USG Institutions:
www.timesfreepress.com
Mourners gather to pay respects to slain Georgia Marine
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/jul/24/mourners-gather-pay-respects-slain-georgia-marine/316385/
by Associated Press
KENNESAW, Ga. — Mourners are gathering in suburban Atlanta to pay respects to a Marine who was fatally shot in attacks on military facilities in Chattanooga. Visitation for 21-year-old Lance Cpl. Squire “Skip” Wells began Friday at the Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home in Kennesaw and is scheduled to continue Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Wells’ funeral is set for 2 p.m. Sunday at the First Baptist Church of Woodstock. …Wells attended Sprayberry High School and Georgia Southern University before enlisting.
www.myajc.com
Settlement reached in free-speech suit against Valdosta State
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/valdosta-state-to-pay-900k-to-settle-students-civi/nm5sy/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A settlement was reached this week in a years-long federal lawsuit filed by a former Valdosta State University student regarding violation of his First Amendment rights, according to an announcement by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. The $900,000 settlement to be paid by the state insurer ends years of legal proceedings stemming from Hayden Barnes’ 2008 lawsuit against the university and then-president Ronald Zaccari, as well as the Board of Regents for the state’s university system.
www.myajc.com
Kennesaw State to graduate its 100,000th student
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/kennesaw-state-to-graduate-its-100000th-student/nm6Ls/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kennesaw State University will celebrate a milestone during summer commencement next week when the 100,000th graduate receives a degree from the Cobb County institution. The notable graduate will join almost 1,600 other students set to graduate in three ceremonies on July 29 and Aug. 1.
www.businessinsider.com
The 50 best computer-science and engineering schools in America
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-computer-science-engineering-schools-in-america-2015-7?op=1#ixzz3goRno6tr
MELISSA STANGER AND EMMIE MARTIN
The best computer-science and engineering schools in the US are hotspots for elite companies like Google, Apple, Raytheon, Facebook, and Lockheed Martin to recruit new talent. We surveyed over 400 Business Insider readers to find out which engineering schools have the most valuable undergraduate programs. Survey participants rated the schools on a scale from 1 (not valuable) to 5 (extremely valuable). To rank the schools, we took the percentage of people who assessed each school at a 4 or 5 and averaged that with the average SAT scores (from college admissions website CollegeBoard) for the students at each school. #5: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech’s undergraduate engineering department is ranked No. 4 overall in the nation by US News. Its industrial engineering program earned US News’ top ranking in its field, while Tech’s civil and aerospace programs took No. 2 and No. 3 in their respective fields as well.
www.tech.co
Which Universities Produce the Best Startup Talent?
http://tech.co/university-college-tech-startup-talent-2015-07?utm
Chad Reid
It’s an ongoing debate just how much influence universities have over the startup landscape anymore. There’s an exhaustive list of entrepreneurs who never finished their degrees who actively speak out against the importance of higher ed in the tech industry, and accessing all the pertinent skills has never been easier. Meanwhile coding bootcamps churn out job-ready developers in a mere fraction of the time it would take to get a traditional degree (albeit, for about the same price tag). So what about those technically gifted students who want to work in tech and also get a college education? Worry not. Higher ed isn’t going anywhere. And some universities are really delivering when it comes to fueling tech companies in the United States. Below are lists of the best public and private universities that produce the best-equipped graduates to make an impact in the world of technology. Public Schools: 1) Georgia Tech
www.myajc.com
UGA awarded $1.1M grant to help disadvantaged students
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/uga-awarded-11m-grant-to-help-disadvantaged-studen/nm6NN/
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The University of Georgia has received a $1.1 million federal grant to help first-generation and low-income students on its campus. The grant is part of the U.S. Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services program that provides services to students from disadvantaged backgrounds at colleges across the country, and will be distributed over the next five years.
www.henryherald.com
Henry County Farmers Market gets visit from Reeves and a grant
http://www.henryherald.com/news/2015/jul/24/henry-county-farmers-market-gets-visit-from/
By Elizabeth Montgomery
MCDONOUGH — Henry County Farmers Market received a grant that will help keep the market in the community. “I think it’s just wonderful,” said Agriculture and Nature Resource Director Frank Hancock. The $1,000 grant comes from AgSouth Farm Credit, a Statesboro-based farm credit system that provides monies to American agriculture. Since its 1916 inception, AgSouth has provided more than $191 billion in credit and services. The Henry County Farmers Market is part of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences program.
www.wabe.org
Metro Atlanta Schools Search For Special Education Teachers
http://wabe.org/post/metro-atlanta-schools-search-special-education-teachers
By MICHELLE WIRTH
Georgia’s largest school systems are still searching for dozens of special education teachers. The districts only have a few weeks before students head back to the classroom on Aug. 10. So far, the Gwinnett school district has hired more than 1,400 new teachers. But it still needs to fill nearly 40 special education positions. Gwinnett County Public Schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach says a nationwide shortage of special education teachers has made hiring them more challenging. …Roach says the school system believes it can fill the open positions by the first day of school. She says it’s currently working with Georgia Gwinnett College to help more paraprofessionals get certified as special education teachers.
