University System News:
www.myajc.com
Georgia Board of Regents votes not to raise tuition
By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
University System of Georgia students got some good news Tuesday. Their tuition will not increase this fall. The Georgia Board of Regents voted not to raise tuition for undergraduate and graduate students. Last year, the board voted to increase tuition by 2 percent. USG officials cited budget increases recently approved by Gov. Nathan Deal and state lawmakers, in part, as the reason for not raising tuition. The budget for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, is approximately $2.43 billion, about $115 million more that the current total. The board approved 14 fee increases at nine institutions. The increases are $3 to $31 per semester. USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley has emphasized making its colleges and universities more affordable in response to frequent criticism in recent years about tuition and fees. A 2016 state audit found a 77 percent increase in the cost of attending a state college or university in the prior 10 years.
www.bizjournals.com
No tuition increase for University System of Georgia students in 2018-19
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hold the line on tuition this coming school year for the second time in the last three years. Georgia’s strong finances will allow Gov. Nathan Deal and the General Assembly to fully fund the annual student funding formula, a luxury they didn’t have when the Great Recession was putting a dent in state tax revenues. “We … recognize the critical need to keep our institutions affordable for students while providing a quality education,” university system Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. “The board’s decision today maintains our commitment to keeping tuition increases to a minimum.” After not raising tuition for graduate or undergraduate students two years ago, the Regents raised rates for the current school year by 2 percent, an increase that varied from $27 to $98 per semester. By keeping tuition at the current level for 2018-19, Georgia’s university system remains the sixth lowest in tuition and fees for four-year institutions among the 16 states that make up the Southern Regional Education Board.
See also:
www.myajc.com
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Georgia public colleges will not raise tuition for 2018-2019
www.albanyherald.com
USG says no tuition hike during 2018-2019
Tuition freeze affects all 26 USG member institutions
www.accesswdun.com
No tuition increase next year at Georgia’s public colleges
www.wsav.com
No tuition increase next year at Georgia’s public colleges
http://www.wsav.com/education/no-tuition-increase-next-year-at-georgias-public-colleges/1127494669
www.wfxl.com
Georgia college students won’t see tuition increase
http://wfxl.com/news/state-news/georgia-college-students-wont-see-tuition-increase
www.jacksonprogress-argus.com
Georgia college students will not see tuition hike for next academic year
www.heraldcourier.com
No tuition increase next year at Georgia’s public colleges
www.timesfreepress.com
Regional News Roundup: No tuition increase for Georgia public colleges
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2018/apr/18/regidigest/468585/
www.seattletimes.com
No tuition increase next year at Georgia’s public colleges
https://www.seattletimes.com/news/no-tuition-increase-next-year-at-georgias-public-colleges/
www.ajc.com
Blue Cross and Piedmont have a ‘handshake deal,’ Gov. Deal says
Ariel Hart The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and Piedmont Healthcare have reached a deal, Gov. Nathan Deal said on Tuesday. The governor in a tweet called it a “handshake deal.” Deal on Tuesday tweeted that he would “initiative executive action” if the two companies did not resolve their dispute by “close of business” Tuesday. …State officials have said that “executive action” could mean a number of things, including declaring a special open-enrollment period for state employees with Blue Cross to switch insurance companies. Blue Cross did not immediately respond about whether it agreed that the governor had that authority.
www.myajc.com
Kennesaw State changes mind and reinstates culinary/hospitality degree
By Ben Brasch – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reversing its decision in October, Kennesaw State has decided to allow new students to major in its Culinary Sustainability & Hospitality degree program. A statement from Linda Noble, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, on Tuesday said the university came to the decision “following a review by the University System.” The University System of Georgia has the final say in the addition or removal of a degree program.
