University System News:
www.myajc.com
Budget proposes more for colleges; lawmakers discuss aid to students
http://www.myajc.com/news/local-education/budget-proposes-more-for-colleges-lawmakers-discuss-aid-students/uB8hlTAQImMmRDdEkRGT3L/
By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State lawmakers discussed during budget hearings Tuesday how they can help more Georgia students enroll in college, stay there and take the classes they need. Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed budget increases general spending for the University System of Georgia by nearly $117 million, to about $2.4 billion and the Technical College System of Georgia by $5.7 million to a total of nearly $367 million. The budget includes a 3 percent increase in HOPE scholarships and grants, totaling about $68.1 million. Deal also wants to add $51 million to the USG’s budget for enrollment growth. The University System of Georgia reported enrollment at its institutions for the fall 2017 semester was at an all-time high, with more than 325,000 students.

www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Gov. Nathan Deal issues state of emergency, state offices to remain closed Thursday
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gov-nathan-deal-issues-state-of-emergency-due-to-winter/article_0f0db898-fb35-11e7-abfb-5f94e07f6076.html
From Staff Reports
Gov. Nathan Deal issued a state of emergency due to winter weather for 83 counties, spanning much of central and north Georgia. State government offices will remain closed Thursday, he said, acting on a recommendation from the state Emergency Operations Command.

www.ajc.com
LIVE UPDATES: Snow, icy roads lead to crashes, cancellations, delays
http://www.ajc.com/weather/live-updates-stay-off-the-roads-snow-and-threat-ice-linger/TP1iHAeWBajIBd8ULeZGQN/
Lauren Foreman Raisa Habersham  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SCHOOLS: Atlanta schools to remain closed Thursday because of cold, ice …Many schools and local governments have already announced closings for Thursday, and the governor declared a state of emergency for 83 counties amid arctic temperatures and harsh winter conditions. … Here’s how the day is unfolding: 3:55 p.m.: Kennesaw State University, Georgia State University, Emory University, including the Oxford campus, and Georgia Gwinnett College are closed Thursday due to inclement weather. …10:50 a.m.: State government offices will remain closed for non-essential personnel Thursday across the 83 counties impacted by winter weather, Gov. Nathan Deal said.

www.ajc.com
Update: Metro Atlanta’s largest colleges closed Wednesday
http://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/metro-atlanta-colleges-adjust-schedules-forecasts-call-for-rough-weather/pc2errnjqoXvn5X9GFVVfJ/?utm_source=eGaMorning&utm_campaign=b949943cd6-eGaMorning-1_17_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-b949943cd6-86731974&mc_cid=b949943cd6&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56
Eric Stirgus and Amanda C. Coyne
Some of Metro Atlanta and North Georgia largest college campuses announced online overnight that are cancelling classes Wednesday and other activities as snow covers the region. The campuses that have announced closures include:
The University of Georgia
Georgia State University
Georgia Tech
Emory University
Kennesaw State University
Clark Atlanta University
Morehouse College
Spelman College
Mercer University
The University of West Georgia
Savannah College of Art and Design
Dalton State College
Gwinnett Technical College
Georgia Piedmont Technical College
University of North Georgia
Georgia Gwinnett College

www.wfxl.com
Potential snow and ice leads to closures in Southwest Georgia
http://wfxl.com/news/local/potential-snow-and-ice-leads-to-closures-in-southwest-georgia
by FOX 31 Staff
With the potential for snow and ice invade Southwest Georgia on Wednesday, decisions to close and delay openings are happening across the region.
Colleges & Universities:
Albany State University and Ram Rush Transportation will be closed.
Albany Technical College will be closed.
Georgia Military College Prep School and Georgia Military College will be closed.
South Georgia Technical College and its satellite locations will be closed.

www.gwinnettdailypot.com
Gwinnett County Schools closed Wednesday due to winter weather
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/local/gwinnett-county-schools-closed-wednesday-due-to-winter-weather/article_79e51882-fb2b-11e7-92ce-176453ab499d.html
From Staff Reports
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 17 due to possible snow and ice, as well as freezing temperatures. …Gwinnett Technical College announced just after 10 p.m. that it would also be closing on Wednesday. Georgia Gwinnett College sent out an alert just before 4 a.m. that it will be closed on Wednesday.

www.onlineathens.com
VIDEO: Athens snowfall forces school closures, creates hazardous driving conditions
http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2018-01-16/video-athens-snowfall-forces-school-closures-creates-hazardous-driving?mc_cid=b949943cd6&mc_eid=32a9bd3c56&utm_term=0_54a77f93dd-b949943cd6-86731974
By Staff Reports
Winter weather turned treacherous across the South, including in Athens where snowfall and a potential for icy roads prompted several school closures and government offices to shut down today. Portions of area roads also were closed due to vehicle wrecks. The University of Georgia, Athens Tech, University of North Georgia and Piedmont College will be closed today. …Government offices in Clarke and Oconee counties also are closed today due to the weather. The business office of the Athens Banner-Herald and OnlineAthens will be closed today until at least noon. The Athens Regional Library System and the Oconee County branch will be closed today. …Gov. Nathan Deal issued a state of emergency for 83 counties, spanning much of central and north Georgia. This line extends from Columbus to Macon to Augusta and northward. State government officers were closed today and will remain closed Thursday in the impacted areas for non-essential personnel.

