University System News:
www.myajc.com
Brown gets tuition ranking correct for Georgia colleges
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/brown-gets-tuition-ranking-correct-for-georgia-col/nmk7T/#654ba47f.3566685.735775
By Nancy Badertscher – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Students heading off to the state’s 30 colleges and universities this fall will be paying tuition that’s up 2.5 percent to 9 percent. Full-time, in-state students attending Georgia Perimeter College, Clayton State University in metro Atlanta and 18 other colleges and universities will take the smallest hit. Their tuition is going up 2.5 percent — $33 to $64 per semester for a full-time in-state student, depending on the specific institution. Tuition hikes at the 10 other colleges and universities are varying, according to a vote by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on April 14. …John Brown, the university system’s vice chancellor for fiscal affairs, said Georgia still has “some of the lowest tuition rates among our peer state public higher education systems.

www.myajc.com
Protect campus victims of sex assault
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/protect-campus-victims-of-sex-assault/nmkw3/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium#3e130037.3566685.735775
By Earl Ehrhart
Like all parents, I am alarmed any time I read about rape or sexual assault occurring on our college campuses. My heart goes out to all victims of these heinous crimes. These attacks need to be immediately reported, promptly investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted. Victims should be supported in every way possible, and the perpetrators should be punished severely after being convicted by a jury of their peers. Further, when these accusations occur on our campus, we must do all we can to make sure victims are treated with dignity and respect and have all appropriate resources made available to aid in their recovery. However, concerns have been raised regarding the process by which the quasi-judicial proceedings of Georgia universities deal with accusations of this kind. Consequently, I have decided to hold hearings into this complex issue to make sure the General Assembly and people of Georgia are educated and informed, while also collaborating closely with the Board of Regents to protect the safety and rights of all students.

USG Institutions:
www.myajc.com
Georgia Tech leads state colleges on Facebook, Twitter
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/georgia-tech-leads-state-colleges-on-facebook-twit/nmkF5/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When it comes to social media, Georgia Tech is a top performer. A national survey of colleges and universities ranks the Atlanta institution among its top 50 performers on Twitter and Facebook. The Atlanta institution was the only Georgia school listed in the eValue data compiled by technology and data company Engagement Labs. Georgia Tech ranked third for Twitter performance, behind the universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Florida; and ranked 15th for Facebook performance.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
GRU announces national search for police chief
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-06-25/gru-announces-national-search-police-chief
By Travis Highfield
Staff Writer
Georgia Regents University will conduct a national search to replace retiring public safety chief William McBride, but it won’t complete an internal investigation in which he was involved, officials said. In a statement Thursday, the university announced that Maj. Gene Maxwell and Maj. Earnest Black will continue to lead the department while it works with the University System of Georgia’s Safety and Security Division to identify candidates for the position. …Since McBride will no longer be an employee of the university, officials have decided to “rescind” the investigation, Jasper said. The school couldn’t say if the investigation was cancelled immediately or if it will be dropped after his departure.

www.wtoc.com
Bainbridge State College now offering Bachelor’s Degree Program
http://www.wtoc.com/story/29410611/bainbridge-state-college-now-offering-bachelors-degree-program
By Catherine Patterson
BAINBRIDGE, GA (WALB) – Bainbridge State College is now offering its first Bachelor’s Degree Program. Beginning this fall, the college will offer a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. Students will now have access to an extension of the education offered in the current two-year-program. Program Director Dr. Leonard Kistner said it will benefit the workforce and economy of southwest Georgia.

www.thebrunswicknews.com
CCGA To Join e-Course Initiative to Offer Two New Majors in Fall
http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_news/ccga-to-join-e-course-initiative-to-offer-two-new/article_3b438126-f3a0-5b59-932f-6c22d06276f2.html
By Anna Hall
College of Coastal Georgia is expanding its degree options and will now offer baccalaureate degrees in French and Spanish. The college also will offer minors in French and Spanish and two new career-oriented certificate programs: Spanish for professionals and a teacher of English to speakers of other language, or TESOL/ESOL, certificates. College administrators are hoping to reach new students with the additional language options and using the degrees to tap into new statewide programs.