www.tiftongazette.com
ABAC named Bronze Level Military-Friendly college
TIFTON — Victory Media recently awarded Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College recognition as a Bronze Level Military Friendly institution on the 2018-2019 “Better for Veterans” list. Bronze Level award winners have programs that scored within 40 percent of the 10th-ranked institution within a given category. To qualify for the award Victory Media takes into consideration academic policies and compliance, admissions and orientation, culture and commitment, financial aid and assistance, graduation and career, and military student support and retention. The standards employed at ABAC exceed the Military Friendly standard in each category. “Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is honored to again receive these military accolades,” said Veterans Affairs Certifying Official and Student Veterans Organization Advisor Jessica Swords. “Our military and veteran students have served our country, and now we are privileged to serve them through assisting in their educational success.”
www.wjcl.com
Flags now flying at Ga. Southern Residence Halls
http://www.wjcl.com/article/flags-now-flying-at-ga-southern-residence-halls/19843601
Dave Williams
STATESBORO, GA —Georgia Southern University is known for being patriotic and supportive of our military community. Now, they’re taking that to a whole new level. A new initiative on their Statesboro campus will make a little bit of history. “We’ve been planning it for years now,” said Cameron Jones, Co-Chairman, Flag Committee. “And it’s great to see it finally come to fruition.” What is coming to fruition, is for the first time in its history, an American flag and State of Georgia flag will be flying over all of Georgia Southern University’s eight residence halls on its Statesboro campus. It’s all part of a new initiative by University Housing. …The initial flag raising was done by a group of eight volunteers of military veterans with University Housing and ROTC students who will maintain the flags around the clock. “It’s something I take very seriously,” said Cameron Jones. “It just means an awful lot to be involved as the co-chairman on this flag committee.” “I love the military,” explained David Cooke, Ga. Southern ROTC Cadet.
www.law.com
Georgia Tech Takes Early Legal Food Frenzy Lead in Atlanta
A food bank official in Augusta said the Legal Food Frenzy is important because it keeps food kitchens stocked through the summer months, when children can’t receive free breakfasts and lunches they get during school months.
By Jonathan Ringel
The Georgia Tech Office of Legal Affairs jumped into an early lead for the Atlanta portion of the Georgia Legal Food Frenzy, the annual competition in which the legal community raises funds for food banks around the state. The event helps the 20 percent of Georgians—and 25 percent of Georgia children—who do not know how they’ll get their next meal. Around 5 p.m. Monday, Georgia Tech had raised $10,820, backed by a $10,000 donation and eight other gifts.
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
Local medical students gain practical techniques through Trauma Day
By Trevor McNaboe
Gurneys were being wheeled in and the rhythmic sound of a heart monitor filled the room as nurses prepared a patient for to see a doctor. From gunshot wounds to patients that suffered from schizophrenia, all four beds, commonly known as bays, continued to be filled and replaced by other patients on Tuesday at Philadephia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee. While the intensity was real, the outcome was predetermined, as PCOM hosted Trauma Day, which tasked nurses from Georgia Gwinnett College, emergency medical technicians from Gwinnett Technical College and future doctors from PCOM to work together through 24 different scenarios, from getting the patient off the ambulance all the way to the operating room.
Georgia Southern professor selected for Governor Teaching Fellow
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_d4890a33-3e51-5136-8005-9e71cc9514ad.html
By Bisola Oke The George-Anne staff
A Georgia Southern University professor was selected for the 2017 Governor’s Teaching Fellow for the academic year symposium program. Nandi Marshall, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health assistant professor, Ph.D., said she was honored to have been accepted into this program. …According to a GS press release, the Governor’s Teaching Fellow Program is an outreach program for upgrading the value of instruction at Georgia’s universities and colleges.
