University System News:
www.ajc.com
Georgia governor tells state agencies not to ask for more money
http://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/georgia-governor-tells-state-agencies-not-ask-for-more-money/Za5MKBbM0MtOk8iiWhkN8J/
James Salzer The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With pension, school, transportation and health care costs rising, state lawmakers aren’t likely to have a lot of money left over for things like teacher pay raises next year. That was made clear in Gov. Nathan Deal’s instructions to state agencies this week as they begin constructing their budget proposals for the upcoming year.

www.myajc.com
Georgia governor, once again, warns agencies to keep hold on budgets
http://www.myajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/georgia-governor-once-again-warns-agencies-keep-hold-budgets/c6A8K86SmSlP0R2x6O0v5M/
By James Salzer – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Good times or bad, Gov. Nathan Deal warns state agencies each summer not to plan on getting any more money to spend in the coming year. This time around he may have a good reason. Most if not all of the new tax money the state will take in next year is likely spoken for as another huge teacher pension bill comes due and school and health care costs continue to rise. “Any growth we are going to see is going to be eaten up naturally,” said House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn. “It’s all got a name and a number beside it.” Teresa MacCartney, the governor’s budget director, sent out budget instructions Tuesday making it clear to state agency directors that most shouldn’t ask for anything new when they develop their spending proposals for the upcoming year. …“To ensure we are able to fund these priorities, agencies are to maintain (fiscal year) 2018 spending levels for agency programs.” The state’s latest budget year, fiscal 2018, began July 1. State agencies will spend the next couple of months developing spending plans for the upcoming fiscal year and then submitting them to Deal for his consideration. The governor will present his budget proposal to the General Assembly in January.
Every year much of the state’s growth in revenue is used up by a corresponding growth in the cost of Medicaid — the public health care program for the poor and disabled — k-12 schools and colleges. Public schools and colleges are funded using a per-student formula, and enrollment, particularly in k-12 schools, always goes up in Georgia. Each student carries a corresponding increase in school costs for the state. In addition, the state faces another huge bump in payments to the Teacher Retirement System, which covers about 400,000 teachers, University System of Georgia employees and retired educators.

www.ajc.com
Georgia State received record $147 million in research funding
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/georgia-state-received-record-147-million-research-funding/YxDrFlIs1Tw0bmSjYuxisI/
Eric Stirgus
Georgia State University continues to collect big bucks for research projects. The university pulled in $147 million during the 2016-17 fiscal year, setting a record for research funding for the sixth consecutive year, officials announced Thursday. Much of the money came from the federal government’s National Institutes of Health. GSU said there was a major increase in funding for health and biomedical research. The university received $20 million for its Institute for Biomedical Sciences and more than $16 million to research in the School of Public Health. …Georgia State earned its designation as a major research institution in 1995.

www.myajc.com
Georgia among top 15 states with most student debt
http://www.myajc.com/news/world/georgia-among-top-states-with-most-student-debt/MlaQxtcISR2HzHHWLuoDaK/
By Najja Parker – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The cost for a college education is pretty steep, and many graduates often have to pay back tons after snagging their diploma. Unfortunately, some locations owe more than others, because Georgia is among the states with the most student debt, according to WalletHub. …Ohio took first place, overall, and Mississippi took second.  Georgia followed closely behind at No. 12, overall, and it was No. 12 for student-loan indebtedness and No. 34 for grant and student work opportunities. It also was No. 3 for the highest student debt as percentage of income.

www.accesswdun.com
UNG ranks in Forbes’ America’s Top Colleges for second year in a row
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/8/566287/ung-ranks-in-forbes-americas-top-colleges-for-second-year-in-a-row
By Alyson Shields Reporter
The University of North Georgia has been named to the annual Forbes Magazine’s “America’s Top Colleges” for the second year in a row. UNG was ranked as number 173 out of public universities, one of five public universities from Georgia on the list. UNG was also ranked 119 among both public and private schools in the south. The ranking names the top 650 public and private universities, measuring each on on return on investment, impact, leadership and success, and student-consumer experience.

