University System News:
www.myajc.com
No tuition hike for Georgia public college students next year
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/local-education/no-tuition-hike-for-georgia-public-college-student/nqRJP/
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuition at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will not increase next year, giving students a financial reprieve from years of hikes that have raised questions from state lawmakers. The state’s Board of Regents, the governing body for Georgia’s University System, announced the tuition freeze Tuesday. The freeze applies to all students in the system’s 29 institutions, and means they will pay the same tuition amount they paid when school began this school year. “We have heard from students, parents and legislators regarding year-over-year tuition increases citing concerns about the rising costs of a college education in Georgia,” said Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “We recognize and share their concerns about college affordability. Today’s announcement demonstrates we are listening to students, their families and legislators and taking meaningful action.” The announcement comes after years of increases for students, including tuition hikes ranging from 9 percent to 2. 5 percent this school year.
www.ajc.com
No tuition increases for Georgia public colleges next year
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/no-tuition-increases-for-georgia-public-colleges-n/nqRCR/
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Students at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will see no tuition increases next school year, according to an announcement Tuesday from the state’s Board of Regents. “We carefully assess the tuition rates for our institutions and are committed to keeping college as affordable as possible for students and their families,” said Kessel Stelling, chairman of the Board of Regents, said in a statement. “As part of our commitment to college affordability, the Board of Regents has decided there will be no tuition increase for all USG institutions for the 2016-2017 academic year.”
www. gareport.com
Regents won’t increase tuition this fall
http://gareport.com/story/2016/02/16/regents-wont-increase-tuition-this-fall/
By TOM CRAWFORD
The Board of Regents got the message. Criticized by legislators for approving a long series of increases in public college tuition, the Regents announced Tuesday there will be no tuition hikes for the upcoming 2016-17 academic year. It will be the first time in at least 20 years that tuition has not been raised for students attending the 30 institutions that make up the University System.
www.chronicle.augusta.com
Regents freeze tuition for year
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2016-02-16/regents-freeze-tuition-year?v=1455668146
By Walter C. Jones
Morris News Service
ATLANTA — Parents and college students got a break on tuition Tuesday when the University System of Georgia chancellor announced a one-year freeze while lawmakers consider legislation to cap tuition at the inflation rate. House Majority Leader Matt Ramsey is sponsoring a change to the state constitution to limit tuition increases to no more than the inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Price Index. However, if there is a recession, a decline in state appropriations or if the school merges or changes its mission, then a pair of legislative committees can vote to allow a bigger increase.
See also:
Georgia Regents announce no tuition increase for the 2016-2017 academic year
Walter Jones
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-02-16/georgia-regents-announce-no-tuition-increase-2016-2017-academic-year
Georgia Regents announce no tuition increase for the 2016-2017 academic year
Walter Jones
http://world.einnews.com/article__detail/state/usgeorgia/312056996-georgia-regents-announce-no-tuition-increase-for-the-2016-2017-academic-year?vcode=3s55
www.bizjournals.com
No tuition hikes for University System of Georgia schools in ‘16-’17 year
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/02/16/no-tuition-hikes-for-university-system-of-georgia.html
The cost of higher education in Georgia will stay flat in the 2016-2017 academic year. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on Tuesday said there will be no tuition increase.
www.redandblack.com
www.accesswdun.com
No tuition increase for Georgia’s public colleges next year
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/2/370573/no-tuition-increase-for-georgias-public-colleges-next-year
By The Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) The cost of an education at Georgia’s 29 public colleges won’t be going up this fall. The Board of Regents announced Tuesday that it has decided not to increase tuition for the 2016-2017 school year. Hank Huckaby, chancellor of the University System of Georgia, said the decision shows the board is “listening to students, their families and legislators” who have voiced concerns about year-over-year tuition hikes in Georgia. Until this year, the Board of Regents had approved some form of tuition increase every year since at least 2002.
Coverage also at:
No tuition increase for Georgia’s public colleges next year
http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/georgia/no-tuition-increase-for-georgias-public-colleges-n/nqRCf/?ecmp=wsbtv_social_twitter_sfp
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/state/georgia/article60682646.html
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/115184/
http://www.13wmaz.com/story/news/local/georgia/2016/02/17/no-tuition-increase-for-georgias-public-colleges-next-year/80491560/
http://www.wyff4.com/news/College-tuition-will-not-increase-in-Georgia-next-school-year/38036774
http://www.cbs46.com/story/31240479/no-tuition-increase-for-georgias-public-colleges-next-year
www.georgiastatesignal.com
GSU-62 offers free tuition
By: Christina Maxouris | Associate News Editor
Times have changed, and the new fad of retirement is no longer a beach-front apartment in Florida. It’s morning classes, over-sized book-bags, and overpriced textbooks…all over again. But this time, it’s free. The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents has effected an ‘over-62’ policy, which grants all university applicants over the age of 62 a four-year college education, or class auditing, entirely tuition free. In GSU-62, the corresponding program at Georgia State, applicants must meet the institution’s admission requirements, provide state residency proof, and wait until late registration to sign up for classes, based on a space-available procedure. … Joseph Crews, another GSU-62 student, said he felt now was the time to conquer the courses he had always yearned for, yet could never before pursue. “It was like finding a bunch of money on a snow pile,” said Crews, 81.
www.specialprojects.myajc.com
The Cost of College
http://specialprojects.myajc.com/graphics/collegecosts/
College costs have been rising faster than inflation and faster than the price of many other commodities, and a degree is certainly a commodity – an investment whose returns can be calculated over your lifetime.