Terry College Marketing Professor Honored for Career Support Given to Students
Danielle Bezila
Jennifer Osbon, a digital marketing professor in the Terry College of Business, has been awarded the 2018 Lee Anne Seawell Faculty Recognition Award, which recognizes faculty members who provide unparalleled career development support for students. Osbon has been teaching for five years. Prior to becoming a professor, she founded MegaPlayer, a digital marketing consulting and education company. MegaPlayer was a trusted partner of global brands such as Coca-Cola, Sunglass Hut, K- Swiss, Verizon, Standard Register, Pearle Vision and others. “In interviewing recent graduates for my agency,” said Osbon, “I realized students were really good users of technology, but they didn’t necessarily know how to think about these technologies as marketers.” Osbon connected with the university, and what started as a pitch to add a digital marketing strategy course to UGA’s course curriculum ended with her being hired to teach the course she designed. Osbon now teaches at UGA full time. “I’ve discovered teaching is so much more than knowledge transfer,” Osbon said. “I do a little bit of life and career coaching along with the academics and in the end, my students graduate and become my colleagues.” …The Lee Anne Seawell Faculty Recognition Award recipient is selected based on student feedback gathered in the university’s annual Career Outcomes Survey. The Career Outcomes Survey provides insight into the employment and continuing education status of UGA graduates within six months of their graduation date.
UGA president announces funding for STEM research building, congratulates academic accomplishments
Olivia Adams | Staff Writer
The University of Georgia President Jere Morehead is waiting on the budget approval for a new $35 million STEM research building, which is expected to start being built sometime in the fall. “This new facility will greatly enhance our ability to recruit and retain top researchers,” said Morehead at the April 11 University Cabinet meeting. The budget will have to be approved by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal before the university moves forward with the project. At the meeting, Morehead also thanked the governor for his work in alleviating some stress for university employees caused by the BlueCross BlueShield and Piedmont contract dispute. “We have nearly 10,000 faculty, staff and retirees, as well as many dependents impacted by the impasse between those two organizations,” Morehead said. “I expressed the collective frustration of the institution in letters to the CEOs of both companies.” …As for the university’s good news, Morehead congratulated the recently admitted class of 2022, saying that this was the first class ever in which more students were denied than accepted.
KSU to start search process for new CIO
http://ksusentinel.com/2018/04/16/ksu-to-start-search-process-for-new-cio/
Sabrina Kerns
Kennesaw State plans to start the search process for the institution’s new Chief Information Officer after the completion of the position’s job description, university spokeswoman Tammy DeMel said. KSU Interim President Dr. Ken Harmon announced in an email to faculty and staff on March 9 that former CIO Lectra Lawhorne resigned from her position. Harmon also said he asked the Office of Human Relations to immediately start a search for a new CIO. DeMel said HR is currently working on a job description for the position and plans to start a national search for the CIO as soon as it is finished. This comes more than five weeks after Harmon made his original announcement. In the announcement, Harmon also announced that Jeff Delaney, deputy chief information officer for the University System of Georgia, would serve as interim CIO. Harmon had already named Delaney as acting CIO in an email on Feb. 19 to faculty and staff after Lawhorne was placed on administrative leave.
www.mdjonline.com
Kennesaw State University alum adds social media to advance marketing career
Staff reports
After a decade of working as a graphic designer, Chris McDoniel sought to advance his career by diving deeper into the marketing role. With this pursuit in mind, McDoniel accepted a new position at the Mable House Arts Center, part of Cobb County P.A.R.K.S Cultural Affairs Division. In this new role, he wears many different hats on the marketing team such as social media manager, marketing specialist and graphic designer. “I feel like it has been a natural transition to want to learn more about the other aspects of marketing other than the visual side of things,” McDoniel said. McDoniel received a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Kennesaw State University. His familiarity with KSU led him to consider the Social Media Marketing Certificate at the College of Continuing and Professional Education. McDoniel knew the program would not only help him expand his knowledge for his current position, but also give him the understanding of how to expand his company’s brand. “I knew a lot about social media going into the course; however, I wanted to learn more about the different audiences each of the platforms caters to and how to really hone my target market,” he said. McDoniel’s reasoning is shared among marketing professionals, small business owners and entrepreneurs.