www.thinkadvisor.com
Top 10 Best Colleges With Low Student Debt: Kiplinger
Surprisingly, some of the biggest-name colleges in the US made this ranking of schools with low debt levels and high educational quality
http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2018/01/16/top-10-best-colleges-with-low-student-debt-kipling?t=income-planning&slreturn=1516220325
A college education is at once the goal and the bane of students who are aiming for a career that will provide them with the elements of the American dream: the chance to do better than their parents, to buy a home and raise a family. But with the level of college debt rampant these days, that’s not an easy goal to achieve. Tuition has skyrocketed, making it nearly impossible for young people to complete a degree without a crushing load of debt, multiple jobs or assistance from family — sometimes all three. In fact, according to a Goldman Sachs report, student loan debt is as big as the entire U.S. junk bond market, at $1.3 trillion. (If you ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, however, it actually stands at $1.4 trillion.) And according to a CBS Moneywatch report, members of the class of 2016 graduated with an average debt load of $37,173, up 6% from the debt load of the previous year’s graduating class, which was certainly bad enough at $35,051. Even those who are desperate to economize on tuition and fees, though, need to look for the best education they can afford. To that end, Kiplinger took a look at the 300 colleges on its list of best-value colleges and came up with 10 that not only provide a good education to their students but don’t send them into the world with less money than the little match girl.
4. University of North Georgia
Average debt at graduation: $10,062
Undergraduate enrollment: 17,704
Total annual out-of-state cost: $32,978 ($19,166 in-state)
Students who borrow: 46%

www.chronicle.augusta.com
MCG foundation surpasses $250 million mark
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/2018-01-16/mcg-foundation-surpasses-250-million-mark
By Damon Cline Staff Writer
One of the Augusta area’s largest nonprofit has started 2018 with a bang. Officials with the Medical College of Georgia Foundation said its endowment crossed the $250 million threshold at the end of last year, largely on the strength of its investment portfolio, which logged a 16 percent return for the year. “It’s been a really good investment environment,” Foundation President Ian Mercier said Tuesday. “Our board has been good stewards of those assets and has been managing them in a prudent way at a time when the market is doing well.” The foundation, one of three affiliated with Augusta University, supports MCG’s education, research and patient care missions. AU was created by the merger of MCG and the former Augusta State University in 2013. The MCG Foundation is the state’s third-largest university-affiliated foundation behind the Georgia Tech Foundation and the University of Georgia Foundation, which have $2 billion and $1 billion in assets, respectively, according to the most recent National Association of College and University Business Officers membership survey.

www.thegeorgeanne.com
New limited grade forgiveness policy to begin Fall 2018
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/camayak-content/article_2ae10da1-ef98-5c6d-91fb-7811920bcf8c.html
by Shiann Sivell The George-Anne staff
A new limited grade forgiveness policy will allow undergraduate students to retake CORE courses and excluded the first grade from their GPA calculation, starting Fall 2018. According university documents, the policy was approved by Georgia Southern University’s Faculty Senate and President Jaimie Hebert in Sept. 2017.This will be GS’ first type of grade forgiveness policy since the 2001-2002 academic year. Committee Chairman Robert Costomiris said the policy is modeled after the current Armstrong University policy on repeating courses, and was suggested due to the consolidation.

www.thegeorgeanne.com
Emmy-winning journalism instructor refuses to let oral cancer ruin her life
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/features/article_35f2a5f7-b2a7-559e-913e-57574b6e16d8.html
By Brett Daniel The George-Anne staff
Gina Germani asked her doctors if they would be able to put her face back together. They told her yes but that she would never look the same after the operation, which would remove half of her tongue and lower jaw. …Germani hasn’t seen her last surgery, either. She must undergo another one in order to get new teeth. Her medical expenses so far amount to roughly $500,000. Fortunately, Germani makes a steady salary as a college journalism instructor at Georgia Southern University. She says she’s determined to keep teaching, or else she won’t be able to support herself while paying her medical bills. But unlike the early years of her teaching career, Germani now limps into the classroom, the result of two hip and knee operations, during which doctors removed sections of her bone for use in the reconstruction of her face.

Higher Education News:
www.forbes.com
Expanded 529 Accounts Improve Tax Equity and Increase School Choice
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2018/01/16/expanded-529-accounts-improve-tax-equity-and-increase-school-choice/#77859c0e7ff7
Jeffrey Dorfman , CONTRIBUTOR
One surprising late addition to tax reform was an expansion of the approved uses for tax-deductible 529 accounts. These accounts had been vehicles for avoiding federal taxes on investment earnings when the money saved in the accounts was used to pay higher education expenses. Now, taxpayers can use the accounts to pay for up to $10,000 per year of K-12 educational expenses, providing a new potential tax break to parents who send their kids to private school. This is because, in addition to the federal tax treatment, many states provide a tax deduction at the time taxpayers deposit money into their 529s. While some states are quite upset about this change and the possible loss in tax revenue they are about to experience, when you look at the big picture, this tax change is well-deserved. Expanding the federal law to allow taxpayers to avoid taxes on investment earnings from a 529 account when used for K-12 expenses in addition to qualified higher education expenses is mostly irrelevant as almost nobody will save for K-12 private school costs far enough in advance to have much in the way of investment earnings. However, because most states also offer a deduction up to some amount of annual contributions to 529 accounts at the time the contributions are made, taxpayers can now put money in a 529 account, get a tax break, and immediately use the money to pay private school tuition.