University System News:
www.myajc.com
In-state tuition case argued before Ga. Supreme Court
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/in-state-tuition-case-argued-before-ga-supreme-cou/nn4nF/
By Janel Davis and Jeremy Redmon – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A group of immigrants who don’t want to be charged more for college tuition than other Georgia residents took their appeal Friday to the Georgia Supreme Court. For more than a year the 39 plaintiffs and their attorney Charles Kuck have fought to be allowed the cheaper in-state rates instead of out-of-state tuition, which can cost thousands of dollars more. Two lower courts have ruled that the legal principle of “sovereign immunity” prevents the Board of Regents from being sued in this case. If the upper court rules in their favor, the case could go back to Fulton County Superior Court for a ruling on the tuition policy. Much of the hour-long session Friday included arcane arguments over the Board of Regents’ classification and authorities under the law. No decision was issued. Most cases are decided within six months of oral arguments.
www.myajc.com
Rising payouts cut into Georgia’s state workers retirement fund
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/rising-payouts-cut-into-georgias-state-workers-ret/nn4qt/
By James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s pension system for state employees saw a $300 million decline in assets during the recently completed fiscal year as a volatile stock market and rising payouts to a rapidly retiring workforce affected the fund’s bottom line, according to a new report. Reports released by the Department of Audits and Accounts this week also showed taxpayers are pouring an ever-increasing amount of money into the Employees Retirement System and the separate Teacher Retirement System, which pay benefits to more than 150,000 state workers and educators. According to the reports for fiscal 2015, which ended June 30, the government increased its funding of ERS 20.7 percent last year and employer contributions to the teacher system rose 10.7 percent. Combined, the increases cost the government an additional $227 million last year. If ranked against state agencies, the more than $1.9 billion the government puts into the two funds would be the fourth-highest expenditure in the state budget, behind only k-12 schools, public health care and, barely, the University System of Georgia.
USG Institutions:
www.savannahnow.com
MCG makes local impact
http://savannahnow.com/news/2015-10-17/mcg-makes-local-impact
By Jenel Few
The Medical College of Georgia at St. Joseph’s/Candler is becoming a big part of Savannah’s medical community. Its South East Campus in Savannah enrolls about 30 third- and fourth-year medical students. After completing two years of classwork at the main campus in Augusta students come to Savannah to do their clinical work and get hands-on experience shadowing local doctors at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital and several private practices. Part of their training focus is on leadership development and public health. …The school, previously known as Georgia Regents University, is Georgia’s only public medical school and one of the oldest and largest in the nation. The main campus is located in Augusta and regional campuses are located in Savannah, Brunswick, Rome, Athens and Albany.
www.chattanoogan.com
Dalton State Now Offers Bachelor Of Applied Science In Scientific Technology With A Concentration In Chemistry
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/10/16/310593/Dalton-State-Now-Offers-Bachelor-Of.aspx
There is a severe shortage of trained workers with a chemistry background to support local flooring and chemical industries, according to the president of a local business. Providing degrees to help fill the workforce is a priority at Dalton State. And the College’s 21st bachelor’s degree, a Bachelor of Applied Science in Scientific Technology with a concentration in chemistry, should help meet the needs of local businesses and industry.
www.wtvm.com
Georgia Southern School of Nursing Memorial being dedicated to 5 students killed, 2 injured in crash
http://www.wtvm.com/story/30292004/georgia-southern-school-of-nursing-memorial-being-dedicated-to-5-students-killed-2-injured-in-crash
By WTOC Staff
STATESBORO, GA (WTOC) – Georgia Southern University will honor the five nursing students killed in a tragic crash in April. Georgia Southern is dedicating the School of Nursing Memorial Garden in memory of Morgan Bass, Caitlyn Baggett, Emily Clark, Abbie DeLoach and Catherine Pittman. The dedication will also honor the two students injured in that crash, Brittany McDaniel and Megan Richards.
www.savannahnow.com
Business in Savannah in brief
http://savannahnow.com/exchange/2015-10-17/business-savannah-brief
Georgia Southern business innovation group recognized
STATESBORO — Georgia Southern University Business Innovation Group (BIG) has received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The award, which is for BIG’s 2015 project in entrepreneurship for communities with populations of 25,000 to 200,000, was presented during an awards ceremony Oct. 5 at the 2015 IEDC annual conference in Anchorage, Alaska.
www.mdjonline.com
KSU recognized for online learning
http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/26914581/article-KSU-recognized-for-online-learning
by MDJ staff
As a leader in online learning, Kennesaw State University was recognized for excellence in faculty development by the Online Learning Consortium, the leading professional organization devoted to advancing quality online learning and founded in 1992 as the Sloan Consortium. As a recipient of the 2015 OLC Awards, KSU was honored with the “Excellence in Faculty Development” Award for the KSU Online Teaching Certification for its large-scale effectiveness, excellent use of quantitative data and its flexibility in offering faculty multiple ways to earn certification, according to the OLC.
www.tiftongazette.com
UGA Tifton gets grant from USDA
http://www.tiftongazette.com/news/uga-tifton-gets-grant-from-usda/article_950a63cc-7411-11e5-baed-a78ec2403a8f.html
By Chris Beckham
TIFTON – In an effort to use the latest technological advancements to benefit families who need it the most, the USDA awarded the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Science a $72,000 grant this week. Agriculture Under Secretary Lisa Mensah made the formal announcement in front of the Tifton Campus’s new Future Farmstead site. The grant is aimed at sharing the technology and building methods used to build the home, which is a net zero energy project, with builders so they can construct affordable housing for South Georgia residents.