In the interactive pieces below you can find information to help you evaluate the benefits of a college degree. You can see unemployment levels by education level over the years. This will show how a degree might help you better survive difficult economic times. We’ve also put together a list that will give you a straight up look at what your expected return on investment will be for a degree from one of Georgia’s colleges or universities. There is also information about the hot jobs going into the future.
www.valdostadailytimes.com
Campus carry bill gets initial nod
University System of Georgia opposes
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/campus-carry-bill-gets-initial-nod/article_f4d9b902-f77b-50bf-8d6d-1affa2e1e8c8.html
By Jill Nolin
ATLANTA — A measure that would open up Georgia’s public colleges and universities to concealed handgun carry passed its first hurdle Tuesday evening. The campus carry bill was passed out of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee. The bill was not included on the posted agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, which Rep. Scott Holcomb, D-Atlanta, questioned. Rep. Alan Powell responded sharply that, as chairman, he can add bills at his discretion and without notice. “Anybody who didn’t know this bill was going to come up, it’s because they’ve been living in a cave,” Powell said. The only opposition expressed came from the University System of Georgia, that said the system supports the current law.
www.sixmilepostonline.com
Highlands joins the USG’s STEM Initiative
http://sixmilepostonline.com/?p=3765
BY AMANDA MAXWELL
Georgia Highlands College has joined the ranks of 14 other University System of Georgia institutions participating in a state funded initiative to better preparing K-12 students for STEM degree programs. According to the University System of Georgia website, in 2007 the state identified a pressing need for student preparedness, and subsequently graduation, in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics or “STEM” to ensure a successful future workforce for the state. To address the issue, the state partnered with the University System of Georgia’s Office of Educational Access & Success, or “OEAS,” to launch the Initiative
USG Institutions:
www.walb.com
GSW nursing program achieves national ranking
http://www.walb.com/story/31235354/gsw-nursing-program-achieves-national-ranking
By Wright Gazaway
AMERICUS, GA (WALB) – A graduate nursing program in southwest Georgia was ranked as a top 50 program in the country by a recent ranking. Top masters in healthcare dot com ranked Georgia Southwestern number 45. The ranking is based off of factors like flexibility, faculty involvement, and tuition and fees. The school currently has 53 students in the program, but the dean says admission numbers are increasing. This ranking just helps their recruiting.
www.news-daily.com
Clayton State to serve community with new Primary Health Clinic
http://www.news-daily.com/news/clayton-state-to-serve-community-with-new-primary-health-clinic/article_4c612ab0-3a39-5694-a80c-73f248060dd3.html
By Johnny Jackson
MORROW — Clayton State University has expanded its local reach in the form of new health services that are expected to affect both its student body and the surrounding community. The university opened its new Primary Health Clinic to the public during a Feb. 12 ribbon cutting ceremony. The clinic will offer a range of health services, from physicals to EKGs to health screenings to lab work, said officials this month in a press release. …The Primary Health Clinic is expected to treat staff and faculty, as well as provide care to students who have insurance or who are on Medicare or Medicaid. Officials said in a press release that the clinic will allow nurse practitioner faculty and students to log their necessary clinical rotation hours for certification. Ben Robinson, the executive director for the University System of Georgia’s Center for Health Workforce Planning and Analysis, praised the new capabilities as practical and necessary. “The beauty of this is it meets some of the needs that are very practical,” said Robinson. “There’s a need to support clinical rotations because those are short and hard to find.”
www.onlineathens.com
With $20.3 million in pledges, UGA holds groundbreaking for “second-to-none” indoor facility
http://onlineathens.com/sports/college-sports/2016-02-16/203-million-pledges-uga-holds-groundbreaking-second-none-indoor
By MARC WEISZER
With the sun shining and temperatures in the lower 60s on a breezy mid-February afternoon, Georgia ’s football coach, athletic director, school president and one of its accomplished athletes spoke with anticipation about the indoor practice facility that is on the horizon for days when it’s not too fun to be outside. It was truly a symbolic ceremony for this groundbreaking Tuesday. Construction work has been underway since December for the structure that is being built connected to the Butts-Mehre building, the home of Georgia’s football and athletic administration offices.
www.savannahnow.com
‘I want justice’: Mother of slain Savannah State University student pleads for help solving homicide
http://savannahnow.com/crime/2016-02-16/mother-slain-savannah-state-university-student-pleads-help-solving-homicide
By Dash Coleman
Nearly six months after her son was shot to death, Sharron Starks stood next to his photo in a Savannah church and begged for help catching his killer. “He can’t speak for himself, so I’m speaking for him,” the Atlanta-area woman said Tuesday at the pulpit of Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church on East Henry Street. “And I want justice for him.” Christopher Starks, 22, died after being shot during a fight in the Student Union at Savannah State University about 9:15 p.m. Aug. 27, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Starks said she doesn’t understand how Chistopher’s killer is still on the loose. The GBI initially said there were witnesses to the slaying.
