University System News:
www.georgiatrend.com
Organizations: Atlanta Metropolitan College Foundation
http://www.georgiatrend.com/February-2018/Organizations-tlanta-Metropolitan-College-Foundation/
By Candice Dyer
The Atlanta Metropolitan College Foundation specializes in a mission known as “gap funding.” This nonprofit in southwest Atlanta covers the balance of the tuition if a student falls short, to help him or her stay in college and complete a degree at Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC)… “Atlanta is the tale of two cities,” says University President Gary McGaha. “The void between the haves and have-nots here is wider than in any other place in the nation. That’s why our college is so important. We are the bridge – we are the actual institution that is closing the opportunity divide.” “We’re dealing with some of the most disadvantaged students in the state,” Hannon says, “but they are also among the most successful.” AMSC boasts the highest graduation rate in the Georgia state college system, she says, and its pre-engineering curriculum has prepared many of the students to thrive at Georgia Tech.

www.myajc.com
Perilous times for black colleges
http://www.myajc.com/news/local/perilous-times-for-black-colleges/EhDuhVHMOjZqmskOeKBHoM/
By Ernie Suggs and Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two years ago, Amelia Smith received the one thing she thought she always wanted – a blue envelope from Spelman College. She had been accepted to what many consider the finest black college in America. Her grandmother went to Spelman. So did her mother. And her aunt. And her sister, who’s a senior there now. So Smith wasn’t surprised when she was accepted, too. She is just wrapping up her sophomore year. But not at Spelman. She’s studying biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech. “I am kind of the black sheep in the family,” Smith said. “When I got accepted into Tech, I felt very proud of myself. My grandmother (a dean at Fort Valley State University) was very proud of me. She said if she had had the opportunity to go to Tech when she was choosing a college, she would have gone. But she never got that chance.”

www.getschooled.blog.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Opinion: HBCUs are healthier and more vital than graduation rates indicate
http://getschooled.blog.myajc.com/2018/02/03/opinion-hbcus-are-healthier-and-more-vital-than-graduation-rates-indicate/
The AJC’s series on Historically Black Colleges and Universities is drawing a lot of comments, including a response today from the president of Dillard University in New Orleans, Walter M. Kimbrough. An Atlanta native, Dr. Kimbrough was his high school salutatorian and student body president in 1985, and went on to earn degrees from the University of Georgia, Miami University in Ohio, and a doctorate in higher education from Georgia State University. He has worked at Emory, Georgia State University, Old Dominion University, and Albany State University in 2000 where he became the vice president for student affairs at the age of 32. In 2004, at the age of 37, he was named the 12th president of Philander Smith College. In 2012, he became the 7th president of Dillard. The AJC series by AJC reporters Eric Stirgus and Ernie Suggs uncovers some sobering trends among HBCUs, as this excerpt shows:

www.cr80news.com
Georgia Southern expands iris biometric access to rec center
Students can now check in via Iris ID biometric system
https://www.cr80news.com/news-item/georgia-southern-expands-iris-biometric-access-to-rec-center/
By: Andrew Hudson
Georgia Southern University is expanding the use of iris biometric access to include the campus’ state-of-the-art Recreation Activity Center. The expansion will deploy an integrated access solution so only members can enter the facility. Core to the deployment is security entrance and architectural access manufacturer, Boon Edam Inc., who will install its Trilock 60 tripod turnstile. The turnstile is integrated with the Iris ID IrisAccess solution — a system that is also in use at Georgia Southern’s campus dining halls. The RAC at Georgia Southern is regarded as the center of campus life, and serves some 5,000 students each day. The recently renovated rec center will now control access to its facilities with Boon Edam waist-high turnstiles and gates.

www.wjcl.com
Ga. Southern Center for Wildlife Education turns 20
http://www.wjcl.com/article/ga-southern-center-for-wildlife-education-turns-20/16306000
Dave Williams
A longtime fixture and popular attraction on the Georgia Southern Statesboro campus will celebrate a milestone this weekend. The University’s Center for Wildlife Education turns 20 and there are plenty of reasons to celebrate. The Georgia Southern University Center for Wildlife Education has become more and more popular during it’s 20 years of operation. Since it’s opening, it’s expanded from 4.5 acres and a focus primarily on raptors and reptiles to now 18 acres showcasing a waterfowl pond and cypress swamp among other exhibits. “I think being university affiliated is key,” said Steve Hein, Executive Director, Center for Wildlife Education. “We’re about education, so there was a very real need and remains a very real need to educate tomorrow’s leader about the importance of the environment.”

www.wrbtv.com
19-year-old Georgia college student found dead in dorm
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/37426941/19-year-old-georgia-college-student-found-dead-in-dorm
TIFTON, Ga. (AP) – A freshman at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Georgia has been found dead. The Tifton Gazette cites a college release that went out to students Saturday morning that says 19-year-old Jeremy Bailey was found dead in a dormitory Friday night. The Morrow native’s death is under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. No foul play is suspected at this time.

www.fox5atlanta.com
Third armed robbery of GA Tech student in 2 weeks
http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/third-armed-robbery-of-ga-tech-student-in-2-weeks
By: Marissa Mitchell
For the third time in two weeks, Atlanta Police said a Georgia Tech student was the victim of an off-campus armed robbery. The most recent case happened late Sunday on Snyder Street. Police said a student told officers that two men, one with a mask and the other with a gun, approached and made off with items. More than a week ago, police said four Georgia Tech students were robbed at gunpoint by two men as they walked alongside Atlantic Drive. Police said the suspects got away in a black Infiniti sedan. Three days prior to that incident, police said two armed men robbed two Georgia Tech students outside of the Exchange Apartments on 16th Street. The suspects stole the victims’ cash, credit cards, and laptops, according to officers at the scene. Police have not said if the same suspects are believed to be involved in all of these crimes.

