June 30 to take a one-year education leave. Parker Executive Search of Atlanta will assist the committee, which is expected to send three to five candidates to the Regents.

www.13wmaz.com
Ga. Military College partners with Middle Ga State
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/milledgeville/2015/02/10/ga-military-college-partners-with-middle-ga-state/23190825/
A new partnership between Georgia Military College and Middle Georgia State means some students are eligible for automatic college acceptance. The president of Georgia Military College, Lieutenant General William Caldwell, and president of Middle Georgia State College, Dr. Christopher Blake, signed an agreement Tuesday afternoon. The agreement between the two schools allows students from GMC to apply associate degree credits from their classes to have more advanced standing or transfer into Middle Georgia State. Students can be automatically accepted to Middle Georgia as long as they maintain a 2.0 grade point average.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
Plan would narrow Laney-Walker Boulevard at Georgia Regents University
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-02-10/plan-would-narrow-laney-walker
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
A long anticipated renovation to the section of Laney-Walker Boulevard that runs through Georgia Regents University could be moving closer to getting underway, although it will means months of diverting traffic away from that section, officials said. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents is expected to vote today on approving a final budget for the project at the monthly meeting. The total project budget is $1,781,500, which would include $700,000 from a Georgia Department of Transportation grant, $200,000 from GDOT funds through the city of Augusta, and $881,500 from the university, according to the regents agenda item.

www.ajc.com
Georgia Tech receives $5M for business sustainability center
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/georgia-tech-receives-5m-for-business-sustainabili/nj7Qr/
Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business has received a $5 million gift to rename the Center for Business Strategies for Sustainability in honor of industrial engineering graduate and businessman Ray C. Anderson. The $5 million award will be distributed to Tech over the next decade, providing a term-of-years naming for the Center, to be called the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. In 2013, the Anderson Foundation committed the initial three-year, $750,000 seed funding that established the Center. Since its founding, the Center has as been active in driving new research and developing course work in business sustainability for students at all levels.

www.campustechnology.com
$5 Million Grant Expanding VIP Big-Team, Big-Scale, Long-Term Research Program
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/02/09/5-million-grant-expanding-vip.aspx?admgarea=news
By Dian Schaffhauser
A long-time effort to bring undergraduate students into large, long-term research projects to work with older students and faculty has just received a financial boost. A consortium of universities participating in the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program has earned a three-year, $5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The money will fund expansion of this curricular approach, which mixes engineering instruction with research through multidisciplinary teams of faculty and graduate and undergraduate students. The VIP Program has been going on for at least a decade, pioneered by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan and now involves 15 schools.

www.bizjournals.com
WorldPay eyes Georgia Tech for innovation project
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/atlantech/2015/02/worldpay-eyes-georgia-tech-for-innovation-project.html
Urvaksh Karkaria
Staff Writer- Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a business incubator located at Georgia Tech, plans to develop a financial technology practice aimed at building the next generation of payment technology companies. WorldPay, which will relocate its headquarters to nearby Atlantic Station, is expected to underwrite that program with an up to $1 million check, according to sources ATDC’s fintech practice could be part of a broader expansion that includes similar programs around information security and marketing automation, a source said.

www.armytimes.com
Troops get preview of civilian jobs
http://www.armytimes.com/story/veterans/careers/civilian/jobs/2015/02/09/veterans-training-transition-georgia-tech/23120889/
By Mary Carr Mayle, The Savannah Morning News
Three soldiers stationed at Hunter Army Airfield are getting the opportunity to experience work in the civilian world before they transition out of the service, thanks to a unique partnership between Georgia Tech Savannah and Gulfstream Aerospace. Army Spc. Rammon Swainson, Spc. Victoria Frizalone and Sgt. Angel Jordan are the first participants selected for Georgia Tech Savannah’s Veterans Education Training and Transition or VET2 program, a one-of-a-kind course that helps active-duty soldiers learn how to translate their military skills and values into successful civilian careers. Georgia Tech developed the four-week program, which includes classroom work and job shadowing, and offers it free to participants.

www.live5news.com
Georgia State addresses mold concerns at dorm
http://www.live5news.com/story/28076129/mold-mildew-or-stain-georgia-state-university-cleans-up-mess-and-verifies-no-further-growth
By Jason Aubry
ATLANTA (CBS46) –
Georgia State University addressed concerns that mold was growing under the sink in one of their dorm rooms on Tuesday. The university’s official position is that the substance was just a stain that at one time could have been mildew, but was long dead.

www.ledgernews.com
Accident kills KSU student
http://www.ledgernews.com/news/top_stories/accident-kills-ksu-student/article_bcb733a0-b139-11e4-9007-9fce841642db.html
By Jessica Lindley
A Kennesaw State University student was killed Friday after a minivan crashed into a restaurant the 19-year-old was dining at. Authorities said charges are expected to be filed, but the fatal crash remained under investigation at press time Monday.

