University System News:
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Task force reports to Board of Regents on how to meet cyber industry’s workforce demands
State not meeting industry demands
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2015-08-12/task-force-reports-board-regents-how-meet-cyber-industrys-workforce
By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
ATLANTA — The fastest and least-expensive way to address the need for cyber-security graduates is for the University System of Georgia to take a multi-campus approach, the Board of Regents learned Wednesday. A task force of administrators from eight schools made that recommendation based on its research showing the state isn’t graduating enough students in the field to meet industry demand in Georgia.

www.myajc.com
University System sets sum for retirees’ supplemental insurance
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/university-system-sets-sum-for-retirees-supplement/nnJRX/?icmp=ajc_internallink_invitationbox_apr2013_ajcstubtomyajcpremium#aff71363.3566685.735823
By Janel Davis – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After removing University System retirees from the system’s health program, the state Board of Regents voted Wednesday to give them about $2,700 a year to buy Medicare supplemental insurance. The contribution, which breaks down to $228 a month, will be placed in a health reimbursement account for Medicare-eligible retirees, who are older than 65. Human resources officials say the fixed amount ensures the out-of-pocket cost to those retirees for health coverage next year will be relatively close to what it is now. But some retirees, particularly a large group from the University of Georgia, have criticized the roll-out of the change, and the possibility that they could have to pay more in health costs. It’s too early to know whether the costs will be comparable to what retirees are currently paying, said Brahm Verma, immediate past president of UGA’s retiree association.

www.onlineathens.com
Regents approve plan to give retirees cash to buy own health insurance
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2015-08-12/regents-approve-plan-give-retirees-cash-buy-own-health-insurance
By LEE SHEARER
The state Board of Regents has approved a plan to switch University System of Georgia retirees over to private plans for Medicare co-insurance. The new system could actually save money for most retirees, according to Marion Fedrick, the University System of Georgia’s Vice Chancellor for Human Resources. The typical retiree co-insurance plan will cost less because the risk pool will be much larger in plans offered in a health insurance exchange operated by the Aon Hewitt company, Fedrick said. Even retirees whose medical issues dictate that they choose more extensive plans will only pay a modest amount more than what they pay now, she said.

www.daltondailycitizen.com
Name selected for Dalton State student housing
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/news/name-selected-for-dalton-state-student-housing/article_2e25d374-4164-11e5-9d8f-fbc3359a2045.html
Dalton State College’s first residence hall in the Roadrunner Place complex may not be complete yet, but it has a name. The building will be named John Willis Mashburn Hall, in honor of the late John Willis Mashburn, who established The John Willis Mashburn Charitable Trust to advance endeavors that boost higher education and economic development. The hall is currently under construction and scheduled to open fall semester 2016. The name was approved by the Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday.

www.savannahnow.com
Georgia Southern stadium to get facelift
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-08-12/georgia-southern-stadium-get-facelift
By Morris News Service
Eagles football fans will see the benefits of a $1.7 million facelift at Georgia Southern University’s Paulson Stadium following approval Wednesday by the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents. The most noticeable improvements for spectators are likely to be grading of the field and installation of sport turf. Other enhancements, though, will include communications, electrical, irrigation and storm water drainage.

www.savannahnow.com
Armstrong State to get new tennis complex
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-08-12/armstrong-state-get-new-tennis-complex
By Morris News Service
Despite winning multiple national championships, Armstrong State’s tennis teams have no place to host full tournament play. But that will change with approval Wednesday to build a $1.5 million complex. The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents gave its OK to a 12-court complex, which will include bleacher seating, walkways, lighting and security. Two-thirds of the money is expected to come from donations while Armstrong State will kick in the rest. The varsity teams must share the school’s current tennis center with P.E. classes, clubs and intramural games.

USG Institutions:
www.statesboroherald.com
‘The state of our university is strong’
Bartels welcomes Georgia Southern faculty and staff
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/69437/
BY Al Hackle
Noting that she is the first woman and the first nurse to serve as president of Georgia Southern University, Dr. Jean Bartels welcomed GSU employees to a new academic year Wednesday morning. Classes begin Monday for most of the expected 20,500 students. “While this is a momentous time for Georgia Southern and for me personally, I’m acutely aware that our great university is not, and never has been, defined by its president,” Bartels told faculty and staff members attending fall convocation.

www.wjcl.com
Ga. Southern gears up for new year
http://www.wjcl.com/news/local-news/ga-southern-gears-up-for-new-year/48421404/story
STATESBORO, Ga. (Aug. 12, 2015) – Georgia Southern University faculty and staff members gathered together Wednesday morning at the Nessmith-Lane Conference Center to gear up for the fall semester during the University’s annual Fall Convocation. Interim President Jean E. Bartels, Ph.D., RN, delivered her first State of the University address during the event, themed: Building History: Our Legacy of Progress, Pride and Promise. Included in her presentation were various accomplishments by faculty, staff, students and the University’s athletics teams from the previous academic year, along with information regarding new building projects on campus.

