University System News:
www.rollingout.com
Ms. Wheelchair Georgia Veronica Fox turned her struggles into triumphs
By Cassidy Sparks
Life-altering trauma can happen at any moment, but it is how you overcome trauma that really matters. This is true for Veronica Fox, an Atlanta Metropolitan State College student who is working to get her degree in social work. In 2013, she was badly injured in a car accident that resulted in her being paralyzed. Although it took her a while to recover, she doesn’t use her disability as an excuse. She currently serves as Ms. Wheelchair Georgia, USA. Fox has many goals of pursuing a career as a social worker to help others with spinal cord injuries. How did you determine your career path? …What drew you to Atlanta Metropolitan State College?
www.myajc.com
Lots of options for Georgia students, but still a hard decision: which college?
By Vanessa McCray – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like many high school seniors this time of year, Erin Leydon has been grappling with a big decision: Where should she go to college? … something she and other incoming college freshmen must do by May 1. That’s decision day — the deadline by which many colleges and universities require students to submit a deposit … Walton High School senior Taylor Helfrich: Don’t get hung up on elite rankings. “It is important, but it is not the end of the world,” said Taylor, who decided to attend Georgia Tech’s liberal arts college. “Because you don’t want to pay an enormous amount of loans just because of the reputation.” And stop comparing yourself to classmates. “Having everyone go to an Ivy or like-an-Ivy, it is hard to compete with,” she said. “A lot of people end up unhappy if they can’t go to the one college they want to.”
www.allongeorgia.com
East Georgia State College Has Lowest Tuition in Georgia
By AllOnGeorgia
The University System of Georgia Board of Regents recently announced that students attending school in the USG will pay the same tuition for the 2018 – 2019 academic year as the current 2017 – 2018 academic year, after the BOR set annual tuition rates for all 26 colleges and universities at a zero percent increase. The USG has been able to limit tuition increases to an average of 1.8 percent annually over the last five years and continues to offer some of the lowest tuition rates among peer public higher education systems. Out of the 16 states that make up the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the USG remains the sixth lowest state in tuition and fees for four-year institutions. “East Georgia State College’s mission is to provide an affordable high quality point of access to a college degree for the deserving students and families in this great region,” said East Georgia State College President Bob Boehmer. “We are proud to offer the lowest total cost of tuition and fees among all USG institutions and to be able to continue that in the coming year.”
www.tiftongazette.com
ABAC will not raise tuition for 2018-19 academic year
Students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will not have to dig any deeper into their bank accounts next year after a recent announcement by the University System of Georgia (USG) that tuition will stay the same for the 2018-19 academic year. “A college degree from ABAC was already a great investment,” ABAC President David Bridges said. “With tuition staying the same, it just got a lot better from a financial standpoint.” The Board of Regents set annual tuition rates for the upcoming academic year for all 26 USG colleges and universities at a zero percent increase. USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley applauded lawmakers for their support.
www.thebrunswicknews.com
College committee still engaged in president search process
By LAUREN MCDONALD
The search for College of Coastal Georgia’s next president continues. Due to the closed nature of the search, however, details about final candidates will not be released until the search is further along or completed. “The search process is ongoing,” said Tanya Cofer, chair of the 14-person presidential search committee at CCGA. The committee was tasked with selecting semi-finalist candidates for the college’s new president, who will replace interim president Meg Amstutz. Cofer said Friday that she could not publicly provide further information about the timeline of the search or the candidates in the running. The search committee chose to conduct a closed search, which means applicants and finalists remain anonymous. In doing so, the committee hoped to attract the best candidates.
www.rollingout.com
Antonio McGaha defies the odds as a full-time parent, student and sage
By Cassidy Sparks
Antonio McGaha, 39, is not your traditional student. He defies the odds. While he’s enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, majors in social work, and was designated a scholar at USG Academic Recognition Day, McGaha meticulously balances being a full-time student, father, and mentor. He hopes to impact the community by starting a nonprofit whose mission is mentoring young men of color. How did you determine your career path? …What drew you to Atlanta Metropolitan State College?
www.wsbtv.com
Georgia Tech spent $1M+ in taxpayer money on ‘morale’ events
By: Richard Belcher
An investigation by Channel 2 Action News found that the Georgia Tech Research Institute spent more than a million tax dollars over the past two years on entertainment and meals for employees and their families. Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Richard Belcher says the university stands by the spending for what it calls “morale.” GTRI is a widely respected facility that does world class research, much of its highly classified for the defense department. Largely off the radar is that it spends half-a-million dollars annually to boost employee morale, and all of it is tax money.
www.gpbnews.org
In Wake Of Hurricane Maria, Georgia Tech Bolsters Puerto Rico’s Entrepreneurs
http://gpbnews.org/post/wake-hurricane-maria-georgia-tech-bolsters-puerto-ricos-entrepreneurs
By ADAM RAGUSEA & EMILY BUNKER
It’s been seven months since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Blackouts continue. Utility crews on the island are still in emergency restoration mode. As recovery continues on the island, Georgia Tech’s Economic Development Lab (EDL) has opened free office space in Atlanta’s Tech Square to entrepreneurs and researchers from Puerto Rico. It’s an expansion of a program Georgia Tech has had in place since 2012. (w/audio)
www.wtol.com
Savannah State alumni send letter of concern to the University System of Georgia
By Elizabeth Rawlins, Reporter
Savannah State University alumni have sent a letter to the University System of Georgia chancellor outlining a number of concerns with the current leadership at the school. The Georgia Board of Regents confirmed they received this letter and a three page-report on April 11. It’s signed by five Savannah State alumni who say they are losing confidence in the direction the university is headed, placing a lot of the blame on the current leadership, including Dr. Cheryl Dozier. SSU is considered one of Georgia’s access institutions because there are no 2-year colleges nearby to feed into SSU. But in this detailed report that was sent to the chancellor, alumni are very concerned about the overall decline in retention and graduation rates and they believe it’s because a vast majority of students can barely meet the academic requirements for admission.
