University System News:
www.chattanoogan.com
Tuition At Dalton State To Remain The Same
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2016/4/13/322029/Tuition-At-Dalton-State-To-Remain-The.aspx
Students at Dalton State will see no increase in tuition from this year to the 2016-2017 academic year. The Board of Regents approved leaving the tuition the same for all of the University System of Georgia schools. Dalton State has ranked one of the most affordable public four-year institutions in the nation for the last several years. “We are committed to making college affordable for Georgians,” said Chancellor Hank Huckaby. “As part of our commitment, we are pleased to announce the Board of Regents has unanimously voted for a zero percent tuition increase for all USG institutions for the 2016-2017 academic year.”

See also:
Georgia university system puts brakes on tuition hikes for first time since 2002
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/associated_press/news/state/georgia-university-system-puts-brakes-on-tuition-hikes-for-first/article_a1be1e44-019a-11e6-886f-0f6e6a79d85f.html

Tuition will not go up at GA public colleges for 2016-2017 school year
http://wrbl.com/2016/04/13/tuition-will-not-go-up-at-ga-public-colleges-for-2016-2017-school-year/

Board of Regents backs no tuition hikes at Georgia schools
http://www.ccenterdispatch.com/news/state/article_6cd63012-1fb8-59aa-8aba-429beced771e.html

Public college tuition won’t increase
http://www.wjcl.com/news/local-georgia-news/public-college-tuition-wont-increase/178047870/story

USG Institutions:
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
GGC honors founding father on Button Gwinnett Day
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/cities/lawrenceville/ggc-honors-founding-father-on-button-gwinnett-day/article_2047b994-f2db-5433-8f83-3597a3dcf98e.html
By Keith Farner
LAWRENCEVILLE — To kickoff a day’s worth of celebrations and educational presentations, Georgia Gwinnett College students heard from Stephen Colbert about a man who, “did almost nothing.” A video clip from Colbert’s television show was played on Wednesday morning at the first of several events on the GGC campus to honor Button Gwinnett, the namesake of Gwinnett County, and in turn part of the name of the Lawrenceville college. Gwinnett happens to be one of three signatures from Georgia on the Declaration of Independance. GGC President Stas Preczewski told a small gathering of students that the college is in the middle of a rebranding effort to the community and the best way to figure out where you’re going is to learn where you’ve been. The same goes for the college. “Why is this college here, what is it about, how did it come to be,” Preczewski recalled a Board member asking him. “That’s the right kind of question to figure out where we’re going to go.”

www.41nbc.com
MIDDLE GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY SEEKS STUDENTS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS
http://www.41nbc.com/2016/04/13/middle-georgia-state-university-seeks-students-scholarships/
By: Taylor Terrell
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – High school students are encouraged to apply for two scholarships offered to Middle Georgia State University. The Presidential Scholarships are worth $20,000 each, and are enough to cover the majority of the expenses of earning a bachelor’s degree, says the Vice President of University Advancement, Dr. Raymond Carnley. According to a release, the two available scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year are: the Dr. David A. Bell Presidential Scholarship for the Humanities and the Coca-Cola Presidential Scholarship.

www.thegeorgeanne.com
New Master of Science in applied geography expected for 2017
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_e8f1ae93-d6d1-5cf5-987e-e0d269acabad.html
By Blakeley Bartee and Chyna James The George-Anne staff and contributor | 0 comments
By fall 2017, Georgia Southern University will offer a new program: a Master of Science in applied geography (MS-AG), which will provide students the skills to utilize geotechnology, geostatistics  and geospatial data in fields including national security, logistics, environmental consulting and location analysis. “It’s great to have new things, and the department is really growing. You’re always going to need geographers and geologists, because they both work with how we interact with the world,” Jake Lindsey, senior geology major, said. The only program of its type in the southeast, the MS-AG program will offer the National Geotechnology Security Foundation Certificate, making GSU the thirteenth university in the United States to offer the certificate, according to Jeffrey Underwood, geography department chair and professor.

