University System News:
www.myajc.com
Dozens of Georgia state employees tally tens of thousands in expenses
By Dan Chapman and James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
…In all, dozens of state employees, including university presidents and researchers, wrack up tens of thousands of dollars in expense account billings each year, the AJC discovered. The top 39 spenders tallied at least $50,000 each in expenses last year. Foltz wasn’t the biggest spender; Jeffrey McCreary, a researcher at Georgia Tech spent $142,000 in fiscal 2015. “Government officials are supposed to be stewards of taxpayer money,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense in Washington. “We should not be looking for them to stay at the cheap motel or get by on fast food. By the same token, it seems like they are lavishing luxury travel, hotels and meal on themselves. That’s not responsible.” …State guidelines say employees should seek “the most cost-effective method of transportation that will accomplish the purpose of the travel.” State Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, a House budget subcommittee chairman, questioned the high-priced travel. “None of us travel that way,” he said. “The people of Georgia don’t travel that way.” They do if they work at Georgia Tech. Nine of the top 10 spenders across the University System of Georgia worked at Tech, according to the AJC investigation. Most did research for the U.S. Department of Defense. So-called “sponsored” research, not paid by the university, covered about three-fourths of travel expenses, Tech officials said. But 96 percent of that amount is sponsored by the state or federal government, so it’s still taxpayer money. Cheryl Dozier, the president of Savannah State University, was another big traveler. The state’s Department of Audits and Accounts put her travel tab at $59,446 — 13th-highest among University System staffers.
www.statesboroherald.com
Update: Bulloch Schools, GSU to close Friday
http://www.statesboroherald.com/section/1/article/76648/
From Staff Reports
GSU cancels Friday classes, events
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern University announced that it will be closed for all classes and events Friday, and is monitoring the situation for Thursday. “We are monitoring a potential campus closure and campus event cancellations for Thursday, October 6, in anticipation of Interstate contra-flow lanes,” GSU Communications Director Jennifer wise said. “Should contra-flow lanes be enacted, Georgia Southern University will send an Eagle Alert about the closing of campus to allow students, faculty and staff ample time to travel.” On-campus residence halls and the dining commons are remaining open, but other GSU dining outlets were to be closed Friday and Saturday.
www.wabe.org
Date Set For Vote On Possible Sam Olens KSU’s Presidency
http://news.wabe.org/post/date-set-vote-possible-sam-olens-ksu-s-presidency
By TASNIM SHAMMA
The University System Board of Regents will vote at its next board meeting on Oct. 12 on whether the state Attorney General Sam Olens should become Kennesaw State University’s new president. Olens interviewed with board members for more than an hour Tuesday to become president of the third-largest school in the University System of Georgia.
“Outstanding” Interview
Afterwards, University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby called it “probably one of the best interviews” he’s ever experienced in his five-and-a-half years as chancellor. Huckaby had said he’d planned to conduct a nationwide search for the job, but today he confirmed Olens is the sole candidate. Huckaby said he has “always been very excited about the attorney general’s potential interest in the job.”
www.politics.blog.ajc.com
With Sam Olens headed for Kennesaw State, look out for falling dominoes
Jim Galloway
The appointment of Attorney General Sam Olens as the next president of Kennesaw State University is now as close to a gimme putt as a gubernatorial endorsement can make it. With Nathan Deal’s seal of approval, the Board of Regents – whose members are all appointed by the governor — will take up the matter next week. Olens’ selection would put an end to his 17-year GOP electoral career, slamming the lid on all speculation of a 2018 run for governor. At the same time, it would give Olens, 59, permanent standing in his beloved Cobb County community, shorten his daily commute considerably, and produce a significant increase in his take-home pay. The attorney general’s current salary is almost $140,000 per annum. The 2016 pay package for Dan Papp, whom Olens would replace, was $362,740. On the plus side of any debate over optics: Olens has a reputation for supporting open records and open government, even as booming Kennesaw State has gained notoriety as a place for financial hanky-panky. Yet the faculty of KSU is upset that the regents didn’t even bother with the charade of a national search for a new president. Olens is the only candidate under consideration. And students are aghast that Olens, as a Republican attorney general, has enlisted the state’s legal machinery in Republican causes.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
University System of Georgia suggesting to lower textbook costs
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_a388a472-8b0d-11e6-bb12-2f67fd26cf8b.html
By Shane Peaster The George-Anne contributor
