USG Institutions:
www.clatontodayonline.com
Georgia college waives out-of-state tuition
http://www.claytodayonline.com/ee/claytoday/en/component/fullstory/20150514_010_art_4/georgia-college-waives-out-of-state-tuition
TIFTON, Ga. – An agricultural college in Georgia is attempting to lure Florida students into its classrooms by waiving the out-of-state tuition fee. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College announced it will waive its out-of-state tuition fee for residents of Florida, South Carolina and Alabama. “ABAC Neighbor Waivers will allow students from Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama to attend ABAC this fall semester at the in-state tuition rates,” said David Bridges, ABAC president. “That includes both new students and currently enrolled students who meet the ABAC Neighbor Waiver criteria.”
www.41nbc.com
Macon student graduates from college after overcoming rare disease
http://www.41nbc.com/story/d/story/macon-student-graduates-from-college-after-overcom/39114/ixgnRQOYDEadRzSX0ktsxA
Amanda Castro
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A young Macon woman overcame a rare and potentially fatal disease. She’s now the first person in her family to graduate from a university. “I knew i was going to have to go back. There was no stopping me,” Erin Hendrix said. Graduating from Georgia Southern University is the biggest accomplishment of Erin Hendrix’s life, but it almost didn’t happen. … Eventually doctors figured it out: NMDA Receptor Antibody Encephalitis. Her body was producing antibodies and they were attacking her brain. It is a fairly new condition. …In January 2014, almost a year after Erin was hospitalized, she enrolled herself back into GSU. “I did not want to let that keep me down. If I could think, I was going to read. If I could read, I was going to read how to get myself back into school. If I could talk, I’m going to talk to my adviser about how to get back,” Erin said. She “Just Did It” and graduated last weekend. She is the first person in her family to get a four-year college degree.
www.nasfaa.org
3 Institutions With Promising Programs To Help Homeless Students Succeed In College
http://www.nasfaa.org/Main/orig/2015/open/3_Institutions_With_Promising_Programs_To_Help_Homeless_Students_Succeed_In_College.aspx
By Katy Hopkins, Communications Staff
Three NASFAA member institutions have deployed particularly promising tactics to help their homeless students succeed in college, according to a new report from the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE). Financial support is a common theme among all three. In “Supporting College Completion for Students Experiencing Homeless,” NCHE profiles Florida State University, Kennesaw State University, and the University of Massachusetts – Boston. Though their programs differ in funding and structure, each offer financial support to homeless students.
www.savannahnow.com
AEDs donated to honor Cory Wilson
http://savannahnow.com/your-good-news/2015-05-13/aeds-donated-honor-cory-wilson
By Savannah Morning News
On January 17, 2013, 21‐year‐old Cory Joseph Wilson, a Savannah, native and student at Georgia Southern University, died as a result of a fatal heart arrhythmia. No AED (Automated External Defibrillator) was available to treat Cory at the time when he needed it the most. To honor Cory’s memory, his love of baseball and to help others in need, friends and family organized The Cory Joseph Wilson Fireball 40 Memorial Baseball Tournament, with proceeds going to a GSU scholarship and purchasing A.E.D.s for facilities in need. …In addition to providing A.E.D.s to the area for two years, funds have also helped to provide two scholarships to Georgia Southern University students in 2014 and 2015.
www.todaycostarica.com
President Solis Readies His Road Trip
http://todaycostarica.com/president-solis-readies-his-road-trip/
by Today News
QCOSTARICA – After a rough start to May at home President Luis Guillermo Solis will look to pick up his game on the road over the next 10 days on a business trip to the US. Solis will visit 4 cities to woo enterprises that could establish operations in Costa Rica in the service sector, light manufacturing, medicine and textile industries. …The second objective is to visit universities in the US, to obtain assistance in improving Costa Rica’s human capital, Solis will visit the North Carolina Investigative Center, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia and Northwestern.
www.usnews.com
Where Are All the Bees?
