University System News:
www.myajc.com
New laws that go into effect July 1 in Georgia
By Kristina Torres – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Legal use of stun guns on Georgia’s college campuses, unlimited daily bingo prizes and state licenses for “lactation consultants” — all are among scores of new state laws going into effect Friday, the beginning of the state’s new fiscal year. Here is a look at some of the more important new laws, as well as some of the odder ones: … House Bill 792 — Use of electroshock weapons by people who are students or who are employed at a public institution. Students at least 18 years old will now be legally able to carry Tasers and stun guns on Georgia’s public college and university campuses. Some dubbed the effort “campus carry lite” — after a bill vetoed by Gov. Nathan Deal that would have allowed some students to carry guns on Georgia campuses. The author of the law — state Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville — said he intended to provide an alternative to students wanting to protect themselves on campus but not use a lethal weapon.
www.bizjournals.com
Stun guns OK on Georgia public college campuses as of Friday
Carla Caldwell
Morning Edition Editor, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Students at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will be allowed, beginning Friday, to legally carry stun guns. Gov. Deal recently vetoed the campus carry bill, which would have allowed licensed gun owners to bring their weapons onto campus. Georgia HB 792, sponsored by State Rep. Buzz Brockway (R-Lawrenceville), allows anyone 18 years or older or currently enrolled in a Georgia public college to carry a stun gun anywhere on campus, reports WSB-TV. Brockway told WSB the purpose is safety.
www.wsbtv.com
Stun guns allowed at public colleges, universities
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/stun-guns-allowed-at-public-colleges-universities/370430369
by: Lori Geary
ATLANTA — For the first time, students at Georgia’s public colleges and universities will be allowed to legally carry stun guns, starting Friday. State Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville, sponsored the bill and told Channel 2’s Lori Geary this is all about safety. “During the session, I was getting calls, especially from students at Georgia State, because there were three robberies in the library while we were in session, so there were a lot of students who contacted me to say, ‘Hey can I have one now?'” Brockway said. Brockway said most campus policies prohibited the electroshock weapons on campus but this state law will trump those policies. …University System of Georgia spokesman Charlie Sutlive released a statement to Geary, saying “Our … institutions are aware of HB 792 taking effect July 1, and we have been working directly with our campus chiefs of police and safety departments in preparation.” The system’s chief of police sent out a memo to all campus public safety directors alerting them to the change in the law.
www.myajc.com
GE begins process of hiring 250 for new center
http://www.myajc.com/news/news/ge-begins-process-of-hiring-250-for-new-center/nrn2G/
By Ernie Suggs – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta’s job market just got a little better. On Monday, General Electric began advertising some 250 jobs at the company’s new digital operations center. Gov. Nathan Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and GE officials met Monday at the State Capitol to elaborate on GE’s plans to open the Midtown Atlanta center. A permanent site has not been announced yet, but the center will be affiliated with Georgia Tech and is expected to have a $48 million economic impact. Until a site is determined for the center, it will operate out of a GE data center in Alpharetta.
USG Institutions:
www.pressreleaserocket.net
BestColleges.com Names Top Colleges in Georgia for 2016By PR Rocket
http://www.pressreleaserocket.net/bestcolleges-com-names-top-colleges-in-georgia-for-2016/465410/
By PR Rocket
BestColleges.com has released its 2016 rankings of the best four-year, two-year and online higher learning institutions in Georgia. The rankings methodology is based upon data curated by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES). Factors include affordability, enrollment and graduation rates, and additional measures of positive student outcomes. With these guides, BestColleges.com strives to provide a comprehensive resource for college-bound men and women exploring academic options within the Peach State. …The TCSG has worked closely with the University System of Georgia (USG) to create Georgia’s Higher Education Completion Plan, an initiative designed to improve college accessibility to prospective students and increase the number of degree and professional certificate-holders throughout the state. Listed below are the top 10 schools in each category:
Best Four-Year Colleges in Georgia
1 University of Georgia – Athens, GA
3 Georgia College & State University – Milledgeville, GA
4 Georgia Southern University – Statesboro, GA
6 Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA
10 University of West Georgia – Newnan, GA
Best Two-Year Colleges in Georgia
6 College of Coastal Georgia – Brunswick, GA
Best Online Colleges in Georgia
1 Georgia Southern University – Statesboro, GA
2 University of Georgia – Athens, GA
4 University of West Georgia – Newnan, GA
5 Georgia College & State University – Milledgeville, GA
6 Clayton State University – Morrow, GA
7 Columbus State University – Columbus, GA
8 Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw, GA
10 Albany State University – Albany
www.tiftongazette.com
Bridges begins 11th year as ABAC president
Special to The Gazette
TIFTON—Dr. David Bridges doesn’t spend a lot of time pondering his golden years. His waking moments are consumed with planning the future of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. And he believes that his vision is within reach. “I want ABAC to be the premier place for students to study agriculture and natural resources in the entire Southeastern part of the United States,” Bridges, who begins his 11th year as the ABAC president on July 1, said. “We should be a destination school, everyone’s first choice in agriculture and natural resources.” Bridges even has the perfect log to toss on the fire to make that future burn even brighter. “My No. 1 goal for the coming year is to add agricultural education as a bachelor’s degree on our campus,” Bridges said. “The state of Georgia has had a deficit of vocational agriculture teachers for 30 years. We are in a unique position to provide a solution to that problem.” After 75 years of graduating students with associate degrees, ABAC introduced bachelor’s degrees to its curriculum in 2008 when 42 students began taking junior level classes. The number of students in bachelor’s degree programs at ABAC now exceeds 1,400 out of a total enrollment which registered 3,393 students in 2015 from 153 Georgia counties, 25 states and 22 countries. “I thought we would grow our bachelor’s degree program faster than any of the other state colleges in the University System, and that has proven to be the case,” Bridges said. “I didn’t anticipate that we would grow those programs quite this fast.”