The University System of Georgia (USG) has an ongoing request for Georgia Southern to move to an “Open Textbook” format – a move that would lower, or even eliminate, high textbook costs. According to the Sept. 6 faculty senate meeting minutes, Provost Jean Bartels reported that “open textbooks and online resources … would help defray book costs for students.” The USG suggests that teachers utilize an online open textbook website as an alternative to assigning students to purchase expensive textbooks. The website, called Affordable Learning Georgia, is a part of GALILEO, Georgia’s extensive virtual library. To date, the site estimates that it has saved students $16.5 million in textbook costs for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
TEDx coming to Georgia Southern
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_795121d7-24bb-5970-955b-4bb130fcb14a.html
by Taisha White the George-Anne staff
TEDx, an interactive program of local, self-organized events that brings communities together to share a TED-like experience, will be bringing its program to Georgia Southern in October. This year’s theme is “Connecting Creatively” and was created to get people interacting and networking with each other in creative ways in order to solve complicated issues in today’s society. John Banter, Associate Director of the Office of Leadership and Community Engagement, hopes students take away something vital from the TEDx event. “It is my hope in establishing this event to spread the ‘ideas worth sharing’ from right here at Georgia Southern University,” Banter said. “I hope the creative ideas being shared at TedxGeorgiaSouthernU spark deep conversation and develop new opportunities for collaboration on campus.” The TEDx program has made its way to different colleges across the country including the University of Iowa and Florida State College of Jacksonville. The program has also made its way to different countries, including India and Australia.
www.13wmaz.com
FVSU senior killed in Warner Robins accident
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/fvsu-student-killed-in-warner-robins-car-accident/329345051
WMAZ
The man killed in an accident Wednesday morning in Warner Robins was a senior at Fort Valley State University, according to the school’s website. Gary Earl Johnson Jr. died in the single-vehicle accident at after midnight on Russell Parkway and Red Fox Run, according to Warner Robins police. Johnson, who’s from Columbus, was a liberal arts major and was scheduled to graduate in December, according to the school’s website. He was also a drum major in the school’s band and a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, the school’s website states.
www.onlineathens.com
Athens police investigating armed robbery at student housing complex
By Joe Johnson
Athens-Clarke County police said they were investigating a reported weekend armed robbery at a student apartment complex off Oconee Street in east Athens. Police said they were transporting a van of prisoners on Oak Street at about 2:40 a.m. when they stopped the van because the 20-year-old robbery victim nearly ran in front of the vehicle. He was visibly shaken as he explained how he was just robbed at the nearby complex, The Flats at Carrs Hill. The victim explained to police that he was downtown and walked to the complex to stay at a friend’s apartment, but never got past the main lobby. There, he said he was approached by a man with a gun, who stuck the weapon between the victim’s eyes and demanded he surrender all of his money or he would be killed, according to police. Police said the victim related that he gave the suspect all the money he had — $120 — which the suspect grabbed and then ran toward the elevator. The victim said the gun was pressed to his head for about 30 seconds. After the robbery, the victim said he ran from the complex to Oak Street, where he nearly ran in front of the police van, losing a shoe along the way. …Police said they unsuccessfully searched the apartment complex for the suspect. They indicated the complex had security cameras, but were unable to contact management in order to immediately review any video of the purported incident.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
No Eagle Alert for Tuesday’s robbery and fatal shooting
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_22c55d4e-52ef-5671-9529-3a996e90870a.html
By Blakeley Bartee The George-Anne staff
Students, faculty and staff at Georgia Southern University did not receive an Eagle Alert after the armed robbery, home invasion and fatal shooting of a suspect that occurred at the Campus Evolution Apartments early Tuesday. The Statesboro Police Department arrested one suspect, and a second was fatally shot. Third suspect fled the scene and has not been apprehended, as of the time of publication. Some students at the complex and other nearby off-campus housing were unaware of the incidents. “I didn’t even know there was a robbery, and I definitely saw the caution tape as I rode past there, and I live right in Copper Beach, so I’m right there next to it. I’m kind of mad,” Tremiecia Gresham, senior accounting major, said. According to the 2016 Annual Security Report from the GS Division of Public Safety, the University is to release an Eagle Alert if an incident meets all of the following criteria:
www.gradynewsource.uga.edu
UPDATE: UGA remains silent on questions over rape reports
http://gradynewsource.uga.edu/blog/2016/10/05/report-most-uga-rape-reports-come-from-dorms/
The University of Georgia has yet to answer questions posed in this report Monday. Late Monday afternoon, Newsource was able to reach Open Records Officer Bob Taylor who said he was working “feverishly” to find someone who could answer questions posed in this article. Those questions include: Why do so many of the rape reports on campus comes from residence halls? Why do so few of the rape reports on UGA’s campus result in an arrest? From which residence halls do the rape reports most often come? What is the university doing to combat sexual assault and rape on campus? The original article follows below.
