USG Institutions:
www.myajc.com
Sexual assault reported on Kennesaw State campus
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/sexual-assault-reported-on-kennesaw-state-campus/nmLKF/
By David Markiewicz – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University officials announced that they have been notified by Cobb County police of a reported sexual assault on campus. The alleged incident was reported to have occurred in a parking area near one of the school’s campus housing facilities just before midnight on May 19, the school said. … No additional information about the assault was immediately available.

University System News:
www.wfxg.com
New policies aim to prevent rape on college campuses in Georgia
http://www.wfxg.com/story/29118183/new-policies-aim-to-prevent-rape-on-college-campuses-in-georgia
By Melinda Roeder
ATLANTA (CBS46) – Increasing concerns over rapes and sexual assaults on college campuses has prompted state officials to enact new policies, announced by the state Board of Regents. All campus employees and students will now receive training on how to identify and prevent sexual assault. Special emphasis will be placed on awareness programs for freshman. Campus police will also be trained on how to handle these cases and confidential counseling will be provided to victims.

www.businessinsavannah.com
BiS in brief: Citi Trends reports first-quarter results
By: Business in Savannah
Savannah State can buy Union Mission property (2nd article down)
http://businessinsavannah.com/bis/2015-05-20/bis-brief-citi-trends-reports-first-quarter-results
ATLANTA — Savannah State University is getting a 42-year-old building and 2 acres from Union Mission for its pre-college outreach programs after the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted Tuesday to approve the purchase. The board agreed to pay $265,000 for the one-story building at 5000 Jasmine St. based on the appraisals of three local experts.

www.ajc.com
First came the tuition hike, then came the raises
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/first-came-the-tuition-hike-then-came-the-raises/nmKsH/
Janel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This week the state’s Board of Regents approved raises for most of the college and university presidents within the University System of Georgia. The salary and benefit increases pushed the total compensation for two school leaders above $1 million. Here are the top 10 highest compensated USG presidents for the upcoming fiscal year, and read more about the pay raises on myAJC.com.

www.ledger-enquirer.com
More families may find higher ed within reach
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2015/05/20/3729107_more-families-may-find-higher.html?rh=1
Students in our area, for whom higher education might otherwise have been out of the realm of either academic or economic possibility, have been given new opportunities in both Alabama and Georgia. The more dramatic development is in the former, where a $24.5 million federal grant has been awarded for low-income children in the so-called Black Belt, which includes Russell and Barbour counties. In Phenix City alone, almost 1,000 children entering the seventh and eighth grades will be eligible for full scholarships to any Alabama public community or technical college if they complete a program called GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and graduate from high school. …The significant change in Georgia doesn’t involve scholarships (though HOPE is still very much a part of the picture), but it does involve making college more affordable. At a time when higher education inflation rates dwarf those of the rest of the economy, affordability is a critical issue for all but the most affluent of families. The Technical College System of Georgia offered its own good news recently by announcing that it would be holding the line on tuition for the coming year. Now the University System of Georgia Board of Regents is expanding an “installment pay” program being tried at Georgia Tech to the rest of the public institutions in the system. Under this schedule, half the cost is due up front, 25 percent (or half the balance) after about a month, and the final fourth by midterm. According to Morris News Service, there will be a $75 up-front “convenience” fee for students who plan to pay in installments, but it will be refunded in full to any student who withdraws before classes begin.

Higher Education News:
www.myajc.com
Forecast: Georgia employers will add nearly 100,000 jobs this year
http://www.myajc.com/news/business/forecast-georgia-employers-will-add-nearly-100000-/nmKpD/
By Michael Kanell – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Georgia economy is going to have another decent year with solid job growth, according to Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University. Employers will add 99,300 positions this year, while unemployment rates continue to decline in metro Atlanta and the state, Dhawan wrote in a report released Wednesday at the center’s quarterly forecasting conference.