www.fox28media.com
Savannah State University alumni troubled over leadership, campus security
BY ROBERT CATANESE
FOX 28 has obtained a scathing letter and report where five Savannah State University alumni are speaking out and calling out SSU President Dr. Cheryl Dozier. They also are asking for the University System of Georgia to get involved and address the litany of concerns they lay out in an April 11, 2018 letter. In the report, Caroline McCune, Alfred Berry, Jr., Danny Parrish, Lamar Rhodes and Willie Walker have all shared concerns saying, “We are troubled by the dismal performance of the university under the current leadership related to graduation rates, retention rates and recruitment endeavors.” The letter further lays out additional concerns stressed by the five alumni by saying, ‘We have grave concerns with the absence of a comprehensive and detailed strategic plan for recruitment and retention, and the criminal element and/or issues of security and student safety which have generated many students, potential students and parental concerns.’
www.wsav.com
Family pursues lawsuit against SSU after arrest of their son’s suspected killer
By: Danni Dikes
SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV) – The family of a student who was shot to death at Savannah State University in 2015 is continuing to fight for justice. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Justin Devon Stephens, 23, was arrested on Thursday for the murder of Christopher Starks. Starks was a junior and a football player at Savannah State University when he was shot and killed in the student union on August 27, 2015. In the months following his death, the family filed a civil lawsuit against the school for what they call negligence. Three years later, Starks’ lawyer said they are still holding the university responsible. “We have discovered and found evidence that they knew about serious criminal activity occurring at that campus, and they did not do anything to take adequate security measures to prevent this from happening,” said Shean Williams, a partner at Cochran Law Firm, who is representing the family. The Starks family said their goal is to make sure the school enacts real changes in the form of security, such as adding patrols and enhancing camera surveillance. These are two measures the university said they have taken steps to improve, following a different shooting on campus in February.
www.myajc.com
Opinion: Achievement gaps threaten Georgia’s future
The genesis for this piece by Steve Dolinger, president of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, was an AJC story spotlighting the correlation between NAEP scores (student outcomes) and median family incomes (money) for students in Atlanta.
The Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Atlanta that has worked to improve education in the state for more than 25 years. A former superintendent of Fulton County Schools, Dolinger cites the importance of Georgia staying the course with its financial investments in public education, especially in light of growing income disparities among students in Atlanta. By Steve Dolinger Gov. Nathan Deal and Georgia lawmakers recently agreed to use a state budget surplus to increase our state’s investment in education by about $186 million for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. It’s the first time since 2002 that the state has fully funded the Quality Basic Education formula. This important move shows a commitment to schools across political party lines in Georgia, but this step alone isn’t sufficient for the state to achieve its goals for education. In the long term, Georgians need to decide what they expect from schools — and what kind of investments are required. Veteran AJC reporter Ty Tagami recently showed the link between resources and students’ opportunities for success. He cited an analysis by Georgia State University doctoral candidate and researcher Jarod Apperson, who teaches at Spelman College in Atlanta.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Want to Close Achievement Gaps? Focus on Part-Time Students.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/Want-to-Close-Achievement/243272?cid=wsinglestory_6_1a
By Katherine Mangan
If community colleges want to shrink stubborn achievement gaps between white and minority students, they should focus more attention on the nearly two-thirds of their students who attend part time, a study released Monday concludes. The report, “Reframing the Question of Equity,” is among the topics of discussion at the annual meeting here of the American Association of Community Colleges. It was prepared by EAB, a major player in the enrollment-services industry, and based on data analysis and interviews with more than 100 community-college leaders. Despite huge investments in success strategies at community colleges, the gap in degree attainment between white and Hispanic students has remained unchanged, the report notes. Meanwhile, the disparities between white and black students have grown slightly. The same problems hold true for other underrepresented groups. Low-income, first-generation students are nearly four times more likely than their peers to drop out after their first year, the report notes. Part of the problem, according to the study, is that minority and first-generation students are more likely to attend college part time, but student-success efforts usually focus on full-time students.
www.chronicle.com
Why College Mergers Need to Be More Than Just Cutting Administrators
By Eric Kelderman
Talk of merging colleges seems to be everywhere these days as system leaders and state lawmakers look for efficiencies in places where public money is tight. The efforts are often meant to save money, largely by eliminating administrative jobs such as deans, department heads, or even campus presidents. But even bigger changes may be required in the long run to offset declining enrollments, say some higher-education leaders and researchers. …In the book The Road Ahead for America’s Colleges and Universities, Feldman and his co-author, Robert B. Archibald, wrote that mergers could include creating a shared library and sports facilities for institutions. Such arrangements may be necessary to expand the reach of rural institutions, given that the vast majority of students attend college within a relatively short driving distance from their homes. “Colleges that cannot easily do this will have to find ways to cut costs that do not initiate the death spiral of collapsing quality,” they wrote.