Original article posted Monday, October 3, at 1:00 p.m.
ATHENS, Ga. — In the past three years, 75% of rapes reported to the University of Georgia Police Department occurred at campus residence halls, according to a report released by the university. The University of Georgia released its annual Safe and Secure report September 30, 2016. Included in the document was a listing of 29 rapes reported on campus in the last three years. 22 of the 29 rapes reported are listed as occurring at UGA residence halls. It’s unclear yet which residence halls they came from or why the investigations rarely resulted in arrests. Two of the 13 reported rapes in 2015 are listed on the document as “unfounded.”
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Does Performance Funding Work?
Does performance funding for higher education actually work? According to the authors of a new book on the topic, the answer is both yes and no.
By Six Research Scholars
More than 30 states now provide performance funding for higher education, with several more states seriously considering it. Under PF, state funding for higher education is not based on enrollments and prior-year funding levels. Rather, it is tied directly to institutional performance on such metrics as student retention, credit accrual, degree completion and job placement. The amount of state funding tied to performance indicators ranges from less than 1 percent in Illinois to as much as 80 to 90 percent in Ohio and Tennessee. Performance funding has received strong endorsements from federal and state elected officials and influential public policy groups and educational foundations. The U.S. Department of Education has urged states to “embrace performance-based funding of higher education based on progress toward completion and other quality goals.” And a report by the National Governors Association declared, “Currently, the prevailing approach for funding public colleges and universities … gives colleges and universities little incentive to focus on retaining and graduating students or meeting state needs …. Performance funding instead provides financial incentives for graduating students and meeting state needs.” But with all this state activity and national support, does performance funding actually work? As we report in a book being published this week, Performance Funding for Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press), the answer is both yes and no.
www.insidehighered.com
When PLUS Is a Minus
Admissions counselors raise concerns over some colleges packaging PLUS loans in financial aid award letters, possibly misleading families about cost of attendance.
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Federal PLUS Loans help parents cover the difference between the financial aid a student receives from their college or university and the full cost of attendance. They’re also not a sure thing — parents must be deemed eligible based on creditworthiness and be willing to borrow for their child’s education. But some colleges are lumping the loans in with other forms of aid in award notification letters to students and parents, college advisers complained in September at the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. That’s concerning to financial aid professionals, because including PLUS with other forms of financial aid can make a family’s total cost look smaller than it actually is.
www.insidehighered.com
New Report: Nearly 25% of College Students Are Hungry
By Kasia Kovacs
A significant number of college students — 22 percent — have very low levels of food security, which can make classwork more difficult, according to a report published yesterday. The study surveyed nearly 4,000 students from 26 four-year colleges and eight community colleges, asking them questions about their accessibility to food. It was organized and carried out by four organizations: the College and University Food Bank Alliance, the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness, the Student Government Resource Center, and Student Public Interest Research Groups. …In addition, food-insecure students had more trouble with schoolwork. Over half (55 percent) reported that hunger problems caused them to not buy a required book; 53 percent reported missing a class; 25 percent reported dropping a class.
www.chronicle.com
Online Education Is Now a Global Market
By Jeffrey R. Young
Back when colleges first started experimenting with teaching online, pundits mused that competition for college students would one day be global. A student would be able to sit down at a computer and take a course literally from anywhere. It seemed like possibly a crazy thing to predict, considering that these early internet courses involved reading lectures that were typed out, doing some online discussion, and sending in assignments via email. But the day of global competition for higher education is actually here, and interestingly, some of the world’s most famous universities were the last to get into the act. That’s what struck me this summer when I met Simon Nelson, head of a company called FutureLearn. It’s a spinoff of the British Open University designed to deliver MOOCs, those free massive online courses. More than 60 universities across the U.K. and Europe have partnered with Future Learn to deliver their courses, mirroring trends of the growth of these online classes in the U.S. For better or worse, colleges now have to realize that they face competition from everywhere. Hello and welcome to The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Re:Learning podcast. I’m Jeff Young, and I sat down with Nelson this summer during the EdTechXEurope conference.