www.forbes.com
25 Top Colleges That Dominate Academically And Athletically
https://www.forbes.com/sites/huntersharf/2017/08/02/25-top-colleges-that-dominate-academically-and-athletically/#6e1802767c3d
Hunter Sharf, Contributor
When deciding on a college, most high schoolers and their families think about academics first and foremost. But for many others, a college tradition rooted in athletic prowess is equally important.
Public Schools Dominate:
Nearly 70% of this list of schools that shine in the classroom and on the field is made up of large state universities. This should not come as a total surprise, given larger schools reputation for athletic success and ability to spend lavishly on athletics. In the latest data released by the U.S. Department of Education, 22 of the 25 colleges and universities with the highest athletic expenses are public schools – the three highest spenders were University of Texas at Austin at $155 million, The Ohio State University at $151 million and University of Michigan at $140 million. …17. University of Georgia

www.albanyherald.com
Evans named ABAC School of Arts and Sciences dean
Official’s duties expand with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College consolidation
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/local/evans-named-abac-school-of-arts-and-sciences-dean/article_2a9001af-efbe-547f-9927-3eb855bba33f.html
Staff Reports
Johnny Evans has been named dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Evans’ new position took effect on July 1 because of the restructuring of the schools of study at ABAC. He had been dean of the School of Science and Mathematics since 2013. The School of Arts and Sciences will now house the departments of English and Communication, Fine Arts, History and Political Science, Science and Mathematics, and Rural Sociology. The announcement a year ago regarding the consolidation of schools at ABAC was achieved on July 1. In the new structure, all general education core curriculum courses are offered through the School of Arts and Sciences. Previously, three schools and three deans had oversight for those courses. “Now, with the consolidation into one school, we needed an experienced dean to lead and guide the programs,” Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Jerry Baker said. “This consolidation will also merge the faculty and the cultures that have allowed the previous programs to be successful. “The administration has confidence in Dr. Evans to administer this merger and help ABAC deliver a broad and diverse set of courses that will be taken by all students at ABAC, regardless of their major.”

www.ledger-enquirer.com
Columbus attorney Butler takes lead in establishing legal services clinic for veterans at UGA
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article165051982.html?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=3b0a09a49f-eGaMorning-8_3_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-3b0a09a49f-86731974&mc_cid=3b0a09a49f&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
By Larry Gierer
A lead gift from Columbus attorney James. E. “Jim” Butler Jr. is leading the way in establishing a Veterans Legal Services Clinic at the University of Georgia Law School. The action was announced on the University of Georgia website Wednesday. Other Columbus attorneys are also playing a role. In an article by Heidi Murphy, Butler said he made the lead gift in memory of his father Lt. Cmdr. James E. Butler Sr. who was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy. According to the report, the clinic will provide veterans in Georgia with legal assistance they might not otherwise have access to or be able to afford, with particular regard to denied or deferred claims before the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It also includes an educational scholarship component.

Higher Education News:
www.macon.com
VECTR puts veterans on the open road
http://www.macon.com/news/local/community/houston-peach/article165006327.html
By Wayne Crenshaw
Steve Lockhart served in the Air Force for 21 years loading bombs, and after he retired he went into truck driving. As it turns out, there are a lot of similarities between military service and driving a big rig across the open roads of America. “Veterans make good truck drivers because we are used to hurry up and wait,” said Lockhart, an instructor with the truck driving program located at the Georgia Veterans Education Career Transition Resource Center, or VECTR, in Warner Robins. “To be a good truck driver you’ve got to be disciplined. You’ve got to make deliveries on time and do what needs to be done.” VECTR celebrated its one year anniversary with an open house Wednesday. Truck driving has been one of the center’s most popular programs in its first year, said Patricia Ross, the center director and a retired Air Force colonel. …The VECTR Center is operated by Central Georgia Technical College and serves veterans throughout the state. The truck driving school used to be at the college’s main campus but was moved to VECTR, where it serves both veterans and civilians. Other programs offered at VECTR include information technology, welding and heating and air conditioning repair. It is billed as a “one-stop shop” for veterans and active duty military members looking to make the transition to civilian life. In addition to education, it also connects veterans with local services that can help them with personal needs.