www.floyd.allongeorgia.com
GHC women’s basketball coach to represent all junior/community colleges for WBCA
http://floyd.allongeorgia.com/ghc-womens-basketball-coach-to-represent-all-juniorcommunity-colleges-for-wbca/
Rome – June – The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has chosen GHC Women’s Basketball Coach Brandan Harrell to serve as the representative for all junior/community colleges on its board of directors for the 2015-2016 academic year. This is Harrell’s second term in the position. Harrell stated that it is an honor to serve on the WBCA board. “This board makes tremendous efforts each year to promote the game,” he said. “And for me to have a seat at that table is a great experience.”

www.bizjournals.com
Black & Decker to build innovation center in Midtown
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/print-edition/2015/06/26/black-decker-to-build-innovation-center-in-midtown.html
Urvaksh Karkaria
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (NYSE: SWK) is expected to put an innovation center in Midtown — the latest in a string of corporations establishing R&D outposts in the area. Black and Decker is said to have picked Atlantic Station for what could be a 6,000-square-foot R&D center, sources said. The New Britain, Conn.-based tool and equipment maker had considered Austin, Texas for the project, a source said. Black & Decker did not return several calls and emails… Black & Decker toured other sites in Midtown, including the Centergy building in Tech Square. The office tower, in the heart of engineering powerhouse Georgia Tech, is a corporate innovation center hub with AT&T Mobility, The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD), and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: CCE) establishing development outposts there. These developments are part talent-recruitment strategy and part R&D labs.

www.bloomberg.com
Google’s New AI Can Answer Dumb IT Questions or Tell You the Meaning of Life
The search giant has a fresh development in artificial intelligence that could one day lead to a wise personal assistant
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-25/google-s-new-ai-can-answer-dumb-it-questions-or-tell-you-the-meaning-of-life?cmpid=yhoo
By Jack Clark
A robot could answer your next call to tech support, thanks to new artificial intelligence research at Google. The company taught computers how to have context-sensitive discussions with people about issues ranging from philosophy to humdrum IT help-desk tasks. It was outlined in a research paper published by the company last week… The vector endeavor may also tie into a nascent project named Descartes that Ray Kurzweil, a director of engineering at Google, is working on. “We’re creating dialogue agents in Descartes,” Kurzweil says in a video presentation obtained by Bloomberg. “One of the issues we’re grappling with is that these bots you interact with need to have their own motivations and goals, and we need to figure out what those are.” Other technology companies and universities are embarking on their own projects in this field, including Microsoft, the University of Montreal and the Georgia Institute of Technology, which presented research outlining a system based on a similar approach.

Higher Education News:
www.cnbc.com
This is why state colleges cost so much
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102787695
Tom DiChristopher
Stubbornly low funding for state colleges is driving up the cost of tuition for American families and exacerbating underlying problems in public university systems, experts said Thursday. The average student in the class of 2015 is graduating with $35,000 in debt, making it the most indebted cohort on record. The pain is being felt in particular at state universities, where the cost of an education has risen 50 percent faster in roughly the last decade than at private schools, according to Peter Cappelli, professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

www.insidehighered.com
First-Generation Students and Academic Preparation
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/06/26/first-generation-students-and-academic-preparation
A new report from ACT and the Council for Opportunity in Education found that the vast majority of first-generation students who take ACT’s college entrance exam plan to attend college, but about half of them are academically unprepared to succeed.

www.diverseeducation.com
Study: Parents’ Education Key Factor in Student Achievement
http://diverseeducation.com/article/74229/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=054d601e7ed14deb8af67e1b4fc071e8&elqCampaignId=415&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=bd95696262904e87b5d95cf6ebe5c14f
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
When it comes to meeting “college readiness benchmarks” on the ACT, first-generation college students generally trail their peers who have more highly educated parents — a reality that makes it less likely for them to succeed in college, a new report released Wednesday shows. The report adds to the volumes of research that has consistently shown that the level of parental education is one of two of the strongest determinants of academic success — the other being the highly correlated level of parental income — even as educators and policymakers seek to level the playing field by taking more college prep-centered approaches to education.