www.myajc.com
Ga. Tech police officer struck by car during chase
http://www.myajc.com/news/local/tech-police-officer-struck-car-during-chase/lNPTdKjr3KqdVa63qD5yYK/
By Ellen Eldridge – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Georgia Tech police officer was hit by a car Saturday night in Atlanta, police said. The officer, whose name has not been released, was assisting Atlanta police in a stolen car chase, Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. John Chafee said. That stolen car was first located on I-75/-I-85 Northbound near University Avenue. The driver of the stolen car exited the interstate and was near 17th Street and the Downtown Connector when the occupants got out of the car and ran away, Chafee said. When they ran onto the interstate, officers followed them and the Tech officer was struck. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital with a leg injury, Chafee said. Police recovered the stolen vehicle, but the search for the occupants continues.

www.metroatlantaceo.com
NCR CEO: Could Atlanta become the ‘Silicon Valley of the East’?
http://metroatlantaceo.com/features/2018/01/could-atlanta-become-silicon-valley-east/
Bill Nuti
The engineers of the future can be found in many different settings throughout the world. While we hear a lot about places like Silicon Valley and Bangalore, there’s another place that should be in the conversation: U.S. universities like Georgia Tech. I know of what I speak: The company I lead, NCR, is headquartered in Atlanta and employs hundreds of Georgia Tech and University System of Georgia graduates. It’s clear to me that Georgia Tech is one of the top universities when it comes to preparing its students to succeed in the technology sector. Many other companies seem to agree with me. In a recent ranking of universities on the basis of the number of graduates hired in Silicon Valley, Georgia Tech ranked sixth, despite being about 2,500 miles away. At NCR, we are focused on hiring the best talent we can find, and that was one reason we chose to move to the Atlanta area in 2009. Today, we are working toward having a majority of our revenue be software-generated, while also striving to further expand our leadership position in the omni-channel market. We are also maintaining a laser-like focus on disruptive innovation, solution development, and market-leading services delivery. We’re confident that Georgia Tech graduates can help us meet these goals, and others.

Higher Education News:
www.ajc.com
Georgia lawmakers seek to change who controls career, technical and agricultural education
http://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-education/georgia-lawmakers-seek-change-who-controls-career-technical-and-agricultural-education/avcVjKMiuA99LKR8ThnD2H/
Ty Tagami
Ranking members of the Georgia House of Representatives want to shift control over career-oriented education from the state agency for public schools to the agency that oversees technical colleges. House Bill 778 introduced this week by the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Terry England, R-Auburn, seeks to change who controls content standards, testing, administration and money for career, technical and agricultural education. Co-sponsors include chairmen of other committees. Currently, the state Department of Education and the state education board oversee these programs, along with the rest of K-12 schooling. But HB 778 would transfer control to the Technical College System of Georgia’s board.

www.chronicle.com
Reading an Application in Under 10 Minutes? Way Too Fast, One Admissions Dean Says
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Reading-an-Application-in/242418?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest
By Eric Hoover
Sure, colleges love to tout their record-breaking application totals. Yet those ever-growing numbers can cause headaches for admissions officers, who must review all those files on tight deadlines, often reading into the night and over weekends — whatever it takes. That’s why dozens of highly selective colleges have recently embraced a new way of reviewing applications, as The Chronicle reported last year. In “committee-based evaluations,” pairs of admissions officers evaluate each application together, discussing it as they go. The tag-team approach to an initial review, proponents say, saves time without sacrificing thoroughness (and, yes, some applications get further scrutiny later in the process). For better or worse, this approach marks a shift in the nature of admissions work. After The Wall Street Journal reported on the trend this week (“Some Elite Colleges Review an Application in 8 Minutes (or Less)”), many college counselors expressed alarm on social media. Was eight minutes, they wondered, really enough time to absorb the subtleties of a 17-year-old’s achievements, talents, and socioeconomic context?

www.chronicle.com
‘I Didn’t Know How to Ask for Help’: Stories of Students With Anxiety
You don’t have to look far to find them. Here’s what they want you to know.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/I-Didn-t-Know-How-to-Ask/242412?cid=wsinglestory_hp_1a
By Sara Lipka
You don’t have to look far to find a student suffering from anxiety. But it might be hard to tell. More than one in four undergraduates and graduate students report symptoms, according to the national Healthy Minds Study. And anxiety is the main reason students seek mental-health services, college counseling centers say. But less than 40 percent of students who experience anxiety or depression have gone for such help in the past year. On campuses where students perceive a higher stigma, new research has found, they are less likely to pursue both treatment and informal support. But some students and advocates are eager to break the silence, sparking a more open discussion of the daily struggles that young people face and the support that could help them thrive.

www.chronicle.com
Federal Student-Loan Program Is Rapidly Losing Money, and Income-Based Repayment Is to Blame, Report Says
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Federal-Student-Loan-Program/242426?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=2a503f8ef1ec4ddea1d6a52b0f961112&elq=7a0cdde9c515454db44dcbc8edf05eb1&elqaid=17720&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=7805
By Adam Harris
The federal government is well on its way toward lending more money in student loans than it is repaid, according to a new report from the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. The rising cost of the federal student-loan program, the report says, is due in large part to the growing number of borrowers who are enrolling in income-driven repayment programs, which allow them to repay their loans for a set period of time in correlation to how much money they make. “Borrowers have been signing up for IDR plans, such as PAYE and REPAYE, at a substantial rate,” the report says. (The acronyms refer to the Pay as You Earn and Revised Pay as You Earn plans.) The office’s analysis found that the portion of direct loans being repaid through income-driven repayment plans has increased 625 percent from the students who borrowed in the 2011 fiscal year to those who borrowed in the 2015 fiscal year.