University System News:
www.usnews.com
10 Low-Cost Online Colleges for Out-of-State Students
Out-of-state students pay an average of $198 per credit – $25,166 total – for these online bachelor’s programs, U.S. News data show.
https://www.usnews.com/higher-education/online-education/the-short-list-online-programs/articles/2018-01-09/10-low-cost-online-bachelors-programs-for-out-of-state-students
By Jordan Friedman, Editor
The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search. As more colleges and universities launch online undergraduate degree programs, many prospective students are weighing multiple options. During that process, cost is among the top factors they consider, according to a 2017 survey by Aslanian Market Research and the Learning House, a company that helps colleges and universities create online programs. For out-of-state students, there are many low-cost options when it comes to online bachelor’s degrees, in some cases being even more affordable than in-state schools. Among the 145 ranked online colleges that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the College of Coastal Georgia tops the list of the cheapest for out-of-state students during the 2017-2018 school year. The school charges $136 per credit, for a total program cost of $16,320. …University of West Georgia; Georgia Southern University
www.myajc.com
Ranking names Kennesaw State online MBA program as the best in Georgia
http://www.myajc.com/news/local/ranking-names-kennesaw-state-online-mba-program-the-best-georgia/nk25VpgBHnRSakPLOHYikL/
By Ben Brasch – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re looking to dig into some numbers during your off-time by enrolling in an online MBA program, you can’t do much better than Kennesaw State University. That’s according to U.S. News & World Report, which released its 2018 national ranking of such programs Tuesday. KSU’s Master of Business Administration program ranked No. 19, tied with Lehigh University and Pepperdine University. That makes it the tops in Georgia.
www.middlegeorgiaceo.com
Middle Georgia State is a Top Choice of High School Students Starting College Early
http://middlegeorgiaceo.com/news/2018/01/middle-georgia-state-top-choice-high-school-students-starting-college-early/
Sheron Smith
It’s not as though Desmond Talton didn’t have enough to keep him busy. In addition to his classes at Macon’s Westside High School, where he is a senior, Talton participates in the Beta Club and Technology Student Association. He also plays right offensive guard for the Seminoles. In the fall, football practice consumes his weekday afternoons. Yet the 17-year-old decided to take on even more when he became a dual-enrollment student at Middle Georgia State University. “When I heard about dual enrollment I just couldn’t see myself turning it down,” said Talton, an aspiring engineer who is taking psychology and college algebra at the Macon Campus this semester. “It’s a way to get started earning college credits, and it looks good on your record.” Middle Georgia State is a popular choice for students such as Talton who want to start college before they’ve graduated from high school. In the last two years, the number of dually enrolled students at MGA has ranked in the top seven of University System of Georgia schools.
www.sgamag.com
Valdosta State University Determined to Become Catalyst for Regional Comprehensive Progress
Valdosta State Determined to Become Catalyst for Regional Comprehensive Progress
by Thressea Boyd
It didn’t take long for Valdosta State University President Richard A. Carvajal to become an integral part of Blazer Nation and the community he now serves. During the first few weeks and months—in between delivering donuts and impromptu chats around campus with students—Carvajal convened a series of listening sessions, both on and off campus. “When I first arrived I had a lot of informal conversations with students, faculty, staff, and friends of the university,” said Carvajal, who became Valdosta State’s 10th president on Jan. 1, 2017. “This was a time to listen and gather information about what it means to plant our flag. And by that I mean, what is Valdosta State’s regional mission?” …While the listening sessions were fully engaged, Carvajal began to notice a reoccurring theme focused on VSU’s need to have a shared vision. “We continued to hear that people want Valdosta State to be a leader in advancing the region’s progress and prosperity in the areas of economic development, education, and healthcare,” Carvajal said. “As the region’s flagship institution, we must help our region to prosper.” Carvajal said Valdosta State not only has the responsibility but also the resources to assist.
www.savannahnow.com
UGA college offering smoking cessation classes
http://savannahnow.com/news/2018-01-09/uga-college-offering-smoking-cessation-classes
By Alexia Ridley WUGA / Athens Banner-Herald
Did you make a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking? The University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy is reaching out to those who want to kick the habit. After a successful fall session, pharmacy students are taking part in a Beat the Pack Tobacco Cessation Program this spring. During the six-week course, the trained students engage those who want to quit in group activities and individual coaching. Classes will be held 5:45-7 p.m. Thursdays starting Jan. 25. Professor Kay Brooks is the lead instructor. “You’re always more successful in a group than by yourself,” said Brooks. “What the programs offer is an opportunity to have coaches who are knowledgeable about the cessation program, but can also offer you information or maybe some directions that you hadn’t thought about before and some support as well.” Registration is now open for members of the UGA community and others. The classes are free, but Brooks says those taking part are asked to commit to as many sessions as possible.
