University System News:
www.myajc.com
Corporate combos offer lessons for merging colleges
http://www.myajc.com/news/business/corporate-combos-offer-lessons-for-merging-college/nj4r2/#55a20834.3566685.735638
By Russell Grantham – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since 2012, Georgia’s public university system has launched mergers of a dozen state schools to cut costs and improve services, partly inspired by similar moves in the business world. The latest: Kennesaw State and Marietta’s Southern Polytechnic State universities, which will maintain two campuses but consolidate operations this year.Up next: Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College, creating a 54,000-student institution in one of the nation’s biggest college mergers yet. The combination is slated to be completed in 2016. But when do such mergers make sense, and how should they be done? The business world could hold some of the answers, experts say. Many companies have experience with mergers — good and bad. …Like the mixed results from corporate consolidations, it appears that the University System of Georgia’s mergers have been hit or miss so far.
USG Institutions:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Medical College of Georgia on strong footing for a stronger future
http://chronicle.augusta.com/opinion/opinion-columns/2015-02-08/medical-college-georgia-strong-footing-stronger-future
By Peter F. Buckley, M.D.
Guest Columnist
We hope that most of you within earshot already know that the state’s public medical school stands among the first medical schools founded in our nation. It was started in earnest in 1828 in our fair city by a small, brave handful of physicians who were steadfast in their goal. Classes started with just a few students in Augusta’s old City Hospital. JUST LAST YEAR, we graduated our largest class ever. With 230 students per class, the Medical College of Georgia’s total enrollment is the 10th-largest among our nation’s 141 accredited medical schools. …THIS STRATEGIC PLAN, galvanized by our growth and remarkable new resources, will help guide us over the next five years – and beyond, really – as we work to continue to maximize the impact and import of our medical school in alignment with our university, Georgia Regents University.
www.valdostatoday.com
VSU’s WEBMBA PROGRAM EARNS HIGH RANKINGS
http://valdostatoday.com/2015/02/vsus-webmba-program-earns-high-rankings/
VALDOSTA—The Georgia WebMBA, the online Master of Business Administration program offered by Valdosta State University and five other members of the University System of Georgia, was ranked No. 10 among the CEO Magazine’s Global MBA rankings. …The Georgia WebMBA is offered through six University System of Georgia (USG) institutions: Columbus State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, Valdosta State University, and the University of West Georgia.
www.northwestgeorgianews.com
Georgia receives $9.5 million to help schools address mental health
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/associated_press/news/national/georgia-receives-million-to-help-schools-address-mental-health/article_40af8a00-ae23-11e4-8028-777096c513fb.html
February 6, 2015 – The Georgia Department of Education announced today it will expand its efforts to help schools better identify and respond to mental health issues among students.
A new initiative, Georgia Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education), will address the mental health needs of children, youth, families, caregivers and communities, and support the implementation of mental health training at the state and local levels. This work is made possible by a $9.5 million grant ($1.9 million per year, for five years) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Georgia State University is partnering with the GaDOE to provide technical assistance, training, and evaluation.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
GRU housing to go downtown, plan says
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-02-06/gru-housing-go-downtown-plan-says
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
New student housing for Georgia Regents University will all go to the Health Sciences campus downtown while the Summerville campus and its surrounding historic neighborhood will remain largely untouched, at least as far as the exteriors go, GRU officials said Friday. The new cancer research building will be built above and across Laney-Walker Boulevard between the current cancer research building and the cancer clinic building, said Phil Howard, vice president of facilities service at GRU. And while there are no current plans for the former Golf and Gardens property on the Savannah River, outside of possible intramural sports fields, the university is open to proposals from potential partners, Howard and GRU Provost Gretchen Caughman said. The two spoke after a meeting on the Campus Master Plan that is an attempt to look out 10 years at what would be needed in the consolidated university in terms of new student housing, new research and new faculty facilities. It was done in conjunction with the University System of Georgia, whose approval is needed on new capital projects, and with Georgia Regents Health System.
www.macon.com
Soldiers get preview of civilian life in Savannah
http://www.macon.com/2015/02/08/3574949_soldiers-get-preview-of-civilian.html?rh=1
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 of charge for participants.
www.savannahnow.com
Officials, students put Savannah on display at the Capitol
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-01-29/officials-students-put-city-display-capitol
By WALTER C. JONES
ATLANTA — Busloads of students, business executives and public officials nearly took over the state Capitol on Thursday as part of the annual Savannah Day celebration.
“We always look forward to this day when the great State of Chatham will be here,” said Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. …Besides the joint meeting, the day’s events included demonstrations by Armstrong State University students on emergency resuscitation, brief speeches by a parade of state politicians, legislative resolutions and educational tours for 80 middle- and high-school students and Leadership Savannah participants.
www.savannahnow.com
Wind turbine test targets Skidaway
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-02-09/wind-turbine-test-targets-skidaway
By Mary Landers
Within the next few months, Georgia Power plans to install small-scale wind turbines on Skidaway Island to research the viability of this renewable energy in the Peach State. The demonstration project calls for up to four turbines, three of them less than 100 feet high at the hub and a fourth about 140 feet at the hub to test higher altitude winds. There will also be a meteorological tower. The siting of the project at Georgia Power’s preferred coastal site at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography depends on approval by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, which will hear about the project at an upcoming board meeting.
www.connectsavannah.com
UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography brings new focus to marine trash issue
http://www.connectsavannah.com/NewsFeed/archives/2015/02/06/uga-skidaway-institute-of-oceanography-brings-new-focus-to-marine-trash-issue
Posted By staff
University of Georgia researchers are “hoping to find a consistent way to record the marine debris—particularly pieces of plastic—crowding Georgia’s beaches as part of an effort to find a solution for the growing problem,” says the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Marine Extension. Marine debris has been washing up on Georgia beaches and uninhabited islands for years. Combating the issue starts with figuring out how big it is, and a new two-part study from the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography published online in the Marine Pollution Bulletin finds that marine debris reporting can improve if it becomes standardized.
