University System News:
www.news.nau.edu
President Cheng meets with higher education leaders, highlights student success at NAU
President Rita Cheng recently outlined “Student Success in Times of Budget Cuts” to higher education leaders from around the country during the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Cheng detailed how Northern Arizona University has found ways to adapt to changing budget dynamics, while maintaining the integrity of a quality student experience. “At NAU, we have always had a strong commitment to access and affordability,” Cheng said. “These values are inherent in our mission, and we have found ways to implement creative, sometimes non-traditional, approaches to support that core value.” Cheng highlighted NAU’s implementation of “smart growth”, opening doors to a wider and more diverse student population, providing tuition certainty and investing more directly in student engagement. …Cheng’s presentation was part of a panel session that included Hank Huckaby, chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
www.ajc.com
What Atlanta hiring managers really think about your online degree
http://www.ajc.com/news/business/how-valuable-online-degree-your-job-search/nr2Q9/
Carolyn Cunningham, For the AJC
More people are seeking online degrees for the convenience and the sometimes lower cost in hopes of securing a well-paying job, but they need to check with potential employers to see if their degree will be acceptable. …”If you’re hired by Publix while obtaining your online degree and are interested in tuition reimbursement, you’ll have some eligibility requirements to meet and the degree must be in an approved area of study from a regionally accredited college,” Reid said. The same rule applies to many other companies, and Georgia’s universities and colleges offer among the best online degree programs in the nation, according to the 2016 U.S. News and World Report study. The University of Georgia is among those top-ranked institutions for its bachelor’s online degree programs, which is fifth in the nation, and for its graduate program in education, which is third in the nation. Next on the list for Georgia colleges is the Savannah College of Art and Design, ranked No. 24 in the bachelor’s online programs. Among the top 50 online Master of Business Administration programs in Georgia are Georgia College and State University (No. 22), Georgia Southern University (No. 28) and Kennesaw State University (No. 28). So does your online degree have what it takes to help you land your next position?
www.times-herald.com
Congratulations Dr. Ferguson
http://times-herald.com/news/2016/07/congratulations-dr-ferguson
By THE NEWNAN TIMES-HERALD
Welcome the college students to town (2nd article)
Newnan has long sought to be a college town for many reasons, besides the money young people spend. Students bring energy, creativity, goofy humor and optimism about the future, all elements critical to a thriving community. Plus, some of them wind up creating businesses and families in the cities where they once went to school. While Newnan wasn’t successful in the competition to be the new home of Point University, it did seize the opportunity to expand the presence of the University of West Georgia. The city’s sizeable investment convinced the Board of Regents that oversees the entire University System of Georgia to join in rehabbing a vacant hospital near downtown and equipping it with state-of-the-art facilities and medical-teaching equipment that is the envy of bigger schools with snootier pedigrees.
USG Institutions:
www.ajc.com
Funds frozen, inquiry begun on homeless student’s story
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breaking-news/funds-frozen-inquiry-begun-on-homeless-students-st/nr6Fq/
Craig Schneider, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The woman who started a stunningly successful GoFundMe campaign for Fred Barley, the young man who said he rode his bike 50 miles to register for a Georgia college, said Wednesday night that she now has “multiple questions about Fred’s story.” Consequently, GoFundMe officials said they have frozen the account of $184,000 raised for the young man, and have started an inquiry into his claims. If they are not satisfied by the answers, officials said they will refund the money to donors. The inquiry marks a stark turn in a story that had grabbed the hearts of people across the country — and prompted them to send in money — even as it illustrates the challenges of online fund-raising campaigns. …“Unfortunately, multiple questions have been raised about Fred’s story,” she wrote. “We’ve received conflicting information about his initial story. … We’ve asked for the campaign to be reviewed.” It is unclear exactly what questions she said have been raised. A GoFundMe spokesman, Bobby Whithorne, said in a statement that “the funds raised are placed on hold and cannot be withdrawn until all the questions have been answered. … If they are not, we will refund the donors.”
www.ajc.com
4 ways to prepare for living on campus
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local-education/4-ways-to-prepare-for-living-on-campus/nr55n/
Janel Davis, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Move-in time for many college students is just around the corner. According to The College Board, 40 percent of full-time college students at public universities and 64 percent at private universities live on-campus. For students living away from home for the first time, this can be an adjustment for them and their parents. To make the transition a bit easier, Mark Allen Poisel, vice president for enrollment and student affairs at Augusta University, offers these tips:
www.onlineathens.com
UGA won’t change admissions policies to allow race as a factor
By LEE SHEARER
A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affirmed the limited use of race in college admission decisions, but that won’t change the University of Georgia’s admissions policies, which do not include race as a factor. “The university’s current admission decision practices and procedures enroll an academically strong and diverse class and is working well as indicated by our first-year retention rate of 95 percent,” said Jan Gleason, UGA’s executive director for strategic marketing.
