University System News:
www.usnews.com
No Storage, Signs on Georgia Campuses as Gun Ban Lifts
Georgia’s university system says campuses won’t provide gun storage facilities or signs when a new state law permitting concealed handguns takes effect this summer.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/georgia/articles/2017-05-24/no-storage-signs-on-georgia-campuses-as-gun-ban-lifts?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=2d33a4cf93-eGaMorning-5_25_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-2d33a4cf93-86731974&mc_cid=2d33a4cf93&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By KATHLEEN FOODY, Associated Press
Students returning to Georgia’s university campuses won’t find gun storage facilities or signs this fall after a new state law permitting concealed handguns at the schools takes effect, officials said Wednesday. Guidance released to students and staff at all 28 public colleges sought to answer some of the questions that have bubbled up since Gov. Nathan Deal signed the bill earlier this month. In a message to faculty and students, Chancellor Steve Wrigley acknowledged “strong feelings” about the change, which the university system and campus law enforcement opposed. “Yet, whether you opposed or supported the legislation, it will soon be state law, and I respectfully ask everyone to exercise patience, understanding and respect as we implement it,” Wrigley wrote. “We all share the same goal of ensuring a safe campus environment. We should work together to implement the law as written and thoughtfully address any complications that may arise.” Lawmakers gave no specific instructions on how campuses should implement the law, unlike other states where schools had some leeway. The legislation did contain an array of exempted spaces, leaving University System of Georgia leaders to sort out the details before the law takes effect July 1.

www.news.wabe.org
Ga. Universities Release Guidelines For ‘Campus Carry’ Law
http://news.wabe.org/post/ga-universities-release-guidelines-campus-carry-law?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=2d33a4cf93-eGaMorning-5_25_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-2d33a4cf93-86731974&mc_cid=2d33a4cf93&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By ASSOCIATED PRESS & MIRANDA HAWKINS
Georgia’s university system says campuses won’t provide gun storage facilities or signs when a new state law permitting concealed handguns takes effect this summer. The guidance released Wednesday also makes clear that people will be able to carry concealed weapons during tailgates. The law takes effect July 1 and allows people with state-issued permits to carry concealed weapons onto public campuses. Georgia previously banned guns on campuses. Lawmakers exempted numerous spaces, including athletic facilities, student housing, faculty offices and classes with enrolled high school students. The guidance tries to clear up questions about those exemptions and says it’s up to gun owners to know the law. For instance, it says gun owners must check with campus registrars to see if they share classrooms with high school students. Will Dasher, a rising senior at the University of Georgia, is in favor of campus carry. But he admits getting gun owners to check with their schools is going to be a challenge to enforce. …Dasher, who is old enough to carry, says he does plan to carry on campus and does plan to check with campus registrar before entering his classrooms. UGA sophomore Parrish McWhorter says even with guidelines, she doesn’t think she’ll feel safe with the new law.

www.myajc.com
Colleges’ campus carry rules raise questions for critics and supporters
http://www.myajc.com/news/local-education/colleges-campus-carry-rules-raise-questions-for-critics-and-supporters/odIs0SrFrHM1OESEiWftUL/
By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Students and faculty at some of Georgia’s largest public colleges raised questions and concerns about guidelines released Wednesday on how the state’s controversial campus carry law will work, particularly a provision that lets people carry firearms while tailgating. House Bill 280, passed by the Georgia Legislature and signed into law earlier this month by Gov. Nathan Deal, does not allow firearms at athletic events themselves, but does not prohibit them in parking lots where people tailgate. Tamelonie Thomas, who is attending Georgia Southern University this fall as a graduate student, is extremely worried about the tailgating guidelines, noting many people are drinking alcohol at those events. “Just imagine adding firearms to that,” said Thomas, who’s active in a student group that opposed the legislation. USG officials said after Deal signed the law it would offer guidance to its schools about how it would be implemented. Wednesday, they released a three-page memo sent to campuses largely reiterating some of the restrictions in the law and attempting to answer some lingering questions.

www.ajc.com
Campus carry law will allow guns at tailgating
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/campus-carry-law-will-allow-guns-tailgating/iX7EGw40CzOc5yqucE8IGN/
Eric Stirgus  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
University System of Georgia officials laid out guidelines Wednesday about how the state’s new controversial “campus carry” law will be implemented. While concealed weapons won’t be allowed inside athletics events, guns will be allowed at tailgating events, according to a two-page memo released by USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley. The USG will not provide gun storage facilities or post signs outside restricted areas, which some students and faculty requested. Law enforcement on the campuses of USG colleges and universities will solely be responsible for enforcing the law. The rules are for Georgia’s public colleges and universities.

