University System News:
www.accesswdun.com
University of North Georgia lands on Forbes’ Top Colleges list for 3rd straight year
By AccessWDUN Staff
For the third year in a row, the University of North Georgia was named one of the nation’s top higher education institutions by Forbes Magazine in its annual “America’s Top Colleges” ranking. UNG, ranked #540, is one of only six public universities in Georgia to be included on the 2018 list, and it ranked fourth among all public universities in the state. The ranking is a list of the nation’s top 650 public and private universities as measured by superior return on investment; high impact, leadership and success; a first-rate student-consumer experience; and the return students receive on their investment.
www.digitaljournalcom
EDsmart Names the 30 Most Affordable Online Master’s Programs
EDsmart, a nationally recognized publisher of college resources and rankings, has revealed its 2018-2019 edition of the Most Affordable Online Master’s Programs.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3912734
EDsmart’s ranking of most affordable online master’s programs is the most comprehensive and well-rounded to date.The ranking includes only fully accredited schools that offer amaster’s program online. Rankings are based solely on average in-state graduate student tuition as published in the National Center for Education Statistics database.
Schools that made the list include: Columbus State University…Georgia College & State University …Georgia Southern University …Kennesaw State University …University of West Georgia …Valdosta State University
www.myajc.com
Georgia State graduates more African-American students than any non-profit university, report says
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia State University is graduating more African-American students than any nonprofit university in the nation, according to a new report. More than 1,900 African-American students received bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State, according to preliminary data from the 2016-17 academic year compiled by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Georgia State was first among non-profit schools and third overall. Georgia State has the largest enrollment of any university in the state, with more than 51,000 students last fall, according to state data. More than 40 percent of its students are African-American, the data shows. Other Georgia schools that ranked high on the list included Kennesaw State (17th overall) and Georgia Southern (20th overall).
www.tiftongazette.com
GMA supervisor named Georgia Project Learning Tree Outstanding Facilitator
TIFTON – Kelly Scott from the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village received the 2017 Georgia Project Learning Tree (PLT) Outstanding Facilitator award at the recent Georgia Forestry Association annual conference. Scott serves as the agriculture and natural resources supervisor at the Museum where she oversees the Destination Ag program, the state’s premier agriculture literacy program. Garrett Boone, director of ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture, lauded Scott’s accomplishments. …Scott was selected for the award based on her significant contributions to promoting and training preservice and current educators on using the PLT curriculum. Since 2017, she has planned and implemented workshops impacting 44 educators from across Georgia.
www.emanuelcountylive.com
Dean Cheek’s books to be housed at national museum
http://emanuelcountylive.com/2018/08/dean-cheeks-books-to-be-housed-at-national-museum/
by KATELYN MOOR
The Lee-Fendall House and Museum, located in historic Alexandria, Va., has requested and will now offer East Georgia State College Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. H. Lee Cheek’s, books related to the historical figures associated with the house, as well his research materials collected over the last 30 years, to visiting researchers and the public.
www.augustachronicle.com
AU Health opens first practice in Columbia County
http://www.augustachronicle.com/news/20180827/au-health-opens-first-practice-in-columbia-county
By Joe Hotchkiss
Unveiling the sign just made it official. Augusta University and its health-care network, AU Health, announced its first presence in Columbia County in the health organization’s 190-year history. AU Health primary-care providers will begin offering on-site appointments at Perfect Health Urgent Care and Weight Loss in Evans, 4244 Washington Road. The office will be called Augusta University Care Center Evans. AU President Brooks Keel called the partnership and the opening “a true win for our medical community, and I just want to say how proud I am to finally be in Columbia County.”
www.thegeorgeanne.com
Recent Georgia Southern graduate lone survivor in Saturday’s plane crash
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_f5b79261-c1af-5423-a60e-c0a7b011972c.html
By Shiann Sivell, The George-Anne staff
A plane crash in Swainsboro left four people dead and one recent Georgia Southern University alumnus in critical condition on Saturday. The small plane was carrying the passengers from The Jumping Place Skydiving Center where it crashed on the runway as it was taking off. The survivor, William Middlebrooks, was taken to Augusta University Medical Center where he is currently in critical condition, Casey Trenton, a family friend, said.