www.wsbtv.com
Tech student with brain injury making great strides in recovery
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/tech-student-brain-injury-making-great-strides-rec/nnHnB/
ATLANTA – A Georgia Tech student severely brain injured during a freak accident at his fraternity is making huge strides. Clark Jacobs, 20, was minimally conscious for several months following an accident at his fraternity. Jacobs rolled out of bed while sleeping and hit his head on the hard floor in January. He spent several months in the hospital unable to walk or talk. On Tuesday, Jacobs got his stomach tube removed and is now able to speak and walk. He returned home earlier this summer. …His is mother founded Rail Against the Danger, a nonprofit to raise awareness about injuries caused by loft or bunk beds. She is also pushing for legislation that would set some guidelines for schools that use those kinds of beds.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
Georgia Regents professor offers UN advice on higher education
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2015-08-12/georgia-regents-professor-offers-un-advice-higher-education
By Tracey McManus
Staff Writer
While problems with higher education in the U.S. may be different from issues in Russia and Africa, Georgia Regents University professor Olajide Agunloye is working to ensure students have access to affordable and high quality schools in countries all across the globe. Agunloye is one of 150 professionals from 55 countries chosen to serve on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s High Level Global Forum on Education, where members are outlining policy suggestions for higher education across the world.

www.walb.com
Armstrong to begin partnership with Chinese university
http://www.walb.com/story/29768171/armstrong-to-begin-partnership-with-chinese-university
By WTOC Staff
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -Armstrong State University will soon have a new partnership with a university all the way across the world. Officials at the school will be signing a memorandum of understanding with China’s Yichun University in Yichun City. The purpose is to facilitate easier faculty and student exchanges to expand international teaching and learning opportunities.

www.higheredtechdecisions.com
Georgia Southern University Builds App Store to Fulfill End Users’ Needs
GSU partnered with Apperian to develop an app store and package its inventory of apps to satisfy the needs of students, faculty students and staff.
http://www.higheredtechdecisions.com/article/georgia_southern_university_builds_app_store_to_fulfill_end_users_needs
Jessica Kennedy
Up until this year, Georgia Southern University (GSU) had a university-based app that did everything for everybody. However, Ron Stalnaker says because the app’s mission was to serve everybody, it didn’t serve anybody. “We knew that we needed to start changing our strategy to create specific apps for specific audiences, because each audience wants different content,” says Stalnaker, Associate CIO and Director of Enterprise Technology Solutions at GSU. But while the university planned to construct multiple apps for multiple needs, it needed a place to store the final products. As a result, the university partnered with Apperian to build the Georgia Southern University App Store.

www.savannahnow.com
Black gill still a shrimping mystery
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-08-12/black-gill-still-shrimping-mystery
By Mary Landers
A shrimp on a tiny treadmill steals the spotlight in a new video produced at Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. But that snippet is just one part of a serious effort to explain what’s going on with black gill, a mysterious condition that affects shrimp from Florida to North Carolina with the area around Savannah as the epicenter. Shrimpers blame black gill for reduced harvests, and local researchers have been studying it intensely for more than a year. The nine-minute video provides background on the condition and the results of the investigation so far. “Some things are new, and some things are just more mysterious,” said professor Marc Frischer, of the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. Researchers know a microscopic organism called a ciliate — think Paramecium from biology class — causes the condition they call black gill. But what exact species that critter is, well, they can’t say. DNA evidence points one way and high definition electron microscope images of the internal structure of the organism point another.

Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Expert: ED Grants for AP Exams ‘More Pyrite Than Gold’
http://diverseeducation.com/article/77231/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=7b703891014f4fcfab9d63b50a24a135&elqCampaignId=415&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=c9f50ea4c9814251b4355c7d2bf465b9
by Autumn A. Arnett
The Department of Education Wednesday announced $28.4 million in grants to assist low-income students with the costs associated with taking Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. The grants, which will be available for students in 38 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, will seek to encourage students across the country to not just enroll in higher level courses, but to take (and pass) the tests, which could grant them college credit and reduce the time and expense associated with obtaining a college degree. “Participation in the course isn’t enough,” said John King, senior adviser delegated duties of deputy secretary of education. “We want students to be able to pass the test” and get college credit for their efforts. King sees the grants as a vehicle for not only expanding opportunities in high school, but for expanded success in college as well.

www.insidehighered.com
California Ends Test Some Need to Get Into College
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/08/13/california-ends-test-some-need-get-college?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=1944330b5f-DNU20150813&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-1944330b5f-197515277
California lawmakers decided to take a hiatus from requiring an exit exam to earn a high school diploma, so for the next few years, it’s not essential. But for this spring’s class of high school graduates, it remains a requirement, and some college admission offers are contingent on passing the exam. But as The San Francisco Chronicle reported, California officials decided to call off the July administration of the exam.

www.insidehighered.com
Does Online Ed Lack ‘Integrity’?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/08/13/clinton-higher-education-plan-questions-integrity-online-learning?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=1944330b5f-DNU20150813&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-1944330b5f-197515277
By Carl Straumsheim
A line about the integrity of online learning in Hillary Clinton’s higher education plan has experts on online education questioning the candidate’s grasp of the market. In a version of the plan distributed to the media this past weekend, the campaign said, “We must restore integrity to online learning and will not tolerate programs that fall short,” as though online education has recently lost its way. The campaign reworded the sentence before Monday’s announcement, however. The published version reads, “We must bring integrity to online learning” — as though it never had any in the first place.