www.insidehighered.com
Senate Passes GI Bill Update
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2017/08/03/senate-passes-gi-bill-update?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=75303539b2-DNU20170803&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-75303539b2-197515277&mc_cid=75303539b2&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Andrew Kreighbaum
The Senate unanimously passed an ambitious update to the Post-9/11 GI Bill Wednesday, just over a week after the House of Representatives passed an identical version of the legislation. The bill will next head to President Trump’s desk. Among other provisions, the package would lift the current 15-year time limit for veterans to use GI Bill benefits for postsecondary education. It also would restore benefits used to earn credits at closed institutions such as those operated by Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech, which enrolled a large number of veterans as students. The legislation also would expand access to student aid for members of the National Guard and reservists and would grant full eligibility for student aid to Purple Heart recipients, regardless of their length of service. House leaders moved the bill swiftly through that chamber, introducing it, holding hearings and scheduling a vote in just over a week. It took about as long for the bill to move through the Senate. The legislation received broad support from a wide range of veterans’ groups and education advocates.

www.educationdive.com
Is the HBCU bubble next in line to burst?
http://www.educationdive.com/news/hbcu-bubble-next-in-line-to-burst/448118/
Autumn A. Arnett
Dive Brief:
A perfect storm of fractured board-president relationships, abysmal alumni giving, budget cuts from state and federal governments and declining enrollment is plaguing all of higher education, but for historically black colleges and universities, which already struggle to come up from behind their majority-serving peers, the bubble may be poised to pop even sooner than some think.
Jarrett Carter, who recently withdrew from consideration for executive director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs, wrote in a column Thursday that the community as a whole would be better served to build capacity and strengthen 50 institutions, predicting more than half of the sector will close in the next decade.

www.wlrn.org
Florida Expands Financial Aid Program For College Students
http://wlrn.org/post/florida-expands-financial-aid-program-college-students
By Teresa Frontado
As Florida students return to universities and state colleges this month for a new academic year, many will benefit from a major expansion of need-based financial aid. Florida’s main program aimed at students with financial need, known as “student assistance grants,” will expand to cover a record 234,824 students in the 2017-18 academic year, an increase of 112,495 students from last year, according to an estimate approved Wednesday by state analysts. The 92 percent increase in eligible students is a result of the Legislature this year providing an additional $121 million for the program, for a total of $269.4 million in the new school year. The students will receive an average grant of $1,147, with a maximum award up to $2,610. The money does not have to be repaid.

www.chronicle.com
Trump May Find No Easy Targets if He Attacks Race in Admissions
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Trump-May-Find-No-Easy-Targets/240836?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=b40f7b8906074fceb2b8645beec52671&elq=93c1f70525e1442480902eaa2f4706e4&elqaid=15009&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6366
By Peter Schmidt
The nation’s long fight over affirmative action at colleges has flared back up with a report this week that the Trump administration’s Justice Department plans to go after race-conscious admissions policies. While colleges have good reason to be concerned about such news, the fears it has aroused in them may be exaggerated and somewhat misplaced. Why? For starters, whether the administration actually plans to broadly attack such policies remains unclear. The Justice Department has called inaccurate the idea, first publicized Tuesday in a New York Times article, that it is preparing to investigate, and possibly sue, multiple colleges over race-conscious admissions practices. Sarah Flores, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said in a statement issued Wednesday that all the agency currently has in the works is a single investigation of a single university, based on a discrimination complaint filed by 64 Asian-American groups. She did not specify what institution will be examined, but the time frame she gives for the complaint — May 2015 — corresponds with an announcement by more than 60 Asian-American groups that they asked for federal investigations into whether Harvard University systematically discriminates against Asian-American applicants.

www.chronicle.com
Sometimes, Perceptions of Affirmative Action Don’t Mesh With Reality
http://www.chronicle.com/article/Sometimes-Perceptions-of/240837?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=0e5a6b2d8ee046d798e7a03e5642e07f&elq=93c1f70525e1442480902eaa2f4706e4&elqaid=15009&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6366
By Adam Harris
Several refrains marked the election campaign of Donald Trump. “Make America great again.” “Build the wall.” But another phrase commonly uttered by the president continues to animate his base: “The system is rigged.” This sentiment also underscored some reactions to a recent report from The New York Times, based on a memo it had obtained, which generated concerns about how the Trump administration’s Department of Justice would investigate race-conscious admissions policies on college campuses. But for others, who believe the policies unfairly hamper some applicants’ shot at their dream institutions, it was a breath of fresh air. A Justice Department spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, clarified on Wednesday that the memo was a “personnel posting” and that the department “has not received or issued any directive, memorandum, initiative or policy related to university admissions in general.” Instead, she said, the department would be taking on a case regarding Asian-American students from May 2015. The dust-up this week has breathed new life into the conversation about affirmative action on campuses — and about whom it benefits and who loses out.

