USG eclips August 20, 2015

USG Institutions:
www.onlineathens.com
UGA retirees pack meetings on coming changes in health insurance
http://m.onlineathens.com/#article=82256BB189B0E835DAED053C9DFE8DB59044
By Lee Shearer
University of Georgia retirees packed meetings on The Classic Center Theatre this week to learn how they’re going to switch over from a state-run Medicare co-insurance plan to private plans the retirees will choose from a health insurance exchange. They left the big Classic Center Hall after the two-hour meetings a lot less angry and confused than after the first series of meetings in April, when so many showed up at a Georgia Center for Continuing Education meeting room that many had to sit on the floor.

www.walb.com
School starts back at Georgia Southwestern
http://www.walb.com/story/29835736/school-starts-back-at-georgia-southwestern
By Wright Gazaway
AMERICUS, GA (WALB) – Students are hitting the books again at Georgia Southwestern State University. Students moved back into on-campus housing Saturday, and classes started today. School leaders are expecting a bump in enrollment. Students and faculty are equally excited.

www.oconeeenterprise.com
2,300 students at UNG; 2,300 stories to tell
http://www.oconeeenterprise.com/news/article_e3a6f72a-46c1-11e5-9a06-37b33e8a58a3.html
by Blake Giles
About 2,300 students began to shoehorn themselves on the 14-acre Oconee campus of the University of North Georgia this week with the beginning of the fall semester. While the vast majority come from nearby locales, they are also here from New York and Philadelphia. And while most are still teenagers, there are the older souls who for one reason or another got a later start on a college education. The students arrived to see construction on an expansion, but Campus Chief Education Officer Eric Skipper said that the addition will not allow the school to increase enrollment.

www.mdjonline.com
Fraternity recognized for excellence
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/26815065/article-Fraternity-recognized-for-excellence?instance=special%20_coverage_right_column
by Sally Litchfield
Congratulations to Kennesaw State University’s Mu Beta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity. Chartered only three years ago, the KSU fraternity won national recognition as one of the top 10 percent high-performing chapters across the U.S. and Canada. The chapter was recognized with the Robert Adger Smythe Award — the highest distinction a chapter can earn. The award was given during the bi-annual Academy held at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

www.albanyherald.com
ASU College of Education receives national accreditation
NCATE recognition reaffirmed for College of Education
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/aug/19/asu-college-of-education-receives-national/
Staff Reports
ALBANY — The Albany State University College of Education has received accreditation through spring 2019 under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. NCATE’s performance-based accreditation system for teacher preparation ensures that teacher candidates are prepared to make a difference in P-12 student learning. “We are pleased that our College of Education continues to exhibit excellence at all academic levels that it is authorized to offer by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. …The accreditation review noted that educator preparation programs at ASU meet NCATE’s rigorous standards of excellence while demonstrating a commitment to produce reflective, transformative, culturally-responsive and technologically-competent education professionals, according to Bonnie Chambers, director of assessment for the College of Education.

www.americantowns.com
Put to the Test: CSU’s Testing Center Earns National Certification
http://www.americantowns.com/ga/columbus/news/put-to-the-test-csursquos-testing-center-earns-national-certification-23808669
COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Testing Center at Columbus State University was recently awarded Test Center Certification by the National College Testing Association (NCTA), a honor reserved for a only a few test centers in the United States and Canada that have completed the certification.

www.aascu.org
AASCU HONORS WORK OF STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES WITH EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION AWARDS
http://www.aascu.org/MAP/PSSNRDetails.aspx?id=14918
Washington, D.C.—The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) today announced this year’s Excellence and Innovation Award winners. This awards program, now in its second year, honors member institutions for excellence and innovation in several major areas of campus life and leadership that are mission focused. Advances in student success and college completion, regional and economic development, leadership development and diversity, and international education will be honored with these awards. Leadership Development and Diversity Award: University of West Georgia (Carrollton, Ga.). Engage West! is a family of programs designed to help the University of West Georgia (UWG) become a “best place to work” by creating a culture of high achievement and evidence-based leadership. Anchored in the new strategic plan and guided by core values—with student success as the primary goal—it includes an annual engagement survey, a peer-to-peer recognition program, cascaded unit strategic plans with individual goals tied to the university plan, and taskforces on sustainability and diversity/inclusion. The success of Engage West! is rooted in UWG’s Leadership Development Institutes, quarterly training days, and assigned activities that link session learning to day-to-day functions.