Higher Education News:
www.eab.com
Tennessee senators look to freeze tuition, blame schools for rising prices
Universities point to state divestment as root cause
https://www.eab.com/daily-briefing/2016/02/16/tennessee-senators-look-to-freeze-tuition-blame-schools-for-rising-prices
Republicans in the Tennessee Senate want to freeze public college tuition, blaming recent price increases on wasteful spending rather than funding cuts, Andy Sher reports for the Times Free Press. Republicans on the state Senate Education Committee backed a bill last Wednesday that would keep public college tuition at the current levels through the 2018-2019 academic year and require each system’s governing boards to approve any future increases above 2% of the Consumer Price Index. Additionally, under the bill, students would pay the same tuition price as when they entered as freshmen for all four years.
www.chronicle.com
Under Fire From Lawmakers, a Flagship Tries to Explain Why Diversity Matters
http://chronicle.com/article/Under-Fire-From-Lawmakers-a/235332?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=3a554cd85aa042098b8d24da11e399ec&elq=f4801c164bf844d59bb40fe32ca7621b&elqaid=7908&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2452
By Sarah Brown
When J.T. Taylor came to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville as a freshman, she immediately found a home at the Pride Center, which serves students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Ms. Taylor, a senior who is African-American and identifies as queer, says she has also benefited immensely from a mentoring program and other efforts sponsored by the university’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion. But now, as Tennessee lawmakers cast doubt on whether public colleges should direct any state money toward diversity, Ms. Taylor worries that students like her won’t find the same support in the future. This month a committee of the Tennessee House of Representatives will begin an investigation into how the state’s public colleges spend funds earmarked for diversity. The move doesn’t just concern students like Ms. Taylor; it also raises hard questions about how institutions might justify such spending. It can be difficult to measure the concrete successes of diversity-and-inclusion programs.
www.insidehighered.com
Assessing, Without Tests
Measures of student learning, beyond grades, are on the rise, according to results of a new survey. But colleges are less likely to use standardized tests for learning outcomes.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/17/survey-finds-increased-use-learning-outcomes-measures-decline-standardized-tests?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=60a80c3a41-DNU20160217&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-60a80c3a41-197515277
By Paul Fain
Colleges are feeling heat to prove that their students are learning. As a result, a growing number of colleges are measuring intended “learning outcomes” as well as issuing grades. But fewer are using standardized tests than was the case a few years ago. Those are findings of a new survey from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). The liberal education organization received responses from chief academic officers at 325 of its member institutions, including community colleges and four-year institutions (public and private as well as a couple of for-profits). Almost all respondents said their institutions either assess student learning outcomes across the curriculum (87 percent) or plan to do so (11 percent). The remaining 2 percent may have a problem with their regional accreditors, which require colleges to measure learning this way.
www.chronicle.com
Colleges Continue to Abandon Standardized Tests to Assess Learning, Survey Finds
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/colleges-continue-to-abandon-standardized-tests-to-assess-learning-survey-finds/108683?elqTrackId=ae59dad433074871880e113e5f677b3f&elq=f4801c164bf844d59bb40fe32ca7621b&elqaid=7908&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2452
by Andy Thomason
Colleges are continuing to move away from assessing students’ learning outcomes through standardized tests, according to the results of a new survey. A report on the survey, “Trends in Learning Outcomes Assessment,” by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, says that only 38 percent of institutions use standardized national tests of general knowledge. That’s down from nearly 50 percent in 2008.
www.insidehighered.com
Remaining Residential
Study suggests acceptance of online education still lags among high school students.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/17/study-suggests-high-school-students-hold-negative-views-online-education?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=60a80c3a41-DNU20160217&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-60a80c3a41-197515277
By Carl Straumsheim
Most college-bound high school students are concerned about the quality of online education, but many say they are open to the idea of taking some of their courses online, a new study shows.But the most recent issue of the studentPOLL, published by the standardized test provider ACT and the consulting firm Art & Science Group, suggests incoming college students still believe they will pursue higher education the traditional way: by attending most of their courses in person.
www.insidehighered.com
New Criteria for Debt Relief
Draft plan provides a first look at the Education Department’s new debt relief process for federal student loans.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/02/17/us-plan-would-cancel-federal-loans-borrowers-misled-their-colleges?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=60a80c3a41-DNU20160217&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-60a80c3a41-197515277
By Michael Stratford
The Obama administration is proposing new standards for when the federal government will forgive the student loans of borrowers who say they were victimized by their college or university. U.S. Department of Education officials this week circulated a first draft of the administration’s proposal to members of a rule-making panel that is in the process of negotiating changes to regulations governing debt relief for federal student loans. One key provision would require borrowers to prove that their college made “substantial misrepresentations” that duped them into attending that institution, according to a copy of the plan obtained by Inside Higher Ed.