www.savannahnow.com
New chance for Georgia bill on campus sex-assault hearings
http://savannahnow.com/news/politics/2018-01-10/new-chance-georgia-bill-campus-sex-assault-hearings
By Associated Press
ATLANTA — A stalled proposal to impose new rules and limits on how Georgia colleges handle sexual violence cases was given a new chance Tuesday in the legislature, though the measure’s author said he no longer sees a pressing need for it. On the second day of the 2018 session, the state Senate voted without debate to move House Bill 51 to a new committee after the Senate Judiciary Committee left it in legislative limbo without a vote last year. The measure’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Earl Ehrhart of Powder Springs, said last year that safeguards were needed to prevent campus disciplinary proceedings from tarnishing the reputations of students accused of rapes and assaults while denying them due process. …Ehrhart said Tuesday that most of what he hoped to accomplish has been adopted in recent months by other federal and state agencies. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos last fall scrapped federal rules created under President Barack Obama and replaced them with interim guidance allowing schools to use a higher standard of evidence for reviewing complaints than the previous rules allowed. And in August the Board of Regents, which governs Georgia’s public universities, enacted new policies giving the state University System greater oversight of disciplinary cases that may result in suspension or expulsion.
Higher Education News:
www.wabe.org
Report: 6 Steps Georgia Can Take To Make College Affordable
https://www.wabe.org/report-6-steps-georgia-can-take-make-college-affordable/
MARTHA DALTON
More jobs these days require some kind of college education. The rising cost of higher education stands between a lot of Georgians and their diplomas. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute has issued some recommendations to make college more affordable and accessible. The first suggestion is an idea lawmakers and education advocates have been talking about for years: creating a needs-based financial aid program. That means students could qualify for aid based on family income, unlike Georgia’s HOPE program, which requires good grades and test scores. GBPI higher education policy analyst Jennifer Lee authored the report. She said there’s been an increasing demand for a needs-based aid program since the recession began. “… as college tuition is going up, as the state budget has been investing less money per student in higher education, and as students are needing these college credentials more and more for jobs … it’s getting to a point where lawmakers, I think on both sides, are recognizing that this is really a big gap that Georgia needs to address,” Lee said.
www.npr.org
Congress Changed 529 College Savings Plans, And Now States Are Nervous
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/01/08/575167214/congress-changed-529-college-savings-plans-and-now-states-are-nervous
Cory Turner
If you’re like most Americans, you don’t have a 529 college savings plan. If you’re like most Americans, you don’t even know what it is. All the more reason to keep reading. That’s because, with the new tax law, Republicans have made important changes to 529 plans that will affect millions of taxpayers, not just the ones saving for college. Before that news, though, a quick primer. A 529 plan lets families save money for college. Think of it as a love child, born in the mid ’90s to your federal and state governments. And they named it, in a flash of creativity, after its relevant section in the Internal Revenue Code.
www.chronicle.com
Justice Department Has Begun Investigation of Admission Association’s Ethics Code
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Justice-Department-Has-Begun/242196?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=f466f5db82b7498b947543fe83c1eec3&elq=19d8ac3361fa48f5aa6988df00d96b78&elqaid=17380&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7579
By Eric Hoover
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s ethics code violates federal antitrust law. Recently, the department requested information from admissions officers and college counselors who last year helped revamp the association’s new code of ethical standards, known as the “Statement of Principles of Good Practice.” Two admissions officials who received the letter said the department is apparently investigating whether colleges have agreed to “restrain trade” within the student-recruitment process. The code, which has been revised over the years, is meant to protect college applicants’ interests in the increasingly competitive enrollment realm. “It guides our actions in the face of current and emerging pressures,” the document says. “It empowers us to build trust and find common ground while we work to ensure that every student’s dignity, worth, and potential are realized in the transition to postsecondary education.”
www.chronicle.com
The Paradox of Protecting Students
In shielding students from sexual harassers, professors support a broken system.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Paradox-of-Protecting/242191?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=b963fb71f220405cb4f711ed909da37d&elq=19d8ac3361fa48f5aa6988df00d96b78&elqaid=17380&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7579
By Juliana Spahr and Stephanie Young
While nearly every day brings news of someone banished from the entertainment industry — Harvey Weinstein, Garrison Keillor, Louis C.K. — the situation in the academy is very different. Only a small number of tenured faculty members have lost their jobs in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Of course, this isn’t a result of any lack of allegations. A crowdsourced survey on instances of sexual harassment organized by Karen L. Kelsky is at 1,900 responses and counting. Those in power seem to be protected, defended, and, only if things get bad enough, placed on administrative leave. The Chronicle’s coverage of recent cases is full of examples. At worst, faculty members, like senators, retire. When they are fired, it’s often because they didn’t have tenure.