University System News:
www.ajc.com
Georgia Film Academy launches pilot certificate program in January
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/georgia-film-academy-launches-pilot-certificate-pr/npfFC/
Janel Davis and Tammy Joyner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State higher education officials Monday unveiled a statewide program aimed at preparing more Georgians for a career in the state’s multibillion dollar entertainment industry. The Georgia Film Academy’s pilot certification program will start January 11. State leaders see the film academy as a one-stop site for education, training and job placement for industry novices as well as veterans. The two-course program will give students classroom instruction, hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment and experience working on set with professional production crews. Those who complete the two-course program earn four credits and a production certificate aimed at fast-tracking their entry into film and television work. Academy officials anticipate having about 100 students initially but that number is expected to grow as the program expands statewide. Classes will be offered through Clayton State University, Columbus State University and Gwinnett Technical College.
www.savannahceo.com
Registration Now Open For Spring 2016 at The Georgia Film Academy
http://savannahceo.com/news/2015/12/registration-ga-film-academy/
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Georgians who want to get on the fast track to a career in professional filmmaking can now enroll in pilot classes for the Georgia Film Academy’s inaugural semester. The Georgia Film Academy, a unique-in-the-nation, statewide effort to train Georgians for lucrative jobs in the film industry, will begin offering classes in January, in partnership with the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. “In response to the tremendous growth in the industry, Governor Nathan Deal and the State of Georgia have initiated an unprecedented, cooperative effort among all higher education institutions to deliver an industry-recognized, professional training program,” said Jeffrey Stepakoff, executive director, Georgia Film Academy. “On-set film workers are needed, but even entry-level jobs require a very specific set of skills. The Georgia Film Academy certification puts students on the fast track to gainful employment.”
www.myajc.com
Georgia Film Academy set to open in January
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/georgia-film-academy-set-to-open-in-january/npdxt/
By Janel Davis and Tammy Joyner – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Higher education officials unveiled a program Monday aimed at preparing more Georgians for a career in the state’s multibillion dollar entertainment industry. The Georgia Film Academy’s pilot certification program will start January 11. State leaders see the film academy as a one-stop site for education, training and job placement. Students will get classroom instruction and hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment. They also will train on set with professional production crews. Those who complete the two-course program earn four credits and a production certificate aimed at fast-tracking their entry into film and television work. Classes initially will be offered through Clayton State University, Columbus State University and Gwinnett Technical College and later expanded to other schools in Georgia.
www.valdostadailytimes.com
State program seeks students owed ‘Credit When It’s Due’
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/state-program-seeks-studentsowed-credit-when-it-s-due/article_325527c3-92ca-52bd-b0cf-f9f164a7cccf.html
By Jill Nolin CNHI State Reporter
ATLANTA — Thousands of Georgians have unclaimed college degrees waiting for them, and education leaders want to find them. The state University System is fine-tuning its “Credit When It’s Due” program, which seeks out students who transferred from small colleges to larger ones, where they’ve since earned enough credit for an associate degree from their original school. As many as 8,000 students may qualify for the program each year. These Georgians have likely earned associate degrees but don’t have them, said Barbara Brown, the system’s assistant vice chancellor for transitional and general education.
Those students may still be working toward bachelor’s degrees, or maybe they’ve left college. It’s certain that reporting “some college” with no degree doesn’t help their job prospects, Brown said.
USG Institutions:
www.statesboroherald.com
GSU Online MBA program named one of nation’s best
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/6/article/71606/
Special to the Herald
The Georgia Southern University Online MBA was named recently among the best online MBA programs for 2015-2016 by “AffordableColleges Online.org” in its third annual ranking for Best Online MBA programs. Ranked in the top 30, Georgia Southern’s online MBA ranking comes right behind the recent top five ranking by “TheBestSchools.org” for the university’s online Master of Science in Applied Economics.