www.chronicle.com
How Colleges Can Prepare for Scrutiny of Their Admissions Policies
http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-Colleges-Can-Prepare-for/240835?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=a7e432c8c5d341e1b42e41abacc9833e&elq=93c1f70525e1442480902eaa2f4706e4&elqaid=15009&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6366
By Beckie Supiano
report published on Tuesday night in The New York Times that the U.S. Department of Justice is planning “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions” made waves this week in higher-education circles. The story has continued to evolve. On Wednesday morning a department official told The Chronicle in a written statement that the document on which the Times’s report was based was a “personnel posting” that did “not reflect a new policy or program or any changes to longstanding DOJ policy.” Later in the day the department said it was “seeking volunteers” for a particular investigation, which The Wall Street Journal reported involves a complaint by Asian-American groups that accused Harvard University of racial bias in admissions. The “personnel posting” did not signal a broader shift in direction or a new policy, the department said. …If the department does in fact take a closer look at race-conscious admissions, what should colleges — or at least the selective colleges that use that form of affirmative action — do?

www.chronicle.com
The Real Threat to Affirmative Action
http://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Real-Threat-to-Affirmative/240832?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=aa94e2a4104d402b93dd530539cf047f&elq=93c1f70525e1442480902eaa2f4706e4&elqaid=15009&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=6366
By Erwin Chemerinsky
No one should be surprised to see the Trump administration’s Justice Department begin a process to investigate and potentially sue colleges that engage in race-conscious admissions for discriminating against white applicants. Conservatives have long staunchly opposed affirmative action. Furthermore, the beleaguered Trump administration is looking to appeal to its conservative base. While the understandable reaction among university leaders may be to scramble to assess their liability, they should not overreact to this news. Until the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court changes, the Trump administration is unlikely to have much success in challenging affirmative-action programs. In June 2016, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the Court reaffirmed that colleges have a compelling interest in maintaining a diverse student body, and they may use race as one of many factors in the admissions process.

www.insidehighered.com
Preparing for Scrutiny
U of Texas prevailed in affirmative action case in large part because of its research. Will other colleges be able to match that analysis? And will legal and political battles change if focus is on rejected Asian-American applicants?
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/08/03/experts-consider-where-colleges-could-face-most-scrutiny-over-affirmative-action?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=75303539b2-DNU20170803&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-75303539b2-197515277&mc_cid=75303539b2&mc_eid=8f1f949a06
By Scott Jaschik
Many college leaders and diversity advocates were stunned by the news Tuesday that the U.S. Justice Department is preparing to investigate and sue colleges over their affirmative action policies. Just over a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the admissions policies of the University of Texas at Austin, which include consideration of race and ethnicity. As a result, many educators were not expecting a sustained challenge to affirmative action this soon. Experts on higher education law said that ruling, as well as one three years earlier, also involving the University of Texas, and another in 2003 on policies at the University of Michigan, were clear on a principle underlying many college policies to consider race and ethnicity in admissions. Diversity has educational value, and colleges are entitled to pursue diverse student bodies, the decisions all said. But that’s only part of the equation. The Supreme Court decisions were clear that colleges can’t just say that their policies are designed to promote diversity and assume all is well. They must document that they have considered alternatives, that they are monitoring the impact of their programs, and much more. A college with the best of intentions but lacking that kind of documentation may be vulnerable, experts agreed.

www.jbhe.com
Education Department Report Documents Educational Inequality in the United States

Education Department Report Documents Educational Inequality in the United States

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a 180-page report presenting data on educational attainment of people in various racial and ethnic groups in the nation. The report contains data on African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, American Indians and other ethnic groups. There are detailed tables on enrollments, educational achievement, retention, student behavior, degree attainments, and outcomes of education.