www.northwestgeorgianews.com
GHC gets rid of text books with switchover to free Open Educational Resources, saving students money
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/education/ghc-gets-rid-of-text-books-with-switchover-to-free/article_e4252eaa-0184-11e6-8e24-e359f8624250.html
Say so long to those expensive textbooks, says Georgia Highlands College.Almost half a million dollars’ worth of student savings was yielded for Fall 2015 with GHC’s recent introduction of Open Educational Resources. GHC recently joined the University System of Georgia’s Affordable Learning Georgia initiative which promotes student success by providing alternatives to expensive textbooks. The new OERs don’t just provide free textbooks either. Students also get video resources, software, labs and an enhanced textbook experience with hyperlinks to many other resources. For Fall 2015, GHC was able to save students $487,170.50 in textbook costs. Vice President for Academic Affairs Renva Watterson stated it is imperative that students have access to these free OER textbook alternatives.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Free tax preparation program with GGC professor, GSMST students helps dozens
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/business/free-tax-preparation-program-with-ggc-professor-gsmst-students-helps/article_d7c9925e-ec5e-5b81-8e5b-026cc981db1f.html
By Keith Farner
DACULA — Looking to get her taxes prepared, Debbie Coyle was taken aback by how much a co-worker paid. So when she scrolled the IRS website and found a local service, she didn’t turn back. “Free sounded really good to me,” the Lawrenceville woman said. “How much she had to pay for it, it was just like, yikes. … I’d rather spend that money going out for a good dinner than getting my taxes done.” Coyle first came to Hebron Baptist Church on April 2 and volunteers helped her finish her 2014 return, and on Saturday, she was back to complete the 2015 return. Coyle received the help from a group of volunteers led by Georgia Gwinnett College professor Taylor Smith and several dozen students from GGC and the Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology. It’s known as the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, and Smith said it’s in its second year. Approval from the IRS and organization of the program took about a year. The United Way of Atlanta oversees all groups of this kind in the metro area. The group since February has helped people on Saturday mornings prepare their taxes.

www.hub.onlineathens.com
UGA’s North Campus lawn renovation on track
http://hub.onlineathens.com/mobile/2016-04-13/ugas-north-campus-lawn-renovation-track
By LEE SHEARER
The grass really is greener on the other side of the fence on the University of Georgia’s North Campus. Workers removed screens from the fencing around a part of the historic campus that’s being renovated, revealing a lush green growth of shade-tolerant fescue grass. The fence keeping people out of two sections of North Campus remains up, however. The fescue grass isn’t ready yet for sun-bathing or to be trod or upon, however. The sod workers laid there earlier still needs time to become established, said Janis Gleason, a spokeswoman for the university.

www.thegeorgeanne.com
GSU’s first electric vehicle charging station
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/daily/article_0c1b4ed3-c3f0-5ac5-92b5-057e60f14af7.html
By Johnny Lu The George-Anne staff
In honor of Georgia Southern University’s first electric vehicle charger station, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at noon to celebrate GSU’s growth and development in campus sustainability initiatives. As a part of No Impact Week 2016 (April 10-17), the ribbon cutting is only one of the many educational activities and exhibits held during the week of spreading sustainability awareness. Other events throughout the week include Yoga at the Garden, a Dump the Pump challenge and Spring into Statesboro. Partnering with Georgia Southern’s Parking and Transportation Department, the event is funded by student sustainability fees and presented by GSU’s Center for Sustainability.

www.ledger-enquirer.com
$6M question: Should Columbus State’s space shuttle model be horizontal or vertical?
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/education/article71568812.html
BY MARK RICE
It’s a $6 million question. It’s the difference in cost between two versions of a Columbus State University project to expand the Coca-Cola Space Science Center. ▪  $2.5 million to horizontally display the quarter-scale model space shuttle NASA donated to the CCSSC. That would expand the facility’s eastern side, toward Front Avenue, and maintain the two-story roofline.
▪  $8.5 million to vertically display the unique artifact. That would expand the facility’s southern side, toward the vacant patch of grass, and require a five-story structure.
The $2.5 million version is part of CSU’s $106.15 million comprehensive capital campaign, which has raised around $80 million one year into the public phase. The $8.5 million version would be a viable possibility only if the extra money could be collected, CSU officials say. …First, it’s important to understand exactly what CSU received from NASA and its significance.

Higher Education News:
www.diverseeducation.com
Education Deans Support Use of Teacher Prep Data
http://diverseeducation.com/article/83313/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=2faa2926571b4db8bac994a25dfb0e85&elq=b00368a89d734a828acfdf3d40f43d6d&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=771
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
WASHINGTON — Even though the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulation to bring more accountability to the field of teacher preparation is imperfect, schools of education should still embrace the effort to use data to assess the effectiveness of their graduates in the classroom, the leader of a group of education deans argued Wednesday. “What’s really upsetting to me and disappointing to me is that we’re actually at an interesting moment where higher education in general is being asked to demonstrate impact,” said Ben Riley, executive director of Deans for Impact, a Texas-based organization that wants to improve student-learning outcomes through transforming the field of educator preparation. “We could actually develop an incredibly robust system of teacher preparation and, frankly, teaching overall, and yet the very people who should be leading that movement are fighting it,” Riley said. Riley made those remarks Wednesday during a panel discussion titled, “Educating Tomorrow’s Teachers: Are U.S. Education Department Regulations for Schools of Education a Help or a Hindrance?”