Higher Education:
www.insidehighered.com
We’re Destroying Higher Education for Future Generations
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-visiting/were-destroying-higher-education-future-generations
By John Warner
I read the news last week…oh boy… On Wednesday, the New York Times asked, “Is Your First Grader College Ready?” Also on Wednesday, we learned that if Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed cuts to higher education go through we can expect massive contraction of faculty and courses at the flagship LSU campus, which will get off lucky, because it will at least stay open, unlike some of the other colleges and universities of the Louisiana system. Gov. Scott Walker picked Wednesday to try to undo over a century of the Wisconsin Idea by erasing it from the mission statement of the University of Wisconsin system. Walking (get it?) it back quickly, Walker blamed the changes on a “drafting error,” which deserves to join “mistakes were made” and “it depends on what your definition of is, is” in the Hall of Fame of political weaseldom. The kerfuffle over the language distracted everyone from the $300 million Walker wants to cut from the university, which is the far bigger story.
www.chronicle.com
What to Do in Case of a Data Breach?
http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/what-to-do-in-case-of-a-data-breach/59121?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
by Prof. Hacker
You might be one of the 80 million people impacted by the cyber-security breach at health insurance provider Anthem yesterday; I am. [Me, too! – JBJ] While my medical records are safe, the hackers possible have all of my other relevant information needed to steal my identity, not to mention the identity of my children (which is often easier to do because who monitors their kids’ credit ratings?). …What do you do to help secure your data and identity? Perhaps more importantly, what are your institutions doing?
www.bizjournals.com
Georgians sue Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia over data breach
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2015/02/06/georgians-sue-anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-of.html
David Allison
Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle
Six Georgians have become among the first in the nation to take Anthem Inc. to court over its enormous data breach. The six filed a class-action lawsuit against Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia on Feb. 5 in federal court in Atlanta. Anthem (NYSE: ANTM), the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, said Feb. 4 that as many as 80 million customers have had their account information stolen. The Georgia division is among groups affected, the company said.
www.insidehighered.com
So Much for Bachelor’s Degrees Not Having Value
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/02/09/so-much-bachelors-degrees-not-having-value
It’s become fashionable among some pundits and politicians to question the economic value of the bachelor’s degree. But the latest unemployment figures, which show good hiring trends across the board, suggest to Bloomberg Business that there is one possible labor market problem for bachelor’s degree holders: there may not be enough of them.
www.myajc.com
More than 4 years the reality for many students
http://www.myajc.com/news/lifestyles/variety-of-factors-push-students-into-graduating-i/njzW8/#72bc6f7c.3458083.735638
By Gabrielle Russon – Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO — Frederick LaLanne describes his mother as a helicopter parent who doesn’t seem to mind that the baby of the family lives at home while he commutes to college. But it doesn’t keep her from echoing the common refrain at the end of the semester: When are you going to graduate? For LaLanne, who expects to be 24 when he finishes University of Central Florida a year from now, the delay can be blamed on changing majors and juggling work. …LaLanne’s six-year journey is becoming normal on campuses across the country as most students fail to graduate within four years, according to a recently released study called “The Four-Year Myth” from an Indianapolis nonprofit Complete College America. Only about 19 percent of college students will graduate in four years from public universities and about 36 percent from flagship high-level research institutions, the report said.
www.nytimes.com
Confusion About College Sexual Assault
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The exact size of the campus sexual assault problem remains unclear. The commonly cited statistic that one in five women who attend college is assaulted before she graduates — repeated by the White House — comes from a flawed 2007 study based on undergraduates at just two unnamed public universities. That figure often shocks, yet there is no reliable alternative estimate. Under the federal Clery Act universities are required to publish data on campus crime, but activists have long suspected that administrators underreport sex crimes. A new study in the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law gives credence to the activists’ suspicions, underscores that confusion is the rule and points to the need for better information.
www.diverseeduction.com
HBCU Leaders Divided on Free Community College Plan
http://diverseeducation.com/article/69556/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=41a44305a9d94f72b2cf786bb41b0d5b&elqCampaignId=415
by Catherine Morris
President Obama surprised many when he unveiled his vision in January for free community college. Some scoffed at the proposal, which would allow students to go to college for free as long as they maintained a 2.5 GPA and made steady progress toward their degree, as too utopian to ever be realized. The president of Howard University, Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, announced an even more grandiose vision for the future of American higher education. Frederick announced that he believed Obama should extend the proposal to include HBCUs to NCB-4 reporters on Wednesday.
www.seattletimes.com
Obama: Scaling back college savings benefits wasn’t worth it
President Barack Obama said Friday that he dropped a widely criticized plan to scale back tax benefits for college savings accounts because the savings weren’t worth it.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2025642999_apxobamacommunitycollege.html
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press
President Barack Obama said Friday that he dropped a widely criticized plan to scale back tax benefits for college savings accounts because the savings weren’t worth it. Obama, who revealed that he uses the 529 savings accounts for his own daughters, said he looked at reducing the tax savings because the accounts tend to be used by “folks who were a little more on the high end.” He says other taxpayers struggled to save enough to participate. About 12 million families take advantage of college savings plans, in which money can eventually be withdrawn with no tax on earnings to pay for postsecondary education costs.