www.ajc.com
Man kidnapped 3 near Georgia Southern, sexually assaulted 2, killed himself, GBI says
By Steve Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A man kidnapped three women at knifepoint near Georgia Southern University and sexually assaulted two of them in another county before killing himself, the GBI said. Bradley Justin Cochran, who was wanted on kidnapping charges in Bulloch County and sexual assault charges in Candler County, was located late Monday morning in Metter, which is about 187 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta, according to a statement from the Candler County Sheriff’s Office. “The suspect was found deceased (from an) apparent suicide,” Statesboro police said in a tweet. “There is no further danger to the public regarding this incident.” …Georgia Southern issued an alert to students about the abduction, which occurred about 9 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Food World on Fair Road. However, school spokeswoman Jennifer Wise would not confirm if the victims were affiliated with Georgia Southern.
Higher Education News:
www.chronicle.com
Colleges Say They Prepare Students for a Career, Not Just a First Job. Is That True?
By Beckie Supiano
About 60 percent of executives and hiring managers think that most college graduates are prepared to succeed in entry-level positions. But only a third of executives, and a quarter of hiring managers, believe graduates have the skills and knowledge to advance or be promoted. Those findings — among the most striking in a new survey of employers released on Tuesday by the Association of American Colleges & Universities — are open to several interpretations. On the one hand, it’s probably intuitive that graduates would be better poised for entry-level work than for advancement. No one has a second job until they’ve had a first one. On the other, colleges often argue that they’re preparing students not merely for a first job, but for a lifetime of professional and broader success. That position, in fact, is a key prong in the argument that higher education is worth the price. But the survey findings appear to be in tension with that argument. How might colleges make sense of it all?
www.texastribune.org
Following backlash, Texas A&M overhauls its sexual misconduct policies
The A&M System is banning relationships between undergraduate students and faculty or staff. Meanwhile, the flagship campus in College Station is implementing nearly a dozen changes to the student disciplinary process.
https://www.texastribune.org/2018/08/20/texas-m-overhauls-its-title-ix-sexual-misconduct-policies/
BY SHANNON NAJMABADI
Responding to backlash over how its flagship campus handles sexual assault allegations, officials in the Texas A&M University System have embraced a wholesale overhaul of the disciplinary process, unveiling Monday mandatory sanctions for students and faculty that go so far as to require the automatic firing of any employee found responsible for sexual harassment. …On Monday, A&M President Michael Young said students on the College Station campus will now face tougher sanctions for sexual misconduct and that some discretion will be removed from the punishment process. Outlining nearly a dozen changes the school will immediately make, Young detailed initiatives often called for by victims’ rights advocates, including an increase in the accessibility of counselors; having one case manager handle each grievance rather than a rotation of staff members; and requiring that transcripts be marked when a student has been suspended, dismissed or expelled in connection to misconduct. A new system will also be established to decide if student-athletes and students who particulate in campus activities such as Greek life or the Corps of Cadets will be allowed to return after being found responsible for a violation of Title IX, the federal gender equity law. The dean of students, rather than a coach or organization leader, will now be arbiter on what interim restrictions are imposed on an accused student. A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said in a statement Monday that the changes at A&M, which deal only with student conduct, would be extended to the system’s 10 other campuses.
www.insidehighered.com
Texas A&M Overhauls Sex Assault Policies
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
After complaints over its handling of sexual assault cases, Texas A&M University has overhauled its policies, making punishments for rape and other sexual misconduct much stricter. Earlier this month, the institution announced 11 changes around its Title IX policies. Title IX of the Education of the Amendments of 1972 is the federal law barring gender discrimination. Officials, in an attempt to make the sanctions for sexual misconduct more consistent, approved a “matrix” that determines whether a student will be put on probation, given a warning, suspended or expelled based on the violation. For instance, any student found to be responsible for a violent sex offense, or nonconsensual sex, will be suspended for at least a year. “We believe that these actions will not only contribute to continual improvement at our university in safety, processes, transparency, fairness and accountability, but will also set a new standard nationally for how Title IX investigations are managed,” President Michael K. Young said in a statement.