University System News:
www.wsbradio.com
Georgia State poised to be state’s biggest university
http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/state-regional-education/georgia-state-poised-be-states-biggest-university/npxFH/
By Marcy Williams
Atlanta — A vote this week by the state Board of Regents creates Georgia’s largest university. Regents are set to approve the consolidation of Georgia State University and Georgia Perimeter College. The combined enrollment of the new school tops 50,000, easily exceeding the 35,000 enrolled at UGA. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports the new school will retain the Georgia State name and Georgia State University president Mark Becker will preside over the consolidated university. All students immediately become Georgia State students although registration under the merger will not take place until August.
Consolidation within the University System of Georgia continues as regents give preliminary approval to the merger of Albany State University and Darton State College.
www.11alive.com
Free college classes available to Georgia adults over 62
http://www.11alive.com/story/life/2016/01/04/senior-citizens-free-college-classes/78278904/
11Alive Community Relations
College. Continuing education. Foreign languages, mathematics, writing, art, music, history, science. Taking classes for fun or to work on a degree, college is for free if you are 62 and older and live in the state of Georgia. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia allows anyone 62 and older to sit in on classes where there is space available in almost all of the 30 Georgia’s colleges and universities for free. Seniors have discovered they can audit or take classes for credit and not have to take the exams or earn a grade or they can take classes and work toward getting a degree. Opportunities are available for seniors to take classes that are challenging or fun. …A Senior Citizen Guide for College at www.aseniorcitizenguideforcollege.com/2010/07/georgia.html, provides a comprehensive list of Georgia colleges and universities providing reduced or free tuition for seniors over 62.
www.onlineathens.com
Athens lawyer Ed Tolley will defend university system in whistleblower lawsuit
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-01-04/athens-lawyer-ed-tolley-will-defend-university-system-whistleblower-lawsuit
By LEE SHEARER
The state Board of Regents has hired Athens lawyer Ed Tolley to defend the Regents and University of Georgia officials from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former UGA employee. Tolley filed notice he will represent the Regents late last week. The Board of Regents faces a deadline later this week to respond to the lawsuit filed by Sallyanne Barrow in early December. Barrow alleges university officials targeted her after she reported alleged financial wrongdoing by her boss, former UGA Alumni Association executive director Deborah Dietzler.
www.myajc.com
Obama to roll out executive measures on guns
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/obama-to-roll-out-executive-measures-on-guns/npxZy/
By Aaron Gould Sheinin and Daniel Malloy – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
President Barack Obama is preparing to combat what he called “the scourge of gun violence in this country” with new executive actions tightening the rules for firearms sales causing a 2016 political stir and a likely sales boost to gun dealers in Georgia and elsewhere. “What I asked my team to do is to see what we could do to strengthen enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands,” Obama said Monday. “To make sure that criminals, people who are mentally unstable, those who could pose a danger to themselves or others, are less likely to get a gun.”
Big issue at state level
As Georgia prepares for its legislative session, guns are on the agenda, too. Democratic lawmakers have made long-shot proposals to require anyone who wants a concealed weapons permit to take state-sponsored safety training and to bar anyone getting a divorce from buying a gun without the permission of a judge. The former, House Bill 709, sponsored by state Rep. Keisha Waites, D-Atlanta, drew at least grudging interest from Republican lawmakers but is still unlikely to advance. …Gun rights advocates, meanwhile, will most likely focus support on House Bill 544, sponsored by state Rep. Heath Clark, R-Warner Robins, which would allow guns anywhere on the campuses of the state’s public colleges and universities. The bill was introduced in 2015 but has yet to receive a committee hearing. Advocates have for years tried to legalize campus carry, but the powerful University System of Georgia has managed each year to beat it back.
USG Institutions:
www.aol.com
The 20 US public colleges that offer the best value for your money
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/01/04/the-20-us-public-colleges-that-offer-the-best-value-for-your-mon/21291783/
Business Insider Kathleen Elkins
Some public colleges give you more bang for your buck.
Kiplinger recently released its list of 300 best-value public and private schools, ranked based on quality — including test scores of incoming students, admission rates, academic support, and graduation rates — and cost measures, such as total cost, financial aid packages, and average debt at graduation. Here, we rounded up the 20 best-value public colleges on the list for out-of-state students, along with total annual cost and average student debt at graduation for each. Note that there are separate rankings for the best-value public schools for in-state students, with some overlap — UNC Chapel Hill, for example, ranked as the best-value college for both in- and out-of-state students. … 18. University of Georgia; *UGA ranked number 12 for in-state students.
www.bizjournals.com
UGA’s annual economic impact grows
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2016/01/uga-s-annual-economic-impact-grows.html
The University of Georgia has a $4.4 billion annual economic impact on the state, according to a new study from the university. The study by UGA economist Jeffrey Dorfman, quantified variables such as the increase in earnings that graduates of the university’s schools and colleges receive, revenues from the licensing of university inventions, and the creation of business and jobs resulting from the university’s public service and outreach units. “Our findings are a conservative estimate of the university’s economic impact on the state of Georgia, so the $4.4 billion figure that we arrived at should be treated as the minimum impact UGA has on the state,” Dorfman said in a statement.
www.macon.com
Five Middle Georgia education stories to watch in 2016
http://www.macon.com/news/local/education/article52693520.html
BY JEREMY TIMMERMAN
The last year has brought plenty of changes for Middle Georgia’s schools, and more could be in store in 2016. In 2015, some of the major stories revolved around new superintendents, a new school and a new name for what is now Middle Georgia State University.
MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE ADDS MASTER’S PROGRAMS (5th article down)
As part of reaching university status, Middle Georgia State University added two master’s programs to its catalog for the spring 2016 semester in information technology and nursing. Classes for those programs will begin on Jan. 11 with the rest of the university’s offerings. In the future, MGSU plans to add graduate programs for teaching and management, with the teaching degree aimed specifically at those who have undergraduate degrees in other fields.
www.accesswdun.com
Hoverboards, similar devices banned from University of North Georgia buildings
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/1/360139/hoverboards-similar-devices-banned-from-university-of-north-georgia-buildings
By Alyson Shields Reporter
Officials with the University of North Georgia have decided to prohibit a popular gadget from their campus buildings. According to from UNG Police Chief Justin Gaines, Hoverboards, Swagways and other self-balancing electric scooters are not allowed in campus buildings, including classrooms, dorms and indoor recreational facilities. Gaines said that the ban was prompted by fire concerns. The batteries in the devices have been reported to catch fire, including one incident at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Lake Oconee in Greensboro and a ban on the devices on some major airlines.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
New Graduation Data Finds Increases for 2-Year Students
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/01/05/new-graduation-data-finds-increases-2-year-students?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=bba62ad46f-DNU20160105&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-bba62ad46f-197515277
The National Center for Education Statistics released a new way to track completion data for students attending two-year colleges and has found increases in graduation rates. NCES extended the time period for when students were tracked for program completion from 100 percent of normal time to 200 percent, or four years of normal time for an associate degree. Under the extended time, graduation rates for full-time, first-time undergraduates in 2010 increased from 18 percent to 36 percent at two-year institutions. Rates also increased for students at fewer-than-two-year institutions — from 38 percent to 67 percent.
www.chronicle.com
This Chart Shows the Promise and Limits of ‘Learning Analytics’
http://chronicle.com/article/This-Chart-Shows-the-Promise/234573?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=8ccd0cfa3ccb42819c3c6fa04afbd047&elqCampaignId=2154&elqaid=7398&elqat=1&elqTrackId=bb039a16baa34b58a9f6e69e2fb4fbec
By Jeffrey R. Young
Taking a college course is a journey, and each student ends up charting a unique path through the assigned materials — bits of lectures that resonate, chance conversations with classmates, the parts of a textbook actually consumed. With more courses happening online, colleges now can track those individual journeys more precisely. Such tracking is known as “learning analytics,” and it’s how administrators at Utah State University created a single graphic that depicts all the student activity from a recent online course. When I met one of the top officials from the university at the big ed-tech conference held by Educause, this image is what he was excited to show me, as if it held the solution to a longstanding riddle he was working to decode. He called it “the spider graphic.” …Promoters of learning analytics talk of using these data-infused pictures to build more effective courses. They talk about teaching with an engineering mind-set, not just a curatorial one. If it’s done right, proponents argue, the average student will learn more than ever before — which will not only help individual learners expand their minds, but also improve an institution’s retention rate.
www.insidehighered.com
Books vs. Guns
Literature and language professors will use the tools of their trade to protest a new Texas law.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/05/mla-plans-literary-protest-against-new-campus-carry-law-texas?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=bba62ad46f-DNU20160105&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-bba62ad46f-197515277
By Scott Jaschik
Lobbying by higher education leaders didn’t prevent Texas lawmakers from passing a new law to allow people to carry weapons on campus — including in classroom buildings and dormitories. Some students are planning a protest involving dildos (which apparently one can’t carry openly on Texas campuses) to draw attention to what they see as the absurdity of the new law. Later this week, the Modern Language Association’s annual meeting will draw many thousands of professors and graduate students to Austin. And MLA members — together with local groups against the law — are planning an unusual protest of their own.
www.insidehighered.com
Education Department Tightens Reins on More Colleges
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/01/05/education-department-tightens-reins-more-colleges?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=bba62ad46f-DNU20160105&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-bba62ad46f-197515277
U.S. Department of Education officials are more closely monitoring a greater number of colleges and universities over concerns about their management of federal funds, according to newly released government data.
As of Dec. 1, 540 colleges or universities were facing the extra scrutiny known as heightened cash monitoring, up from 499 in September, when the department last reported the figures.
Of the 540 institutions, 86 were on the highest form of scrutiny, level 2, and 454 colleges were operating under heightened cash monitoring, level 1.
www.chronicle.com
What America Can Learn From Australia’s Student-Loan System
http://chronicle.com/article/What-America-Can-Learn-From/234796?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=8ccd0cfa3ccb42819c3c6fa04afbd047&elqCampaignId=2154&elqaid=7398&elqat=1&elqTrackId=92adbbe4dc0d4ed49ebc5cfcc9d8119f
By Beckie Supiano
Strengthening income-based loan repayment — and getting more borrowers to use it — is a major topic of discussion in American higher-education policy circles. Income-driven repayment acts as a kind of insurance for borrowers. It protects those whose income is temporarily low, by making payments a percentage of earnings, and it protects those whose income is perpetually low if they can never repay their full debt. The United States has a whole menu of loan-repayment options for borrowers with federal student loans, some of them income driven. While the existing income-based plans are tinkered with regularly, many experts have advocated bigger changes that would streamline income-based repayment and make it the default or only option for borrowers. As this conversation continues, there are lessons to glean from the experiences of countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Britain that already operate such systems. To be sure, higher education works differently in other countries, and no one is suggesting the United States should adopt a foreign program off the shelf. Still, policy wonks working on income-based loans here know that they don’t have to start from scratch.