www.macon.com
University System clarifies how campus carry law applies to tailgating
http://www.macon.com/sports/college/university-of-georgia/bulldogs-beat/uga-football/article152406069.html
BY JASON BUTT
While Georgia weapons license holders are barred from taking handguns into campus sporting events, they will be able to concealed carry while partaking in tailgating activities beforehand. In a news release, University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley clarified how the new campus carry law will be implemented. When mentioning the law’s exemption of “buildings and property used for athletic sporting events,” Wrigley elaborated on what exactly that means for the state’s universities. “This exception includes stadiums, gymnasiums and similar facilities in which intercollegiate games are staged (but does not extend to so-called ‘tailgating’ areas where fans may congregate outside the gates of the sports facility),” Wrigley wrote. “It does not extend to student recreation centers and similar facilities that are not used for intercollegiate games.”

www.onlineathens.com
Chancellor releases guidance on law allowing guns on college campuses
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2017-05-24/chancellor-releases-guidance-law-allowing-guns-college-campuses
By Lee Shearer
University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley released his promised guidance Wednesday concerning the new law allowing guns on college campuses. Passed by the legislature and signed by the governor earlier this year, the law takes effect July 1 and allows people with concealed-weapons permits to bring their guns on campus, previously prohibited. The law designates some areas where guns are still not allowed, such as classrooms in which high school students are enrolled, athletic facilities such as Sanford Stadium, on-campus student housing and on-campus preschool or child-care facilities, such as UGA’s McPhaul Center. To qualify for the child care-preschool exemption, the area must have controlled access limited to authorized personnel, according to Wrigley’s guidance. Guns are also prohibited in faculty and staff offices and in rooms used for any kind of student or employee disciplinary proceedings, notes the chancellor’s letter, sent out via email to University System of Georgia schools and colleges Wednesday. UGA President Jere Morehead posted the guidelines on a UGA listserv.

www.wgauradio.com
USG CHANCELLOR ISSUES “GUIDANCE” ON CAMPUS CARRY LAW
http://www.wgauradio.com/news/local/usg-chancellor-issues-guidance-campus-carry-law/8Ala0H03HTMOCPLww8WhzJ/
By: Bryant Tim
The controversial campus carry bill that passed in this year’s legislative session is, after receiving the signature of Governor Nathan Deal, set to become law later this year. The measure, which  would allow permitted students over the age of 21 to carry firearms on college campuses in Georgia, was opposed by University presidents around the state, UGA’s Jere Morehead among them. Now Steve Wrigley, a former University of Georgia administrator who is now the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, is issuing what he calls “guidelines regarding the implementation of House Bill 280.” Among them is the admonishment that “each institution will need to review its campus conduct and weapons policies to ensure that they comply with these changes to the law.” Following is text of a message from University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley…

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
USG offers guidance on campus carry law
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/usg-offers-guidance-on-campus-carry-law/article_0c04be1d-3a0f-5af4-a8cd-0c482b865fe2.html
By Keith Farner
Chancellor Steve Wrigley issued guidelines on Wednesday to schools across the state about how to handle the legislation commonly known as “campus carry,” which becomes law on July 1. “I understand that many of you have strong feelings about this bill,” Wrigley wrote in the statement. “Yet, whether you opposed or supported the legislation, it will soon be state law, and I respectfully ask everyone to exercise patience, understanding and respect as we implement it. We all share the same goal of ensuring a safe campus environment. We should work together to implement the law as written and thoughtfully address any complications that may arise.” Virtually every college president or university leader across the state was against the bill, including Georgia Gwinnett College President Stas Preczewski. Wrigley noted six points for how House Bill 280 should be implemented. Wrigley said that while current law already allows license-holders to keep weapons secured in motor vehicles, beginning on July 1, House Bill 280 will allow anyone who is properly licensed in Georgia to carry a concealed handgun on property owned or leased by public colleges and universities, with some exceptions.