www.jacksonprogress-argus.com
Fort Valley State partners with Gordon State
Special to the Progress-Argus
Gordon State College and Fort Valley State University have reached an agreement the institutions say is designed to provide higher education access for students who show promise for succeeding in college, but who are not academically eligible to immediately enter a state, regional or research university. Students who successfully complete the Fort Valley State University Gordon Access Program (FVSU GAP) will be academically eligible to transfer to Fort Valley State or any other senior-level university system institution. “This is an excellent opportunity for students who want to earn a degree and experience campus life, but who come in just below the university admission requirements,” said Richard Baskin, Gordon State College associate vice president for academic affairs. The FVSU GAP participants are considered Gordon State College students, but will attend classes taught by Gordon instructors at the FVSU campus.
www.wjcl.com
Incoming GSU students plug into community with service program
http://www.wjcl.com/article/incoming-gsu-students-plug-into-community-with-service-program/1003119
Bulloch County, Ga — Incoming freshman at Georgia Southern University don’t waste any time getting involved. There’s a unique 5-day leadership and service program that gets them working and improving the community right away. “This is our favorite time of the summer,” said Jodi Kennedy, associate director of office and leadership and community engagement. “We love to welcome to new students to Georgia Southern, but we love that they jump right in and get involved in their community.” 120 students spent the past two weeks working at various places across the area, doing anything from cleaning to landscaping. “Our students this week are doing work here at Willow Hill, they’re working at Habitat Humanity and the equine rescue so they’re really making a big impact on our community,” said Kennedy.
www.news4jax.com
Making higher education more affordable
Coastal College of Georgia reduces student costs
http://www.news4jax.com/news/morning-show/making-higher-education-more-affordable
By Bruce Hamilton – The Morning Show anchor
BRUNSWICK, Ga. – When the College of Coastal Georgia’s (CCGA) fall semester kicks off next month, students enrolled for the 2016-2017 academic year may save up to $1.8 million through a combination of cost avoidance and cost reduction measures for applicable students. President Greg Aloia and the College’s leadership team are committed to finding ways to help make higher education more affordable and reduce costs for students. This fall, full and part-time commuter students will no longer be required to purchase a campus meal plan. “We heard our students loud and clear,” said Dr. Jason Umfress, vice president for student affairs. “Our commuting students use their meal plan at varying levels and don’t want to have to pay for a plan if it doesn’t fit their schedule or lifestyle,” Umfress said. This change in policy will potentially reduce the cost to commuters attending CCGA by over $750,000.
www.wvtm.com
ABAC celebrates new science building
http://www.wtvm.com/story/32557973/abac-celebrates-new-science-building
By Mike Fussell, Reporter
TIFTON, GA (WALB) – The Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College opened the doors to a new science building on Wednesday. The school hosted a ceremony to celebrate the facility. The building features different labs for those studying different disciplines at ABAC. Around 80 percent of students at the school are pursuing STEM programs of study.
www.onlineathens.com
Famed cartoonist Jack Davis, noted for UGA Bulldog drawings, dead at 91
By JIM THOMPSON
Famed cartoonist Jack Davis, whose Bulldog drawings endeared him to countless fans of University of Georgia athletics, has died at the age of 91. “Jack Davis was a gifted illustrator and a legendary Bulldog,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “His artwork has left a lasting legacy for Georgia athletics, and he will be deeply missed.” Davis, born in 1924 in Atlanta, attended the University of Georgia after serving in the U.S. Navy. At UGA, he studied under the noted Lamar Dodd at the art school, at the same time becoming a lifelong fan of UGA football.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Spelman College Is Accused of Inaction After Anonymous Report of Gang Rape
by Sarah Brown
Nearly three months after a report of a gang rape of a Spelman College student sparked demonstrations and a social-media firestorm, the anonymous Twitter user who identified herself as the victim of that assault says that Spelman officials have not met with her or taken any action. … The Chronicle reached out to the Raped at Spelman account on Wednesday and exchanged several direct messages through Twitter. The user confirmed that she had heard nothing from Ms. Campbell or any other Spelman officials since early June. As of Wednesday afternoon, she had not responded to questions about her identity or about the investigation that Ms. Campbell had pledged to begin. On the Twitter account, she stated that she had chosen to remain anonymous “because I want to be able to express myself without being attacked by AUC students for what happened to me.” (AUC refers to the Atlanta University Center Consortium, which includes Spelman, Morehouse, and Clark Atlanta University.) She tweeted in May that she had decided to leave Spelman because of what she described as the college’s mishandling of her sexual-assault report.