www.finance.yahoo.com
Value Colleges Releases 2016 Top 50 Best Value Online Graduate Education Program Ranking
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/value-colleges-releases-2016-top-132300378.html
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Value Colleges (www.valuecolleges.com), an independent online guide to the best values in undergraduate and graduate college education, has released its ranking of the Top 50 Best Value Online Graduate Education Programs of 2016: http://www.valuecolleges.com/rankings/best-online-graduate-education-programs-2016/ The ranking highlights the online Master of Education degree programs that provide the best possible balance between cost and quality. Ranking only reputable, regionally-accredited institutions, Value Colleges alerts prospective students to the best choices for their tuition dollars. … Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA …Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw, GA
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Augusta University seeks to move science, math college, change parking
Campus, parking goals discussed during town hall
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2015-12-07/augusta-university-seeks-move-science-math-college-change-parking
By Tom Corwin
Staff Writer
Moving the College of Science and Mathematics from the Summerville campus to the Health Sciences campus could help Augusta University increase its undergraduate enrollment and give those students an inside track on professional degrees, university officials said during a town hall meeting Monday. That move is part of a campus master plan that will be presented Thursday to officials at the University System of Georgia. It would also allow the three remaining colleges on the Summerville campus – as well as the branch of East Georgia State College there – to expand, and allow for renovation of existing facilities. And all of that would be costly, an official said. In his first town hall, President Brooks Keel and his senior leadership fielded questions about moving the college and the No. 1 concern of faculty, staff and students: parking.
www.johndruckernmiller.com
‘Wheel of Fortune’ dream becomes reality tonight for Cartersville’s Sam Philliber, a Georgia Highlands student
http://johndruckenmiller.com/blog/2015/12/07/wheel-of-fortune-dream-becomes-reality-tonight-for-cartersvilles-sam-philliber-a-georgia-highlands-student/
By Natalie Simms
It isn’t every day that one of your childhood dreams comes true. But today is the day for Cartersville native Sam Philliber as his Wheel of Fortune dream becomes a reality. The 20-year-old Georgia Highlands’ student will be a contestant on tonight’s episode of Wheel of Fortune airing on 11Alive/NBC affiliate at 7 p.m. “I grew up watching it with my grandmother and have just always watched the show and wanted to be on it. I am a puzzle person and love solving things. One night I saw an ad on the T.V. about applying to be a contestant, so I applied,” says Philliber, who also works at Cartersville’s Chick-fil-A along with his Business Management studies at Georgia Highlands.
www.tnjn.com
Profile: Nothing small about assistant hall director’s impact
http://www.tnjn.com/2015/12/07/profile-nothing-small-about-assistant-hall-directors-impact/
One of the first things you notice about Rashad Small’s office is the number of messages, thank you notes and creative drawings on the walls. Some are funny, some serious, but they all share the same theme: students saying thanks. All of the handmade, artsy gratitude is fitting of what Small, the assistant hall director at Reese Hall, has given to other students. “I just use my creative skills elsewhere when it comes to problem solving for students and helping them in the best way I can,” Small said. Those creative skills originated in Georgia, where he grew up. …After taking a year off to figure out what direction he wanted to go in life, Small decided art was still his passion and was accepted to the Savannah College of Art and Design. However, the tuition was a little too high for his liking. He reassessed where he wanted his debt to be after college and chose to enroll at Georgia Southern University for his undergraduate studies. His time as a resident assistant at Georgia Southern opened his eyes to a new world. Small said he was a bit shocked when he first arrived at GSU, but resident assistants were there to help him out. He said their support, along with student affairs, helped shape him into who he is today.
www.onlineathens.com
Advocates oppose mandatory rape reporting at Georgia colleges
http://onlineathens.com/uga/2015-12-07/advocates-oppose-mandatory-rape-reporting-georgia-colleges
By WALTER C. JONESMORRIS NEWS SERVICE
ATLANTA | Leaders from two anti-rape organizations told senators Monday that fewer victims would come forward if campus police were required to report all allegations to city police. Their comments came during a hearing of a Senate committee assembled to study the issue of campus rape. University officials said new procedures are being put into place next month and additional safeguards against alcohol will come next school year since most student rapes are connected with heavy drinking. The committee’s chairwoman, Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, expressed concern that campus police were less prepared and less experienced in dealing with rape than city or county departments.