www.hgazette.com
University System issues campus carry guidelines
http://www.hgazette.com/cnhi_network/university-system-issues-campus-carry-guidelines/article_bde0a11c-21f1-59b3-a075-ac5de476c54b.html
By Jill Nolin | CNHI State Reporter
ATLANTA – Concealed carry license holders on Georgia’s public college and university campuses will be responsible for knowing where handguns are allowed under a new state law, according to the University System of Georgia. The individual institutions will not place signage outside areas that are off limits to firearms, such as dorms and faculty offices. There will also be no gun storage facilities provided on campus.  USG released its guidelines Wednesday for implementing a controversial campus carry law that passed this session and that Gov. Nathan Deal signed earlier this month. The law, which also applies to technical colleges, goes into effect July 1. The memorandum, which was sent to colleges and universities across the state, clarified where firearms will continue to be banned. Handguns, for example, will still be prohibited at football stadiums, but not in tailgating areas or student recreation centers. It is also up to license holders themselves to find out from a school registrar if high school students are enrolled in a particular class where they intend to carry a gun. Firearms are not allowed in areas where high schoolers attend college through dual enrollment or other programs.

www.11alive.com
Guns at tailgates: They’re now legal in Georgia
http://www.11alive.com/news/politics/guns-at-tailgates-theyre-now-legal-in-georgia/442756339
Ryan Kruger, WXIA
Football, beer and guns? Until Wednesday, 11Alive never got a straight answer about whether Georgia’s new campus carry law applies to college tailgating. Now we know that your guns are welcome at all tailgates in Athens, Atlanta and every other public university. On Wednesday, 11Alive obtained the new guidelines handed down from Steve Wrigley, the chancellor of the University System of Georgia. While it’s long been known that college stadiums were exempt from the law, Wrigley wrote that after consulting with the office of legal affairs that the exemption “does not extend to so-called ‘tailgating’ areas where fans may congregate outside the gates of the sports facility.” “I had season tickets to the University of Georgia for 16 years. And I saw fights, plenty of flights,” said Doug Teper, an adjunct professor at Georgia State and an outspoken critic of campus carry. “Quite a few students are relatively immature; they have access to alcohol,” Teper said, “It’s just setting us up for a disaster.” But the guns will have to stay in the parking lot.

www.sportingnews.com
Concealed handguns will be allowed at Georgia, Ga. Tech tailgates
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/news/georgia-campus-carry-bill-exceptions-tailgating-uga-georgia-tech-georgia-southern-hb280/c4ekvojr8w7e16bcl2bbjxnrx
By Marc Lancaster
Georgia’s new “campus carry” law prevents fans from bringing weapons into stadiums and arenas at on-campus sporting events, but officials have determined that concealed handguns will be allowed at tailgates. The University System of Georgia on Wednesday issued “Guidelines for the Implementation of House Bill 280,” which becomes law July 1. The controversial measure will allow people to carry concealed handguns on state campuses, with several exceptions.

www.polk.allongeorgia.com
GA Colleges receive campus carry guidance – guns allowed at tailgates
http://polk.allongeorgia.com/ga-colleges-receive-campus-carry-guidance-guns-allowed-at-tailgates/
The University System of Georgia (USG) released guidance on Wednesday that says college campuses will not provide gun storage or signage when the new Campus Carry laws goes into effect this summer – July 1. According to USG’s guidance document, people over the age of 21 will be able to carry concealed weapons at tailgates with state-issued permits. Before the campus carry bill was signed into law this year, Georgia’s colleges banned guns on campuses. The Campus Carry law was opposed by the University of Georgia’s President, Jere Morehead, among others. Places, where concealed weapons are not permitted, include student housing, athletic facilities, faculty offices and classes that have enrolled high school students.  Gun owners to carry legally are expected to contact the campuses’ registrars office to see if they share classes with high school students. The following is a text communication released by the Chancellor of the University System of Georgia, Steve Wrigley, on the guidance process for concealed carrying of weapons on Georgia’s college campuses.

www.espn.com
New law allows for legal, concealed guns at Georgia tailgates
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/19455479/legal-concealed-guns-ok-georgia-bulldogs-tailgates
Edward Aschoff, ESPN Staff Writer
Under Georgia’s new “campus carry” legislation, anyone who is properly licensed in the state of Georgia to carry a handgun in a concealed manner will be allowed to do so while partaking in on-campus tailgating activities. University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley said in a news release Wednesday that while concealed weapons are prohibited from being taken into on-campus stadiums and arenas, concealed handguns will be allowed at tailgates. Wrigley wrote that there are a number of exceptions to the new law, which is known as House Bill 280 and will go into effect on July 1, that will limit the places handguns can be carried on campus. One category includes “buildings and property used for athletic sporting events.”