www.thegeorgeanne.com
GS conducting aquaponics research
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_8d9446bb-059a-5b60-ba65-676b2eeaad72.html
By Ashton Christianson The George-Anne staff
Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus is advancing new aquaponic technology with hopes to make the process more available for education. A new way of farming is being studied at GS in partner with FORAM Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center. Aquaponics farming is the use of fish to help provide nutrients to plants as they grow in water. Aquaponics is not a new concept to the world but is not widely practiced commercially due to its high cost. “Due to the premium cost of aquaponic farming it is difficult for businesses to profit with this type of farming and so this is why it isn’t more mainstream,” Brent Feske, Associate Dean of Outreach, Planning and Community Programs for the College of Science and Mathematics and Director of the FORAM Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center said. Feske, who oversees the research, is helped by undergraduates, faculty and volunteers to find new ways of advancing this technology.
www.bizjournals.com
CAMP3 Teams Up With the University of Georgia to Enhance Artificial Intelligence Platform for Agriculture
CAMP3, a pioneer in developing practical artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, and the University of Georgia (UGA) are partnering to transform how farmers make planting, growing, and harvesting decisions. The exclusive data-sharing partnership will provide users of CAMP3’s FARMWAVE app access to UGA’s extensive catalog of over 35,000 crop and plant species, collected over 20 years. This relationship takes full advantage of FARMWAVE’s intelligence and collaboration capabilities and UGA’s 100+ years of research-based information. This will help farmers rapidly identify risks to their crops and find answers from a global community. “UGA is excited for the opportunity to share our data with a solution that has potential to revolutionize the global agriculture industry,” says Laura Perry Johnson, Associate Dean for Extension at UGA’s College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences. “We understand the importance of getting information to the field, and think FARMWAVE’s solution fills a much-needed void experienced by farmers around the world.”
www.bizjournals.com
Cybersecurity professionals call for veto of anti-computer hacking bill
By Dave Williams – Staff Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Dozens of cybersecurity professionals from across the country are urging Gov. Nathan Deal to veto legislation passed by the General Assembly that would criminalize unauthorized computer hacking. In a letter dated April 16, 55 information security specialists, computer scientists and tech academics wrote that Senate Bill 315, which lawmakers passed late last month on the last day of the 2018 legislative session, could have long-term consequences for digital security… The letter’s signers include two faculty members at Kennesaw State and Georgia Tech, and an information security professional with Cox Communications.
www.americaninno.com
5 Reasons Why Atlanta is Where Entrepreneurs Want to Be
Atlanta’s startup community is thriving, producing successful new businesses across a variety of sectors: fintech, healthcare, digital security and entertainment, to name just a few. So, what makes the climate in Atlanta so vibrant? What advantages does Atlanta have over other cities for new businesses? For starters, many large companies and the world’s busiest airport call Atlanta home, along with an established network of successful entrepreneurs… There are plenty of places around Atlanta to get that needed assistance to hit the ground running. And since businesses that work through an incubator or accelerator improve their chances for success, it pays to do your homework. Founded in 1980, ATDC (the Advanced Technology Development Center) at Georgia Tech is probably the best-known incubator in Atlanta, but there are plenty of others: Atlanta Tech Village, Switchyards, and Atlanta Tech Park, among others.
www.americaninno.com
Stempower Gives Girls the Power and Confidence to Pursue STEM
By Madison Hogan
Kaitlin Rizk, Brenna Fromayan, Natalie Leonard and Wendy Ng know all too well why female representation is of the utmost importance in STEM fields. The Georgia Tech students, with the aid of the CREATE-X program at Tech, have started Stempower, a nonprofit startup dedicated to encouraging girls to pursue their interests, build confidence and breakdown stereotypes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Rizk, a fourth-year industrial and systems engineering student and CEO of Stempower, said research shows girls often lack confidence, role models and a peer system when studying in STEM fields. “We developed a program providing girls role models to give them the confidence,” she said.
Alleged employee misconduct being investigated at midstate university
http://www.macon.com/news/local/education/article209032464.html
BY ANDREA HONAKER
The GBI is investigating and a Fort Valley State University worker has been placed on administrative leave in a case of possible employee misconduct. The school’s marketing and communications department confirmed the investigation in an emailed statement Monday and said the school recently notified the University System of Georgia about a situation. At the end of last week, the Office of the Attorney General and the system’s Board of Regents requested that the GBI open up a criminal investigation, GBI Agent J.T. Ricketson said. “Right now, it’s all allegation. Nothing has been substantiated by us. We’ve made no arrests,” Ricketson said. “We don’t do administrative inquiries. We are criminal investigators.” The first few interviews were conducted Monday, but there are a lot more to do.