Real buzzkill: Federal survey sees loss of more than 2 out of 5 honeybee colonies in past year.
http://www.usnews.com/news/science/news/articles/2015/05/13/survey-more-than-40-percent-of-bee-hives-died-in-past-year
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two out of five American honeybee colonies died in the past year, and surprisingly the worst die-off was in the summer, according to a federal survey. Since April 2014, beekeepers lost 42.1 percent of their colonies, the second highest loss rate in nine years, according to an annual survey conducted by a bee partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “What we’re seeing with this bee problem is just a loud signal that there’s some bad things happening with our agro-ecosystems,” said study co-author Keith Delaplane at the University of Georgia. “We just happen to notice it with the honeybee because they are so easy to count.” But it’s not quite as dire as it sounds. That’s because after a colony dies, beekeepers then split their surviving colonies, start new ones, and the numbers go back up again, said Delaplane and study co-author Dennis vanEngelsdorp of the University of Maryland.
www.phys.org
Researchers develop new way to manufacture nanofibers
http://phys.org/news/2015-05-nanofibers.html
Researchers at the University of Georgia have developed an inexpensive way to manufacture extraordinarily thin polymer strings commonly known as nanofibers. These polymers can be made from natural materials like proteins or from human-made substances to make plastic, rubber or fiber, including biodegradable materials.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Enrollments Fall
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/14/improved-economy-leads-enrollment-dips-among-two-year-and-profit-colleges
By Ashley A. Smith
College enrollment numbers tend to be cyclical. A poor economy forces many adult learners into the classroom to retrain or hone their skills, but when it improves, enrollments decrease as they return to the workforce.That’s the current state of affairs for community colleges and for-profit institutions across the country according to new data released by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The report reveals that 2015 totals are down 1.9 percent — to fewer than 18.6 million students — compared to spring 2014. Most of that decline is due to students who are 24 and older. That group declined by 3.6 percent, to about 7 million.
www.chronicle.com
Even Private Colleges Feel the Pain as Enrollment Falls Again
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/even-private-colleges-feel-the-pain-as-enrollment-drops-again/98839
by Andy Thomason
Total college enrollment fell again this year, driven primarily by the departure of older students finding employment in an improving economy, according to a report released on Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse. Total postsecondary enrollment this spring dropped 1.9 percent from last year, according to the report. The sector suffering the biggest decline was four-year for-profit institutions, which saw a 4.9-percent enrollment drop. Public two-year institutions saw the second-highest percentage of students leave, at 3.9 percent.
www.chronicle.com
As Concern Over Student-Loan Servicers Grows, a Watchdog Steps Up Scrutiny
http://chronicle.com/article/As-Concern-Over-Student-Loan/230161/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
By Kelly Field
Washington
The nation’s top consumer watchdog is stepping up its oversight of student-loan servicers, the agency announced on Thursday. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been monitoring the sector since last March, said it would seek information on practices that “create repayment challenges” or set up “hurdles for distressed borrowers.” The agency is also interested in “economic incentives that may affect the quality of service” provided to borrowers, it said in a statement. “Today’s inquiry seeks information on the pain points in student-loan servicing that make repayment a more difficult and stressful process,” said Richard Cordray, the bureau’s director.
www.insidehighered.com
Interest Rates on Federal Student Loans Will Drop
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/05/13/interest-rates-federal-student-loans-will-drop
Millions of students and families will now pay less to borrow money from the federal government to finance college in the coming academic year. Interest rates on federal student loans are set to drop by more than one-third of a percentage point following the U.S. Treasury’s sale on Wednesday of 10-year notes. Rates are reset each year based on the yield of the note set by that auction.
www.insidehighered.com
Survey: 49% of Recent Grads Say They’re Underemployed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/05/14/survey-49-recent-grads-say-theyre-underemployed
Forty-nine percent of students who graduated college in 2013 and 2014 consider themselves underemployed, according to an Accenture college graduate employment survey released Wednesday. Other statistics of interest: 41 percent of 2013 and 2014 graduates earn less than $25,000, 64 percent are working in their chosen field, and 64 percent feel their education prepared them well for the workforce.
www.orlandosentinel.com
Film industry seeks revival of tax incentives
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-film-industry-tax-incentives-20150512-story.html
By Jim Turner
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – The film and television industry in Florida wants lawmakers to take another look at a revamped production-incentives package that stalled when the House cut short the regular legislative session.. But even getting a line item for tax credits to continue a currently unfunded program may be a tough sell as lawmakers struggle to reach a budget accord next month. Film Florida, a non-profit entertainment production association, has written Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli asking that the incentives be considered when lawmakers come back to Tallahassee for a special session starting June 1. “We remain confident that you understand this business and the number of jobs it affects,” the letter from Film Florida said.