University System News:
www.savannahnow.com
Academic structure for new Armstrong-Georgia Southern coming next month
http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-07-26/academic-structure-new-armstrong-georgia-southern-coming-next-month
By Dash Coleman
An academic plan for a combined Armstrong-Georgia Southern University will be complete early next month. Georgia Southern President Jaimie Hebert says officials from both schools are working with University System of Georgia staff to finalize departmental structures, program locations and key hires. “With the exception of one or two small issues, we are wrapping up that full academic plan, and we want to roll it out as a single plan,” Hebert said Wednesday at Armstrong after the penultimate meeting of a committee tasked with figuring out how to implement the state-mandated consolidation of the two schools.
www.albanyherald.com
Albany State reports possible NCAA violations
ASU has brought in outside counsel to address possible NCAA violations
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/local/colleges_universities/albany-state-reports-possible-ncaa-violations/article_8eea33be-5e2a-560d-939d-290fd28063e0.html#utm_source=albanyherald.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fbreaking%2F%3F-dc%3D1501088466&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
By Jim Hendricks
Albany State University officials, following internal and external reviews, have reported possible violations of ASU’s athletics programs to the NCAA. A statement Wednesday afternoon announcing the report to the NCAA did not detail what the possible violations were nor did it say which program or programs were under scrutiny. There also was no indication of how many student-athletes or coaches might be involved. The school said the possible violations were discovered after Sherie C. Gordon, director of athletics, conducted an NCAA compliance review. The review was in response to ASU President Art Dunning’s directive for all new institutional leaders to formally assess all functions of their units. Gordon was named A.D. last September. According to Albany State’s statement on the issue, concurrent internal and external reviews of ASU’s athletics programs were conducted.
Higher Education News:
www.insidehighered.com
Another Edge for the Wealthy
Many colleges favor applicants who show “demonstrated interest” — and the way they measure it puts those without money at a disadvantage, study finds.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/27/study-says-common-admissions-practice-measuring-demonstrated-interest-favors?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=787362acc0-DNU20170727&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-787362acc0-197515277&mc_cid=787362acc0&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Scott Jaschik
“Demonstrated interest” is one of the admissions criteria used by many competitive colleges — even though it may not have anything to do with an applicant’s intelligence or character. The term refers to ways that an applicant shows he or she is serious about enrolling at a given college. An applicant who calls with questions about a particular program is more valued than one who doesn’t communicate beyond applying. An applicant who visits shows more demonstrated interest than one who doesn’t, and so forth. Many colleges factor in demonstrated interest to admissions and aid decisions, wanting to admit applicants who will enroll. The idea is to have better planning and to improve the yield, the percentage of admitted applicants who enroll. A new research paper suggests that demonstrated interest has become another way wealthy students have an extra edge — and recommends that colleges consider policy changes as a result.
www.chronicle.com
How One State’s Budget Crisis Has Hamstrung Its Public Universities
http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-One-State-s-Budget/240760?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=05b7f4b4c10c4754985fd674ef6b0e5f&elq=4fb13c0dc1f547d3b5c22b525e29670f&elqaid=14898&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6308
By Nell Gluckman
Louisiana’s public colleges and universities breathed a sigh of relief in June when the state Legislature passed a budget that held the state’s spending on higher education steady. The state’s scholarship program, known as the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, was fully funded after being cut back last year. But the effects of nearly a decade of steep cuts will be hard to shake off. Though most people associated with the state’s four university systems are relieved by the 2017 budget, Louisiana still faces about a $1-billion budget shortfall. It’s unlikely that the state will close the gap by raising taxes. …Louisiana had already lagged behind other states in education investment and degree attainment before 2008. And while it’s certainly not the only state to force universities to cut programs and consolidate administrative offerings, other states have already begun to restore their funding of public higher education.
www.insidehighered.com
Trump Administration Has Approved No Borrower Defense Claims
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/07/27/trump-administration-has-approved-no-borrower-defense-claims?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=787362acc0-DNU20170727&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-787362acc0-197515277&mc_cid=787362acc0&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Andrew Kreighbaum
The U.S. Department of Education has not approved any borrower defense applications since the beginning of the Trump administration, a department official told Democratic senators this month. Borrower defense to repayment, until recently an obscure provision of the Higher Education Act, allows borrowers to seek to have their student loan debt discharged if they were the victim of fraud or misrepresentation by their college or university. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced last month that she would suspend and overhaul an ambitious Obama administration borrower defense rule that established federal guidelines for discharge of loans. She said at the time that the department will continue to process claims submitted under existing rules.
www.insidehighered.com
Uncertainty on Trump’s Transgender Order
Military academies have had transgender students, but impact of president’s shift is unknown.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/07/27/order-transgender-troops-could-shake-service-academies?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=787362acc0-DNU20170727&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-787362acc0-197515277&mc_cid=787362acc0&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Nick Roll
On Wednesday morning, President Donald Trump announced via Twitter that his administration would roll back previous guidelines that allowed transgender individuals to openly serve in the military. “[P]lease be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military,” Trump announced in a tweet. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender [sic] in the military would entail.” It is unclear what impact this policy could have on U.S. service academies and other military programs, several of which either have or formerly had transgender students enrolled. …How much of that is reversed — including admission to service academies and participation in ROTC programs — by Trump’s new announcement is not clear. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on how the new policy would apply specifically to service academies and ROTC programs.