www.chronicle.com
It’s On Colleges to Make a Better Pitch for Their Value, One President Says
http://chronicle.com/article/Video-It-s-On-Colleges-to/231089/
Sara Hebel
As colleges and their budgets come under attack, higher education needs to do a better job of defending itself, says Timothy M. Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri system. When the public criticizes rising tuition and growing student debt, college leaders need to do more to emphasize the long-term earnings potential that comes with a college degree, he says. Colleges’ importance as an economic asset needs to be emphasized and quantified, too, he adds, to make a stronger case for higher education as a public good, beyond just a private one. Mr. Wolfe talks about how he is trying to turn around negative conversations about the value of higher education in his visits to middle schoolers, civic leaders, and employers across his state.

www.insidehighered.com
Education Adds Likelihood of Holding Work Credential
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/06/26/education-adds-likelihood-holding-work-credential
A new report from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics shows that the proportion of adults with a work credential typically increases with educational attainment, excluding those adults with a doctoral degree. The figures range from 6 percent for adults with a high school diploma having a work credential to 68 percent for people with a professional degree.

www.insidehighered.com
Americans Give Good Grades to 2-Year, 4-Year Colleges
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/06/26/americans-give-good-grades-2-year-4-year-colleges
A new poll by Gallup finds that Americans give fairly similar grades, and positive ones, to two-year and four-year colleges. Asked to base their judgments on their own knowledge, 70 percent of Americans said that the quality of four-year institutions was good or excellent.

www.chronicle.com
Spurred by Sex-Assault Concerns, Lawmakers Add Disciplinary Infractions to College Transcripts
http://chronicle.com/article/Spurred-by-Sex-Assault/231171/
By Mary Ellen McIntire
For students who have been suspended or expelled after being found responsible for sexual assault, it is often possible to transfer to another college without the new institution learning of the offense. So at least two states have moved to require colleges — public and private alike — to note misconduct violations on the transcripts of students found to have committed sexual assaults.

www.insidehighered.com
McCaskill Tells Campus Police to Investigate Assaults More Quickly
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/06/26/mccaskill-tells-campus-police-investigate-assaults-more-quickly
Speaking at the Campus Safety Nation Forum on Thursday, Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, urged college law enforcement officers to more speedily and thoroughly collect evidence and interview witnesses when investigating claims of campus sexual assault. “That is where the truth reveals itself,” McCaskill, a former sex crimes prosecutor, said. “Witnesses corroborate or they show lies. Evidence corroborates or it shows lies. And this can’t be done weeks later or even months or years later.”

www.myajc.com
Elevating response to campus sexual assault
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/elevating-response-to-campus-sexual-assault/nmkyB/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium#a47c0dea.3566685.735775
By Ann Burdges
For 35 years, I have worked with victims of sexual assault, as a director of a sexual assault center and previously in law enforcement. Every day, I see the devastation rape causes to victims – young, old, women, men – and their families. The crime of rape leaves a permanent scar. I have also witnessed the problems of prosecuting rape cases — too little funding for rape kits and exams, under-trained law enforcement and health care personnel, and the difficulty prosecutors have putting together cases. Each step in the process is hard and adds to the victim’s inability to recover from the crime. These are real challenges for all communities, including college communities. Navigating the legal, law enforcement and health care systems is extraordinarily difficult and dually complex in campus sexual assault. Colleges and universities are governed by federal mandates requiring sexual assaults reported and college notice of them, posted.

www.ajc.com
Obama administration pulls back on planned college rating system
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/obama-administration-pulls-back-on-planned-college/nmkzF/
Janel DavisJanel Davis
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Obama administration has scaled back its plan to rate colleges, aiming instead for new tools to help parents and students make more informed college decisions. “The college ratings tool will take a more consumer-driven approach than some have expected, providing information to help students reach their own conclusions about a college’s value,” U.S. Department of Education Deputy Undersecretary Jamienne Studley said in a blog post on Thursday.

www.chronicle.com
Lessons From the Education Department’s Ratings Reversal
http://chronicle.com/article/Lessons-From-the-Education/231169/
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Now that the U.S. Department of Education has decided to ditch the ratings part of its college-ratings system in favor of a customizable, consumer-focused website, plenty of big questions remain. What’s the legacy of the nearly two-year effort? What lessons were learned? What opportunities were lost? We asked several ratings watchers for their views on the department’s change of course. Here’s some of what we heard.