www..flagpole.com
Yes, UGA Tailgaters Can Carry Guns on Campus
http://flagpole.com/news/in-the-loop/yes-uga-tailgaters-can-carry-guns-on-campus?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=2d33a4cf93-eGaMorning-5_25_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-2d33a4cf93-86731974&mc_cid=2d33a4cf93&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Blake Aued
University of Georgia President Jere Morehead forwarded a memo from University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley to faculty, staff and students today laying out how the USG’s Office of Legal Affairs interprets the new campus carry law.  The law allows concealed-carry permit holders to carry handguns on public college and university campuses, with some exceptions: athletic events, dorms, fraternity and sorority houses, faculty and staff offices, classrooms where high-school students attend class, daycares and rooms where disciplinary hearings are held. But the law was written in such a way that it left much ambiguity about where, exactly, on campus guns are allowed, and when. Wrigley and university system lawyers attempted to offer some clarity. Journalism professor Barry Hollander was kind enough to post the full email, but here are some highlights.

www.georgiastatesignal.com
Georgia State makes effort to help students pay tuition in the face of increases

Georgia State makes effort to help students pay tuition in the face of increases

Online Editor
The University System of Georgia (USG) has recently decided to increase college tuition from rates as low as 2.5 percent to as high as 9 percent. Georgia Board of Regents approved this decision for Georgia State, along with Georgia Regents University, who will both experience a 5.5 percent increase in the fall. Georgia State will see a semester increase of $223. The AJC states that this increase is due to the research institutions’ need to stay competitive with schools nationwide, due to the school’s high demand. The increase is also necessary for the hiring of new faculty and the expenses required to operate the campuses as a whole, as well as the 3 percent increase in HOPE scholarships that will follow. To help combat this increase, schools like Georgia State have created what is known as a Panther Retention Grant. This grant helps aid students who are on the right track towards graduation but are not financially able to support their academic goals.

www.chattanoogan.com
Open Source Textbooks Contribute To College Affordability
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2017/5/24/348648/Open-Source-Textbooks-Contribute-To.aspx
Keeping college education affordable is a guiding principle at Dalton State, and one key way faculty members contribute is by collaborating to create open educational resources for their students allowing them to avoid buying costly textbooks for some classes. So far, 10 teams of Dalton State faculty and staff members have sought Affordable Learning Georgia grants to develop course materials, the second most such projects in the University System of Georgia. They have received more than $122 thousand in ALG grant funding to develop materials; cost savings to students over a three-year period could top $1 million.

www.savannahnow.com
New Armstrong-Georgia Southern academic structure approved
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-05-24/new-armstrong-georgia-southern-academic-structure-approved
By Savannah Morning News
The Armstrong State-Georgia Southern University Consolidation Implementation Committee reviewed and approved a new academic structure for a consolidated institution on Wednesday. The consolidated Georgia Southern will consist of nine colleges: the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, the College of Business, the College of Education, the Waters College of Health Professions, the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, the College of Science and Mathematics and the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies.

www.accesswdun.com
University of North Georgia signs agreement with Hungarian university
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/5/539883/university-of-north-georgia-signs-agreement-with-hungarian-university
By AccessWDUN staff
The University of North Georgia has signed an agreement creating a new partnership with the National University of Public Service in Budapest, only the third U.S. partner for the Hungarian university. The agreement was signed by UNG President Bonita Jacobs and NUPS President Andras Patyi in a ceremony held recently on UNG’s Dahlonega Campus. Administrators and faculty members from both universities were on-hand for the event. NUPS, which has more than 8,000 students including active duty military and law enforcement in graduate courses, was formed in 2012 through the Hungarian government’s merger of three separate educational institutions. The university’s mission is dedicated to offering a comprehensive education in all areas of public policy and national security and offers degrees through doctorate level. One of the goals of NUPS is to educate future career officers for the Hungarian army, an aspect shared with UNG as one of only six senior military colleges in the United States. The two universities also share common focus areas of international affairs and security, particularly cyber security. “The relationship we are forming is beneficial for both universities, and there is a great deal of excitement about what we are going to be able to accomplish together,” Jacobs said. “I look forward to a very long relationship that will provide new opportunities for students and cadets to expand their international understanding and advance the professional development of faculty and staff.”

www.foxla.com
Report finds California losing big budget film productions to other states
http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/256552067-story
By: Lauren Sivan , Jeffrey Thomas DeSocio
A new report out by the non profit group FilmLA shows California is losing the battle to keep blockbuster production in the state. “We’re losing our market share of the biggest box office films  to other places in the world,” says FilmLA President Paul Audley. “If you’re making a film for 250-million, California is not in a competition at all.” Nearly 3-years into California’s expanded tax credit program big budget film production is down.  According to the report, only three of the 100 top grossing films of 2016 were shot in California with state tax incentives. “You have the most talented crews, you have the venders you have all the infrastructure and resources here but in the modern film business – you have to go to a state with a film tax credit incentive to make the economics work, says LA based film producer Braxton Pope. The state that has lured the most lucrative productions is Georgia. “We understand it’s big business , It’s good business, and we have taken steps to ensure it is a permanent industry in our state,” says Georgia Film Academy Executive Director, Jeff Stepakoff. “Two years ago we opened the Georgia film Academy to provide the infrastructure for our film industry.” Growing infrastructure plus the most attractive tax credits in the industry has put Georgia on top according to the FilmLA report. “The truth is Georgia has spent more money than anyone in the world attracting feature films, they have spent $660 million last year alone,” says Audley.

Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Federal Student Aid Chief Resigns
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/05/25/federal-student-aid-chief-resigns?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=5044977b1a-DNU20170525&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-5044977b1a-197515277&mc_cid=5044977b1a&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Jim Runcie, the chief operating officer of the Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid, resigned Wednesday, the day before he was set to testify at a House of Representatives oversight subcommittee hearing. A leaked copy of Runcie’s resignation memo obtained by BuzzFeed indicated he did not agree with the direction of the department under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos or with orders for him to testify to the subcommittee. Republican lawmakers, meanwhile, issued statements attacking his record of handling the government’s $1.4 trillion student loan portfolio after news of his resignation.

www.insidehighered.com
DeVos: U.S. Will Make Good on Loan Forgiveness
Education secretary finally responds, without detail, to Democratic lawmakers who sought answers on status of promised student loan discharge claims for defrauded borrowers.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/05/25/devos-says-education-dept-will-provide-relief-students-promised-loan-discharge?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=5044977b1a-DNU20170525&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-5044977b1a-197515277&mc_cid=5044977b1a&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Andrew Kreighbaum
WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told lawmakers Wednesday that her department will follow through on promises to provide loan forgiveness to borrowers who attended for-profit colleges found to have defrauded students. “Those to whom we’ve made commitments, we are going to make good on that commitment and that is in process,” DeVos said at a House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee hearing on the department’s budget proposal. In a hearing in which members of Congress mostly quizzed the secretary about large proposed cuts to programs for students across the department in the White House budget, Massachusetts Democrat Katherine Clark pressed DeVos to affirm that the department would move forward with promised loan forgiveness.

www.chronicle.com
Education Dept. Will Reconsider Grant Applications Rejected for Formatting Problems
http://www.chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/education-dept-will-reconsider-grant-applications-rejected-for-formatting-problems/118622?elqTrackId=82839d4d63b1490ab8c9f3c2fcf027fc&elq=d14a9ca1fc274a65a02983ab29bf979e&elqaid=14069&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5885
by Goldie Blumenstyk
Betsy DeVos, the secretary of education, said on Wednesday that her department would reconsider 77 Upward Bound grant applications that the agency had previously rejected because of minor formatting problems. Ms. DeVos, testifying before a committee at the U.S. House of Representatives, said that the decision to reject the applications had been made “under the purview of the previous administration.” Under the existing rules, she said, the department had no legal remedy to reconsider the applications, despite pleas over the past several weeks from members of both parties in both chambers of Congress. That pressure intensified with Congress’s enacting this month of a budget for 2017 that provided $50 million in funds for the program. Several members of Congress said the budget had given the department an opening, if not an obligation, to act. On Wednesday, Ms. DeVos cited the $50-million allocation. The extra money “has materially changed our available options,” Ms. DeVos told the committee. The Upward Bound program, which dates to the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, provides funds for colleges and other organizations to help low-income students prepare for college. Following the uproar over the rejected grant applications, Ms. DeVos issued a department-wide memo forbidding any mandatory formatting rules for future grant applications.

www.diverseeducation.com
Higher Ed Policy Experts Placing Premium on Student Privacy
http://diverseeducation.com/article/96993/?utm_campaign=DIV1705%20DAILY%20NEWSLETTER%20MAY25&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
by Monica Levitan
WASHINGTON — As education and workforce subcommittee members and policy experts attending a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill examined ways to help students and families make higher education decisions, they were reminded that student privacy should always be priority. “The need to provide students and policymakers with more information — no matter how valuable that information may be — should never come at the expense of student privacy,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). “Quite frankly, we don’t really know what’s working and what’s not. “As policymakers, we need to be better equipped to conduct proper oversight of how taxpayer dollars are being spent.” The hearing, titled “Empowering Students and Families to Make Informed Decisions on Higher Education,” was a discussion of ways to improve the Higher Education Act, increase transparency and ensure federal student aid programs are sufficient.