www.albanyherald.com
Official at UGA eyes expansion of Tifton operations
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/jul/26/official-at-uga-eyes-expansion-of-tifton/
By Clint Thompson
TIFTON — The new face in the academic programs office at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus is eyeing an expansion of the campus’ presence in Georgia. A one-time student at UGA Tifton and graduate of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Breanna Coursey believes campus awareness is key to attracting students to UGA Tifton. Students in south Georgia do not have to travel to Athens to receive a University of Georgia education, she says.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Georgia Gwinnett College adds 4 police officers, including Buddy, the Bomb Dog
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/news/2015/jul/24/georgia-gwinnett-college-adds-4-police-officers/
By Keith Farner
There’s a little more bark to the Georgia Gwinnett College police force these days. The school recently held a swearing-in ceremony for four new police officers, including another K-9 officer, Buddy, who joins Ginger on the force. The force now has 22 officers after Chief of Police Terrance Schneider led a ceremony where Ashley Still, Ryan Borders, Chris Wragg were sworn in while family members pinned GGC police badges on their uniforms. Borders comes from Georgia Tech where he served as a sergeant, …Schneider said Buddy, the “Bomb Dog,” a two-year-old black Labrador retriever, finished training along with his handler, Officer Chandler Smith, who has served on the Georgia Gwinnett force for four years. ..Buddy is the second K-9 officer on the force next to Ginger, who is trained to locate illegal substances. “We have seen remarkable growth at Georgia Gwinnett over the last 10 years and ensuring the safety of campus community is one of our most important responsibilities,” GGC President Stas Preczewski told the new officers.
www.bryancountynews.com
GSU athletics extend Learfield contract
Deal handles multimedia rights
http://www.bryancountynews.com/section/5/article/38287/
By Mike Anthony
Correspondent
Georgia Southern University announced Wednesday that a new 15-year agreement with Learfield Sports for multimedia rights of Georgia Southern athletics had been reached. Tom Kleinlein, director of athletics for Georgia Southern, said negotiations with Learfield had been ongoing for around a year, culminating in a final approval from the Georgia Board of Regents. The 15-year deal guarantees at least $11.8 million to Georgia Southern. Additionally, each year will have benchmarks for multimedia sales of Eagle athletics. If and when those marks are met, Georgia Southern will share a 60/40 split of all additional revenue with Learfield.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Florida Starts Performance Funding for State Colleges
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/07/27/florida-starts-performance-funding-state-colleges
The Florida Board of Education approved a new performance funding system for its state colleges, most of which are former community colleges, that will determine how to award $40 million to the institutions. The plan resembles a larger performance plan that started last year for the state’s universities. The colleges are scored in four categories: completion, retention, job placement and continuing education for graduates, and entry-level wages for graduates. Completion and retention rates will initially be weighed more heavily than the other two categories. There was some concern from the state’s education commissioner that the new performance formula didn’t include a measurement for students who receive federal need-based financial aid.
www.washingtonpost.com
Duncan: Colleges are falling short for millions of students. Debt-free degrees are just part of the solution.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/07/27/duncan-colleges-are-falling-short-for-millions-of-students-debt-free-degrees-are-just-part-of-the-solution/
By Nick Anderson
Education Secretary Arne Duncan argues that higher education is falling short for millions of students, failing to give them “what they need and deserve” — quality degrees at a reasonable cost. In prepared remarks for an event Monday at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Duncan argued that “debt-free degrees” are “only part of the solution” for reform of colleges and universities. The other part, he said, is outcomes. Sometimes, he said, politicians focus too much on what college costs and not enough on what it delivers.
www.insidehighered.com
Obama’s Higher Ed Home Stretch
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/27/white-house-pivots-accountability-and-outcomes-and-away-debt-free-major-duncan
By Michael Stratford
BALTIMORE — American higher education is failing “far too many of our students,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan was scheduled to say Monday, as he calls for colleges to be held more accountable for graduating students with high-quality degrees that lead to good jobs. In a speech outlining the higher education priorities of the Obama administration as it enters its final 18 months in office, Duncan will say it is time to “go further” than discussions about rising levels of student loan debt. He will urge a shift toward focusing on degree completion and educational quality.
www.insidehighered.com
How Unemployment Rates Shift Choices of Majors
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/27/study-documents-how-shifts-unemployment-rates-lead-shifts-college-majors
By Scott Jaschik
Conventional wisdom holds that in bad economic times, students are more likely to make academic decisions that favor fields perceived to be paths to jobs, and jobs that pay well. Despite plenty of evidence that liberal arts graduates also have successful careers, undergraduates (and their parents) tend in tough times to encourage majors in business and engineering or other fields that seem to promise employment. A new paper backs up that conventional wisdom with precise data on how high unemployment rates shift students’ majors. While both male and female students shift, they do so in different ways. And they both move away from the liberal arts and education when unemployment goes up.