See also:
GBI investigating ‘potential employee misconduct’ at FVSU
FVSU says the employee has been placed on administrative leave.
GBI investigating ‘potential employee misconduct’ at FVSU
FVSU says the employee has been placed on administrative leave.
Higher Education News:
www.wsj.com
Prizes for Everyone: How Colleges Use Scholarships to Lure Students
Merit awards are important component of many schools’ enrollment strategies
By Melissa Korn
At George Washington University, nearly half of all undergraduates receive the school’s Presidential Academic Scholarship. The prizes go to “the most competitive applicants in the pool,” admissions materials say, and include awards of $5,000 to $30,000 for each student. At some other colleges, a solid majority of students get similarly hefty scholarships. At still others, virtually everyone gets them. Hundreds of colleges and universities are using academic scholarships and other merit-based financial aid to gain an edge in a battle for students. The scholarships make students feel wanted and let families think they’re getting a good deal, like a shopper who buys an expensive sweater on sale.
www.chronicle.com
When Racism Roils a Campus, Colleges Respond. Will Students Be Satisfied?
By Chris Quintana
Colleges have been besieged by one racist incident after another in the past two years, and they have spent that time developing a common strategy for dealing with the immediate fallout. One mainstay: Respond publicly. But what determines whether that response will resonate with aggrieved students? The best predictor may be how satisfied students already are with the degree of diversity in their ranks, according to a new study presented at this week’s annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
www.theatlantic.com
The Future of College Looks Like the Future of Retail
Similar to e-commerce firms, online-degree programs are beginning to incorporate elements of an older-school, brick-and-mortar model.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/college-online-degree-blended-learning/557642/
JEFFREY SELINGO
Online learning has come a long way since the turn of the millennium. It certainly hasn’t displaced traditional colleges, as its biggest proponents said it had the potential to, but it has gained widespread popularity: The number of students in the U.S. enrolled in at least one online course rose from 1.6 million in 2002 to more than 6 million in 2016. As online learning extends its reach, though, it is starting to run into a major obstacle: There are undeniable advantages, as traditional colleges have long known, to learning in a shared physical space. Recognizing this, some online programs are gradually incorporating elements of the old-school, brick-and-mortar model—just as online retailers such as Bonobos and Warby Parker use relatively small physical outlets to spark sales on their websites and increase customer loyalty. Perhaps the future of higher education sits somewhere between the physical and the digital.
www.chronicle.com
Who Can’t Get Overtime Pay? Online Instructors, for One
By Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz
Graduate teaching assistants, faculty members who teach courses online, and administrative employees like admissions counselors are among the many college employees who are generally not eligible to receive overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division said on Monday. A new fact sheet released by the department clarified the various types of employees on college campuss that do not qualify for overtime pay. The release comes less than a year after a federal judge struck down an Obama-era update to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would have made employees who earned up to about $47,000 a year eligible for more compensation when they worked more than 40 hours per week. A proposal for a new overtime rule is expected from the Labor Department this year.
www.chronicle.com
Top-Ranked Colleges Spend Their Money Differently From the Rest. Here’s How.
By Dan Bauman
Look to the top of the U.S. News & World Report college rankings, and you’ll find public universities that tend to spend a greater share of their budgets on managing human resources and research. Move down the list, and you’ll see institutions that put more of their payroll dollars toward soliciting donations and marketing their campuses. So says a recent paper analyzing universities’ labor costs. The paper is among the first fruits of a broader effort by a consortium of university administrators and researchers that is sharing financial data to better compare spending among institutions. But it is not, warns Paul N. Friga, the Chapel Hill business professor behind the research, a recipe for colleges hoping to engineer rises up the rankings. Instead, Friga said, the correlations he found between universities’ rankings and their budgeting priorities could be indicators of the different challenges facing different universities.