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State University president appoints interim provost
From Staff Reports
ALBANY — Albany State University President Art Dunning has announced the appointment of Olufunke A. Fontenot as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs of Albany State, effective July 1. He has also updated the university community on several other key appointments and progress of searches. Fontenot is a tenured professor of criminal justice and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia College in Milledgeville. …Fontenot has served in a variety of institutional settings, including 10 years as a professor of law at an overseas institution and 22 years at two University System of Georgia institutions. …“The ongoing consolidation of Albany State University and Darton State College presents immense opportunities for innovation and creativity. …Dunning also announced the following appointments effective July 1: Kimberly Carter, interim director of Human Resources, who holds a similar position at Darton State College; and Jason Goodner, interim coordinator of assessment, who is currently interim chair of social sciences and assistant professor of sociology at Darton.
www.mdjonline.com
Interim director for KSU business incubator named
MDJ Staff
Business incubator IgniteHQ, a partnership between Kennesaw State University and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce, has a new leader. Michael Salvador, director of executive education programs at KSU’s Coles College of Business, has been named interim executive director of the incubator, according to a news release. Salvador replaces outgoing executive director Nancy Whatley, who has led IgniteHQ since it began in March 2015. …Salvador will remain on KSU’s staff while leading the incubator until a permanent executive director is named. The search for a new permanent executive director will begin in July. …IgniteHQ works to support the entrepreneurs by providing startups and new businesses resources, advice and a physical space to grow.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
More Scholarships, Less Borrowing: Sallie Mae Study
Students and their families are receiving scholarships and grants to cover more of the price of college, according to the latest installment of an annual survey conducted by Sallie Mae, the student lender. The survey of 799 undergraduates and 799 parents of college students found that scholarships and grants funded 34 percent of college expenses last year, up from 30 percent the previous year.
www.chronicle.com
ACT Will Change Scoring Scale for Writing Test
by Eric Hoover
The ACT plans to change the score range for the optional writing test on its college-entrance examination, the organization announced on Tuesday. Starting this fall, the writing test will be scored on a 2-to-12 scale. The writing test itself will not change, according to a news release. Last year the ACT revised the writing test, and students began receiving results on the same 1-to-36 scale used on the multiple-choice exam. But the change caused confusion, ACT officials say. “Converting the writing scores to the 1-to-36 scale may have made the differences in scores seem larger or more obvious,” Wayne Camara, the ACT’s senior vice president for research, said in the news release. “This really is a perceptual problem that we are addressing.” Some college counselors have complained for months about what they describe as an inexplicable gap between top students’ high overall scores and low writing scores.
www.insidehighered.com
Grad Student Health Insurance On the Line
Universities grapple with providing subsidized health insurance to graduate students while complying with the Affordable Care Act. Seventeen U.S. senators urge the government to give institutions clarification.
Maxine Joselow
For Chereta Quána Madison, access to subsidized student health insurance was literally a matter of life or death. Madison, a Ph.D. student in educational foundations, policy and practices at the University of Colorado at Boulder, started collapsing in public last January. By the end of February, she was confined to bed, watching videos of her classes because she couldn’t walk without debilitating pain. Her graduate adviser suggested that she take a medical leave of absence. But Madison refused. If she was no longer enrolled, she would lose access to the Student Gold Health Insurance that could help cover a host of evaluations and surgeries. Like Madison — who was ultimately diagnosed with early-stage ovarian and uterine cancer — graduate students across the country are struggling to maintain access to subsidized health insurance. But unlike Madison, their access is being jeopardized by confusion over whether universities can provide subsidized health insurance to graduate students while complying with the Affordable Care Act. …Seventeen Democratic senators issued a letter last week urging the Obama administration to clarify that universities can provide subsidized health insurance to graduate students while complying with the ACA.