www.insidehighered.com
Student’s Facebook Post and an Alleged Sex Assault
A student at Emmanuel College has used a public Facebook post to say that she’ll be leaving the college because of its finding that a student she accused of rape was not responsible for sexual assault. “It is clear to me that you value your reputation more than you value your community. The compassion that you spoke so strongly about in the beginning of my time with you was only skin-deep. You host events that ’empower’ women like myself to speak freely of issues like sex and race, but these are just empty words,” says the Facebook post by Joanna Vandyke. The post is being widely shared, along with comments criticizing the college. The college issued a statement to Boston.com in which it said, “We are deeply concerned about the statements recently presented by a student on social media. There were more aspects to the account than what was shared on social media by this single party. The facts in this case overwhelmingly supported the Student Conduct Board’s conclusion.”
www.insidehighered.com
Are Public University Subsidies a Handout for the Wealthy?
A new report says the wealthy do not disproportionately benefit from public subsidies, but some wonder whether low-income students get enough.
By Rick Seltzer
A report being released today pushes back against the idea that state subsidies lowering tuition at public four-year universities disproportionately benefit students from wealthy families. The research, being released under the Brookings Institution’s series of Evidence Speaks reports, finds appropriations from state and local governments used to offset educational costs at public institutions are smaller for students from higher-income families than for those with lower incomes. It also makes the case that low-income students are well represented across types of public four-year universities, including very selective universities, where they represent a quarter of enrollments — a far higher proportion than is the case at most elite private universities. That might not be surprising to those who expect public higher education to focus on affordability and accessibility. But the findings run counter to an argument that has been growing in recent years among commentators and analysts, said Jason Delisle, a resident fellow in education policy studies from the American Enterprise Institute.
www.chronicle.com
The Enrollment Manager as Bogeyman
By Eric Hoover
Every story needs a villain. And in many higher-education narratives, the enrollment manager wears black. Those who oversee the recruitment and retention of students are “ruining American higher education,” a scholar once said. They’re “screwing the poor kids,” an economist opined. The field is often described as the domain of cynical cutthroats, manipulative marketers, and worse. …In short, enrollment managers have long had an image problem. That’s partly because their jobs remain widely misunderstood, even on college campuses. Sure, they share in the blame for what ails the nation’s inequitable admissions process. But their jobs are more complex — and challenging — than some of the prevailing critiques suggest. Last week, New America, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, hosted a discussion that posed a binary question: “Colleges in the Age of Enrollment Management: Engines of Opportunity or Perpetuators of Inequality?” The most reasonable answer is “both.”
www.insidehighered.com
Pushing for Free
After taking a backseat to debate over free tuition at four-year public colleges, free community college advocates see chance to build momentum.
By Andrew Kreighbaum
PHILADELPHIA — While tuition-free and debt-free public college plans were debated vociferously in the Democratic primary, an older proposal for affordable higher ed receded into the background. But advocates for free community college at the Democratic National Convention don’t believe the idea has suffered from the shifting spotlight. Instead, they say the wider discussion about college affordability will aid the push for free tuition at two-year programs.
www.insidehighered.com
Politics of Free
Advocates of free community college initiatives want to remain nonpartisan, and sometimes that means altering the rhetoric.
By Ashley A. Smith
Free. Vouchers. Scholarships. Promise. Opportunity — they’re the buzzwords behind a campaign to significantly lower the cost of attending college and help more students leave those institutions debt-free. Many of the campaigns focus on making community college free, or at least free of tuition. In the hopes of spreading this campaign nationally and starting local programs, many free community college advocates are changing the rhetoric to keep the issue nonpartisan. That’s not always easy when Democratic presidential candidates — and the nominee, Hillary Clinton — spent the primary season highlighting the idea of making public higher education free, with the goal of creating a contrast with Donald Trump, who opposes the idea. “Certain words in this educational conversation are lightning rods, and that’s unfortunate,” said Martha Kanter, a former under secretary of education under President Obama, who leads the College Promise Campaign, which advocates for free community college.