www.medicalxpress.com
Study links Facebook connections, alcohol use in college-aged females
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-12-links-facebook-alcohol-college-aged-females.html
by Cal Powell
Researchers at the University of Georgia have found links between certain patterns of connections among Facebook friends and drug and alcohol use among college-aged females. Using network data extracted from the Facebook accounts of 318 female students at UGA, researchers found that the severity of child physical abuse is associated with how central an individual is in her social network, potentially increasing the risk for alcohol abuse. Assaf Oshri, a developmental psychologist and assistant professor in the human development and family science department within the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is the study’s lead author. As director of the college’s Youth Development Lab, Oshri studies the links between childhood experiences and the development of risk behaviors in adolescents and young adults.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
The Supreme Court Could Fuel Campus Unrest in Ruling on Race in Admissions
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Supreme-Court-Could-Fuel/234507?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=e66c1a1984bf4a5486867190991ea4d9&elqCampaignId=2016&elqaid=7149&elqat=1&elqTrackId=594bf2a47a7443ce9d5277c0edad0c07
By Peter Schmidt
WASHINGTON
Black and Hispanic student activists demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court whenever it debates affirmative action in college admissions, but this time around, they are already protesting throughout the nation. As the court prepares to hear oral arguments on Wednesday in Abigail Noel Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin (No. 14-981), a lawsuit challenging that institution’s consideration of race in admitting undergraduates, colleges elsewhere are on edge. They have been rocked by a wave of demonstrations by minority students who complain of feeling unwelcome and isolated on campuses. At the nearly 70 colleges where such protesters have issued formal lists of demands, the most common include calls for big increases in the share of students and faculty members who are black, Hispanic, or Native American.
www.chronicle.com
‘Sometimes I Cry’: a Ground-Level View of Student Poverty
http://chronicle.com/article/Sometimes-I-Cry-a/234509?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=e66c1a1984bf4a5486867190991ea4d9&elqCampaignId=2016&elqaid=7149&elqat=1&elqTrackId=270d144563334e758cec68e602a49202
By Steve Kolowich
Student hunger and homelessness can be hard to notice, but Hattie Elmore sees them up close, all the time. Ms. Elmore is director of Single Stop, a program dedicated to helping students navigate money and housing problems, at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough campus, a community college in Brooklyn. She and her team counsel students on how to make ends meet, often by walking them through the process of applying for public aid or directing them to resources that might help them feed their families or keep a roof over their heads. A study published in 2011 found that 24 percent of students on 17 CUNY campuses (including Kingsborough) had experienced both food and housing insecurity in the previous year. Other surveys, including a large study released last week, have suggested that such problems may be more prevalent than previously thought. This is especially true at community colleges, where students tend to be older and saddled with additional debts and responsibilities.
www.insidehighered.com
Who Must Protect Students?
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2015/12/08/are-colleges-obligated-protect-students-crimes-other-students-essay?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ac896d702d-DNU20151208&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ac896d702d-197515277
By Christine Helwick
Recently, as violent attacks and tragic deaths occurred at colleges in Alabama, Arizona, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas, a California Court of Appeal ruled that public colleges and universities have no general legal obligation to protect adult students from the criminal acts of other students. The case was brought by Katherine Rosen, a 20-year-old pre-med student, who was brutally stabbed in a University of California at Los Angeles chemistry lab by another student. She argued the university breached its duty of care by failing to take reasonable steps to protect her from foreseeable violence. Rosen’s lawyers have vowed to bring the case to the California Supreme Court. Whether or not the case is accepted, it is noteworthy beyond California because it comes at a time of renewed national discussion of gun control and violence on campus.
www.insidehighered.com
Cal State Faculty Object to New Background Check Policy
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2015/12/08/cal-state-faculty-object-new-background-check-policy?utm_source=Inside%20Higher%20Ed&utm_campaign=ac896d702d-DNU20151208&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ac896d702d-197515277
A growing number of institutions are seeking to require background checks for employees, but a proposed policy for the California State University System has the faculty asking to put the policy on hold, according to the Los Angeles Times. The policy for all new hires took effect in August and requires criminal records checks as well as verification of past employment, education and references. Credit checks also could be part of the deal for some candidates. While current employees are generally exempt from the new policy, some who change jobs within the system could be subjected to it, along with student workers and consultants.
www.chronicle.com
With Faculty Diversity on Everyone’s Radar, HBCUs Worry About Losing Scholars
http://chronicle.com/article/With-Faculty-Diversity-on/234508?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=e66c1a1984bf4a5486867190991ea4d9&elqCampaignId=2016&elqaid=7149&elqat=1&elqTrackId=9476d5bf167543c1b9e7bb2fce750e90
By Katherine Mangan
If a predominantly white university with a stepped-up diversity agenda comes trolling for talent, Walter M. Kimbrough knows he may have trouble competing with the money it can offer. But as president of Dillard University, a historically black institution in New Orleans, he says he can make a convincing case for his faculty members to stick around. In fact, he thinks the protests that have swept campuses across the nation, calling attention to the lack of diversity and the chilly racial climates at many universities, could work in his favor. It’s likely that one of the most lasting effects of the protests will be the commitments many institutions have made to significantly expand their minority-faculty ranks. Student activists on many campuses put diversifying the faculty toward the top of their lists of demands.