www.savannahtribune.com
Armstrong State University Signs Memorandum of Understanding
http://www.savannahtribune.com/news/2015-08-19/Social_%28and%29_Community_News/Armstrong_State_University_Signs_Memorandum_of_Und.html
Armstrong State University officials signed a memorandum of understanding with Yichun University, located in Yichun City, China, on August 12, making it easier for faculty and students from both institutions to exchange teaching and learning opportunities. The memorandum states that each university will aim for cooperative projects that include the mutual exchange of students and faculty for the purpose of program development, researching and teaching.

www.chronicle.augusta.com
China gets disaster medicine course from Georgia Regents University foundation
http://chronicle.augusta.com/latest-news/2015-08-19/china-gets-disaster-medicine-course-georgia-regents-university-foundation?v=1440009215
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
A foundation at Georgia Regents University soon could be spreading training across the most populous country in the world about how to respond to disasters. Officials with The National Disaster Life Support Foundation at the Medical College of Georgia at GRU are scheduled to sign an agreement today with the Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in Shanghai and Xingcheng Medical Consulting & Services Co. to teach its courses on disaster medicine.

www.patch.com
SLAM-designed Science Building at Clayton State University Set to Open
Clayton State Science Building Final Completion
http://patch.com/georgia/midtown/slam-designed-science-building-clayton-state-university-set-open-0
By ANGELICA POPRAWA
The new Science Building at Clayton State University, a 58,610 square foot, $18 million project designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) has reached final completion and will soon be set to open its doors to students and faculty in late August. The new Science Building is intended to provide Clayton State with additional space for required laboratory classes that every student must register for and pass in order to graduate from the University.

www.13wmaz.com
GCSU warns of safety after alleged off-campus sexual assault
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/milledgeville/2015/08/19/gcsu-student-reports-alleged-off-campus-sexual-assault/32002743/
Ashley Trawick
A news release posted by Georgia College and State University officials states an alleged sexual assault happened over the weekend at an apartment complex near campus. It was reported by a GCSU student to the Milledgeville Police Department. According to the release, GCSU Public Safety and the Milledgeville Police Department are jointly investigating the case.

Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Education Dept. Will Clarify Defrauded Borrowers’ Ability to Seek Relief
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/education-dept-will-clarify-defrauded-borrowers-ability-to-seek-relief/103411?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
by Andy Thomason
The U.S. Department of Education is starting a process to clarify how student borrowers who believe colleges have defrauded them can have their loan debts forgiven. The department outlined the forthcoming negotiated rule-making process in a notice, to be published in Thursday’s Federal Register.

www.diverseeducation.com
Stem Degrees Not Earned by Math Alone
http://diverseeducation.com/article/77345/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=886690f0066240beaca917bfc7e158ea&elqCampaignId=415&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=41ed80dc12684c1ba17f0c9fd6aca5f0
by Lisa M. Tittle
The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degree and career emphasis of the past several years has cast a shadow over the importance of e­ffective reading and writing skills as they pertain to academics and the workplace. College educators and administrators in charge of program development should remain conscientious of students’ need for adept reading and writing skills to comprehend not only STEM concepts but also for increased comprehension in all academic subjects. To be clear, the importance of STEM education and training is duly noted. …But STEM is not a math- and computation-only degree; extensive reading, summarizing, synthesizing and analyzing of text along with e­ffective written expression as it relates to a particular topic are also an integral part of earning a degree, STEM or otherwise.