www.diverseeducation.com
Alliance Creates Scholarships to Boost Study Abroad
http://diverseeducation.com/article/83316/?utm_campaign=Diverse%20Newsletter%203&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua&elqTrackId=9a0d787b94934783b0258c1dc78bdcd6&elq=b00368a89d734a828acfdf3d40f43d6d&elqaid=88&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=771
by Jamal Eric Watson
A new three-year initiative aimed at increasing student study abroad at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) will receive financial support from the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), thanks to a partnership between the organization and the Graduate School of Education’s Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CMSI) at the University of Pennsylvania. CIEE has pledged 100 percent of all exhibitor fees related to its annual conference in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to support study abroad scholarships for students from minority-serving institutions. CIEE and CMSI expect the first-year scholarship pool to total at least $50,000.

www.chronicle.com
Report Ties State Aid to Improved Graduation Rates
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/report-ties-state-aid-to-improved-graduation-rates/110356?elqTrackId=e7e3f71aabb545cc92f6d48b69f06a70&elq=1aa0fa51d35d44fa969672808997e313&elqaid=8670&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2914
by Peter Schmidt
Report: “Examining the Role of the State: Need-Based Grants and Their Effect on Student Persistence and Degree Completion”
Author: Ray Franke, an assistant professor of higher education at the University of Massachusetts at Boston
Summary: Although other researchers have looked at how students benefit educationally from federal or institutional aid based on need, few researchers have specifically examined how need-based state aid helps its recipients’ prospects for college completion.
Mr. Franke based his study on data from the American Institutes for Research’s Delta Cost Project and the Education Department’s Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study.

www.chronicle.com
Are Colleges Too Obsessed With Smartness?
http://chronicle.com/article/Are-Colleges-Too-Obsessed-With/236111?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=35f3d6eed901439eb8b27ca32a2d9153&elq=1aa0fa51d35d44fa969672808997e313&elqaid=8670&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=2914
By Eric Hoover
Alexander W. Astin has something to say — a lot to say, really — about smartness. He knows some people won’t want to hear it, especially if they happen to teach college students for a living.
Mr. Astin, a professor emeritus at the University of California at Los Angeles, believes that too many faculty members “have come to value merely being smart more than developing smartness.” That line comes from his new book, Are You Smart Enough? How Colleges’ Obsession With Smartness Shortchanges Students. In the short yet provocative text, Mr. Astin peers into the faculty lounge as well as the admissions office. There he finds more concern with “acquiring” smart students, as defined by conventional metrics, than with helping students improve after they enroll. “When the entire system of higher education gives favored status to the smartest students, even average students are denied equal opportunities,” he writes. “If colleges were instead to be judged on what they added to each student’s talents and capacities, then applicants at every level of academic preparation might be equally valued.”

www.insidehighered.com
Out of Balance
Colleges lose series of rulings in suits brought by male students accused of sex assault. In stinging decisions, judges fault lack of due process.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/14/several-students-win-recent-lawsuits-against-colleges-punished-them-sexual-assault?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=379e943367-DNU20160414&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-379e943367-197515277
By Jake New
Last week, the California Court of Appeals ruled against the University of Southern California in a lawsuit brought by a student suspended for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman during group sex. The encounter had started as consensual, the woman told the university, but soon became violent. The accused student violated Southern California’s sexual misconduct policy, the university argued, not by harming the woman himself, but by failing to stop the other men from slapping her. The accused student, according to the court’s decision, was not “provided any information about the factual basis of the charges against him,” was not able to examine the evidence supporting the alleged victim’s statements and was not allowed to appear before the panel deciding his case.  The case joins three other legal wins for accused students in the past two months, and at least 10 in the last year. Some legal experts, including the federal and state judges deciding the cases, say the flurry of recent successes for disciplined students may show how some colleges and universities are eliminating “basic procedural protections” in an attempt to combat campus sexual assault.

www.insidehighered.com
Telling a Friend
Penn State survey finds many students don’t report sexual assault to campus officials and law enforcement, turning to friends and family for help instead.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/04/14/penn-state-survey-finds-most-sexual-assault-victims-tell-friends-not-campus?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=379e943367-DNU20160414&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-379e943367-197515277
By Jake New
Just over half of Pennsylvania State University students who experience stalking, dating violence or sexual assault ever tell someone about the incident, according to a new survey of the university’s students, and only a tiny fraction of those students report the assaults to police or campus officials. Victims of such crimes are far likelier to tell friends, romantic partners and family members about the experience, the survey found.