Higher Education:
www.insidehighered.com
The Wrong Requirement?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/11/students-criticize-columbias-new-sexual-assault-prevention-efforts
By Jake New
Student groups advocating for changes in Columbia University’s approach to preventing sexual assault are again upset with the university’s attempts to address the issue, saying their concerns were largely ignored during the creation of a new “sexual respect” education program that will launch this week. The new program will ask students to attend at least one hourlong workshop of their choosing focused on topics like bystander intervention, according to students who have been briefed on the program. Students may also have the option to watch and discuss two videos — through TED Talks or on YouTube — instead, or to write reflection papers about a reading or short film. Another option would allow students to create art projects, such as writing a poem. Whether the program is required would vary depending on each college within the university.

www.myajc.com
Loan debt, low salaries make college education worth less, grads say
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/loan-debt-low-salaries-make-college-degrees-worth-/nj7tQ/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More than half of college graduates expect a lower return on investment from their education than college graduates a decade ago, according to a national survey released Tuesday. … Nationally, student loan debt has grown to exceed $1 trillion, with the average debt load per borrower reaching $23,800 in 2013. Georgia ranked 37th in the nation, with an average student loan debt of $24,517 last year for borrowers. In the Southern region, which includes Georgia and 14 other states, 51 percent percent of graduates polled for the survey valued a college education lower than years ago, a slightly better view than the 55 percent of graduates polled nationally who felt the same way. The survey highlights the ongoing national debate over whether a college education is worth it.

www.enquirerherald.com
Florida Gov. wants tighter controls on college costs
http://www.enquirerherald.com/2015/02/10/3373176_florida-gov-wants-tighter-controls.html?rh=1
BY GARY FINEOUT
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott, citing rising debt for college students and recent graduates, urged state legislators to pass a sweeping bill lowering textbook costs and curbing tuition increases for graduate programs. Scott’s proposal is expected to be his chief priority in the upcoming session starting in March. A draft of the bill, obtained by The Associated Press, includes the Republican governor’s push to permanently exempt college textbooks from sales taxes. But Scott also wants to prevent universities from raising the tuition of graduate programs, including law schools and medical schools, beyond the rate in place as of July 1.

www.insidehighered.com
The New Bachelor’s Payoff
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/11/bachelors-degrees-lead-employment-and-more-training
By Paul Fain
Doubts about the labor-market returns of bachelor’s degrees, while never serious, can be put to rest. Last month’s federal jobs report showed a rock-bottom unemployment rate of 2.8 percent for workers who hold at least a four-year degree. The overall unemployment rate is 5.7 percent. But even that welcome economic news comes with wrinkles. A prominent financial analyst last week signaled an alarm that employers soon may face a shortage of job-seeking college graduates. And the employment report was a reminder of continuing worries about “upcredentialing” by employers, who are imposing new degree requirements on jobs.

www.insidehighered.com
Clean Slate or Death Sentence?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/02/11/legislators-seek-2-year-closure-south-carolina-state-u
By Scott Jaschik
A legislative panel in South Carolina stunned and angered supporters of South Carolina State University Tuesday by passing a measure that would shut the institution down for two years. While the measure is far from law, its approval by the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees state appropriations for higher education sparked protests by supporters of the institution. Talk of a two-year suspension could discourage enrollments and create additional financial problems for the university, which even its supporters acknowledge to be facing severe financial challenges.

www.washingtonpost.com
Regional public colleges — the ‘middle children’ of higher ed — struggle to survive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/02/09/regional-public-colleges-the-middle-children-of-higher-ed-struggle-to-survive/
By Jeffrey J. Selingo
The image of American higher education is largely shaped by popular culture through the handful of colleges that appear in the movies, in the news, or in nationally televised football games on Saturdays in the fall. Yet there are some 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States, from beauty schools to Harvard. Harvard itself enrolls just more than one tenth of one percent of college students in the United States, although you wouldn’t know that from the outsized media coverage it receives. Take all of the undergraduates in the Ive League’s eight schools and they still account for less than one half of one percent of students in American higher education. A recent article in The Washington Post told the important story of how states are getting out of the business of public higher education by focusing on how students these days are paying more of the cost at state universities through their rising tuition bills.

www.diverseeducation.com
Community College Leaders Cite Roadblocks in Obama’s Proposal
http://diverseeducation.com/article/69675/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=218cd962bb874757a72bb2fe5ee84d4e&elqCampaignId=415
by Catherine Morris
Could public post-secondary education one day be tuition free in the United States, just like the public K-12 system? That may be President Obama’s vision, but there are some roadblocks to take care of first, some said at the American Community College Trustees (ACCT) Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Obama’s proposal for free community college has caught the nation’s attention. A two-minute video featuring Obama explaining the proposal is the most viewed video ever produced by the Obama White House. Despite national interest in the plan, many question the plausibility of it being successfully implemented. At the ACCT legislative summit, community college leaders expressed cautious enthusiasm for the proposal.