Higher Education News:
www.bizjournals.com
Georgia Lottery marks record first-quarter profit
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/blog/capitol_vision/2015/10/georgia-lottery-marks-record-first-quarter-profits.html
Dave Williams
Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The Georgia Lottery Corp. doesn’t typically trot out its quarterly numbers. But the first quarter of fiscal 2016 was so strong lottery officials couldn’t resist. The lottery brought in a record $253.9 million in profits for education during July, August and September, surpassing last year’s first-quarter transfer to the HOPE Scholarship and pre-kindergarten programs by nearly $26 million, the lottery announced Friday. “Our fiscal year is off to a strong start,” lottery President and CEO Debbie Alford said. “It is rewarding to know that Georgians support our products and lottery-funded educational programs.”
www.myajc.com
Georgia should continue efforts to get more kids into higher education
In the face of both a trend to track students early on and recent data on student performance, Georgia should tread carefully in how it guides students onto college or career paths.
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/opinion/georgia-should-continue-efforts-to-get-more-kids-i/nn4CD/
By Maureen Downey – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Political leaders in Georgia declared an urgent need a decade ago to motivate more high students to attend college. Gov. Sonny Perdue created a contest with cash prizes, the Governor’s Cup, to reward schools with the biggest gains on the SAT. Now, the pendulum has swung, and the rhetoric is less insistent. No longer is the goal to get teens college ready; high schools are now being extolled to prepare graduates for college or career. There’s nothing wrong with education policies that equip kids for the job market rather than the college classroom. Unless those policies are put in place for the wrong reason — because Georgia believes some students can’t meet the higher standards required for college.
www.insidehighered.com
Chaos in North Carolina
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/10/19/unc-presidential-search-chaos-amid-charges-politicization-and-secrecy?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ced6b03f2e-DNU201510019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ced6b03f2e-197515277
By Kellie Woodhouse
Chaos shrouds a controversial presidential search at the 16-campus University of North Carolina system: a prominent finalist’s name has been leaked, the system’s governing board suffers fractious infighting, and the state Legislature and many faculty members are concerned the search lacks transparency. Contention is nothing new to the North Carolina system. Earlier this year the 34-member Board of Governors pushed out the well-regarded system president, Thomas Ross, with board chair John Fennebresque declining to give a specific reason for Ross’s ouster. In that vacuum, many have concluded that the Republican-leaning board, which has followed the tidal wave of political change that gave North Carolina its first fully Republican government since Reconstruction, wanted the system to have a leader whose political views aligned with their own.
Now the search for Ross’s successor has also been marred by heated disagreements, as well as the leak of the name of Margaret Spellings, George W. Bush’s former secretary of education, as a finalist for the presidency.
www.chronicle.com
Campus Cops’ Contested Role
Despite challenges to their authority, their focus on community may be a model
http://chronicle.com/article/Campus-Cops-Contested-Role/233798?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=baac4453de144f6fa5611c4b09438b1b&elqCampaignId=1635&elqaid=6608&elqat=1&elqTrackId=3fb443439d7e4ff0b188e7ed4a011d0d
By Scott Carlson
…Sergeant Young is at Miami to protect students and employees from outsiders, from one another, from themselves. Yet even as shootings make campuses seem like dangerous places, people sometimes scoff at the officers who patrol them. Their own senior administrators may not respect them, asking them to take out the garbage or play chauffeur. Campus police forces have been around for decades, but they are still perceived as the feeble security guards they replaced. They are dogged by the notion that they are not real cops. On a normal day, patrolling a campus might seem like a cushy gig. But it’s specialized, high-stakes work. In a small city or town, the police often serve a steady population with predictable routines. Campus police officers, meanwhile, must safeguard an environment dotted with expensive facilities, inhabited by youngsters who may think they’re invincible and who can be attractive targets for thieves, sex offenders, and worse. Most campus cops, particularly at public colleges, are sworn, having taken the same oath to defend the law as any other police officer. Most have arrest powers, guns, and jurisdiction beyond their campuses.
www.diverseeducation.com
Duncan’s Tenure Marked by Mixed Reviews
http://diverseeducation.com/article/78377/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elq=090d254cc6124f62970eb102036d1ce8&elqCampaignId=771&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqTrackId=1560b7d7d9624c5a976ed6cb63953b62
by Jamal Eric Watson
Arne Duncan’s tenure as Secretary of Education has been met with mixed results. On the higher education front in particular, advocacy organizations like the Thurgood Marshall Fund and the United Negro College Fund have been critical of his vision for Black colleges almost from the day he took the helm of the government agency in 2009. “On K-12, the Secretary has largely gotten it right,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of the UNCF, in a recent interview with Diverse. “He has not been as successful with higher education.”