wwww.getschooled.blog.ajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
State policies on illegal immigrants force APS valedictorian to leave Georgia for college
http://getschooled.blog.ajc.com/2015/05/20/anti-immigrant-policies-force-aps-valedictorian-to-leave-georgia-for-college-how-does-that-help-state/
The valedictorian of an Atlanta high school is seeking donations to pay for college because he is not eligible for HOPE due to his immigration status. Nor can Marlon Portillo attend Georgia Tech or University of Georgia, both of which accepted him, because of a 2011 policy that bars illegal immigrants from any University System of Georgia institutions that turned away academically qualified students for the past two years. In essence, the policy keeps illegal immigrants from the state’s most selective public colleges. Students may attend other colleges in the system, but must pay out-of-state tuition. They cannot receive HOPE. So, Marlon is going to a Tennessee college willing to underwrite part of the costs, but he must come up with the rest. Federal law does not bar illegal immigrants from attending public colleges, leaving it up to individual states to “decide for themselves whether or not to admit illegal aliens into their public post-secondary institutions.” Georgia, a state in desperate need of more STEM majors, has a policy that is now compelling the valedictorian of a science-based high school to leave the state to continue his education.

www.insidehighered.com
Who Will Listen?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/21/what-kind-resources-do-colleges-provide-students-complaints
By Jacqueline Thomsen
For some students, Twitter isn’t just a space to vent. Students frustrated with the slow pace of administrative responses to issues on campus are taking more drastic measures, going public on social media or sharing their stories with members of the media before officials can present their own solutions. And while the publicity does create an image issue for the institution and sometimes gets results, officials say answers to students’ problems are often already in the works even before the issue becomes public and the added pressure doesn’t change their plan. … Kevin Bruce, the student who posted the video, also tweeted images of several emails between himself and the adviser, Abbie Dawson, in which he said she was unhelpful in answering questions about course selection. Other students have followed his lead, publishing similar interactions between themselves and Dawson. Dawson has since been placed on leave. Students at Kennesaw held a sit-in in the university’s student center Monday and submitted a list of demands to administrators, which include an apology from Dawson and a meeting with some of the institution’s top officials. Kennesaw spokeswoman Tammy DeMel declined to comment because the matter is still under review. … Many colleges and universities, including Kennesaw, offer ombudsmen to help mediate issues between students and members of the university. Kennesaw ombudsman Timothy Hedeen did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

www.diverseeducation.com
Give All Students a Chance to Walk Across the Stage
http://diverseeducation.com/article/73020/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203%20SpecialSend052115&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=57dbb3b0acf64e1aa02846332f69cfdf&elqCampaignId=658&elqaid=983&elqat=1&elqTrackId=81c85d3b29a94c08a019fc45129402a3
by Marcia L. Fudge and Rob Portman
College graduations are being held across the country. They are a time for celebration and remind us of the importance of higher education. During this season, it can be hard to imagine not being able to go to college. But the reality is, college study still remains out of reach for many. Rising college costs can be intimidating, and the weight of mounting debt can turn students away altogether. Fortunately, an educational model exists to help overcome these hurdles: early college high school. Early college high schools are unique partnerships between high schools and colleges that allow students to receive their high school diploma while earning transferrable college credit toward a postsecondary degree. Perhaps most important, early college programs are available at no cost to students and families. There are approximately 300 early college high schools nationwide, and 14 in Ohio. Research conducted by Columbia University shows that early college participants are significantly more likely to complete high school, enroll in college, and earn college degrees. …So, we introduced the Go to High School, Go to College Act to expand education opportunities to more young Americans and support school districts and programs. Specifically, our bill allows low-income students enrolled in early colleges to use Pell Grants to help pay for college while maintaining accountability.

www.insidehighered.com
Widening Wealth Gap
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/05/21/rich-universities-get-richer-are-poor-students-being-left-behind
By Kellie Woodhouse
When Harvard University’s endowment fell by more than $10 billion during the 2008 financial crisis, it was a blow to the institution. But a lot of college presidents across the country considered the loss — and the remaining $26 billion in Harvard’s endowment — and thought that perhaps there were worse problems to have. Harvard’s endowment has since rebounded. The university has cash and investments of nearly $43 billion, and is the wealthiest college in the country by more than $10 billion. Harvard is part of a prestigious pack of the 40 wealthiest universities in the country, which hold two-thirds of all the wealth among the 500 colleges rated by Moody’s, which rates institutions that are financially sound enough to trade in public markets. … And while many of the wealthiest colleges offer need-based scholarships for their poorest students, they enroll a relatively small percentage of low-income students compared to their less wealthy peers.The 10 wealthiest private colleges hold cash and endowments that, combined, total nearly $180 billion. A median 16 percent of their 2012-13 enrollees received Pell Grants, a form of federal aid only available to low-income students, according to an analysis of federal data.