University System News:
OnlineMasters.com Names Top 50 Masters of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner for 2018
OnlineMasters.com’s recognizes the nation’s top Master of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner Degree Programs.
OnlineMasters.com, an industry-leading educational research organization, announces the release of their Best Online Master of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner Degree Programs for 2018. They have identified the top 50 programs in the nation that are the best in the areas of curriculum quality, program flexibility, affordability, and graduate outcomes. …According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a 15% annual growth in demand for graduates of this degree program, which is faster than the average for all occupations. …2018 Best Online Masters of Science in Nursing – Nurse Practitioner (in alphabetical order):
Columbus State University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia SouthWestern State University
New College Ranking and Review Aggregator Publishes Best Colleges in Georgia 2018
CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — College Consensus (http://www.collegeconsensus.com), a unique new college ranking website, has published their ranking of the Best Colleges in Georgia 2018 at https://www.collegeconsensus.com/ranking/best-colleges-ga/ To identify the Best Colleges in Georgia for 2018, College Consensus combined the latest results from the most respected college ranking systems with thousands of real student reviews to produce a unique consensus score for each school. According to College Consensus founder Jeremy Alder, “Like Rotten Tomatoes does for movies, College Consensus gathers college rankings and reviews from around the web and distills them into a simple, easy to understand score so students can quickly and easily compare schools. It is the ranking of all rankings, so to speak.” Learn more about the College Consensus rankings methodology at http://www.collegeconsensus.com/about/. To help prospective Georgia students evaluate the higher education options that are right for their individual needs, College Consensus identified the best-ranked colleges in the Peach State (presented here in alphabetical order):
Albany State University – Albany, GA
Augusta University – Augusta, GA
Columbus State University – Columbus, GA
Georgia College & State University – Milledgeville, GA
Georgia Southern University – Statesboro, GA
Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA
Georgia Tech – Atlanta, GA
University of Georgia – Athens, GA
University of North Georgia – Dahlonega, GA
Georgia State and Georgia Tech Awarded $2.25M Grant to Establish Atlanta Global Studies Center
Staff Report From Metro Atlanta CEO
Georgia State University and Georgia Institute of Technology have established the Atlanta Global Studies Center, a National Resource Center and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship program funded by a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The interdisciplinary center will focus on research and instruction geared to student populations that are underrepresented in international and advanced language studies. “The Atlanta Global Studies Center will provide opportunities for economic and civic partnerships across the greater Atlanta region by leveraging the city’s status as a leading international corporate center and thriving multinational investment hub,” said G.P. ‘Bud’ Peterson, president of Georgia Institute of Technology. “The state of Georgia’s efforts in bilingual and dual-immersion education demonstrate the ever-growing need for a global workforce. We are honored to work with Georgia State on yet another collaboration.”
Middle Georgia State University’s Dr. Monica Miller Named a 2018 Governor’s Teaching Fellow
Staff Report From Middle Georgia CEO
Dr. Monica Miller, assistant professor of English at Middle Georgia State University, has been selected as a 2018-19 Governor’s Teaching Fellow for the academic year symposium program. As one of 18 faculty members from institutions of higher education across the state of Georgia, Miller was selected after a highly competitive application and selection process. Miller’s research specialty is the relationship between gender and region in American literature as well as the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Andrew Young’s love song for Atlanta, past, present and future
By Maria Saporta – Contributing Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
When former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young received Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen Jr. Prize in Social Courage on Sept. 13, he turned it into a love song for Atlanta – past, present and future. Young remembered meeting with Allen in the mayor’s office in the middle of the 1968 Atlanta sanitation workers strike … Receiving the prize helped close a circle for Young. He is the first Atlanta mayor to receive the annual $100,000 prize that was named after another Atlanta mayor. That history was not lost on Young … For nearly seven years, Joe Bankoff has served as chair of Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs. Bankoff will be stepping down from that role at the end of the academic term, according to Jacqueline Royster, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. The Sam Nunn School is a unit of the Ivan Allen College.
PHOTOS: UGA’s Miller Learning Center celebrating 15 years in operation
The University of Georgia Miller Learning Center is celebrating its 15th year of the operation on the campus of UGA.
UGA celebrates 100 years of women
By Aaron Hale
ATHENS — A century ago, the first class of undergraduate women enrolled at the University of Georgia. Today, it’s hard to imagine a University of Georgia without women. In the last century, women students have become part of the essential fabric of UGA—leading student organizations, spearheading community outreach efforts, andoffering diverse perspectives to the learning environment. But the path to coeducation was long and hard fought. Mary Creswell, the first woman to earn a UGA bachelor’s degree described it as “prying open the doors of the university to undergraduate women.” It took a 25-year effort from dedicated advocates of co-education in Georgia to break through.
On-Ramps and Off-Ramps: Alternative Credentials and Emerging Pathways Between Education and Work
Submitted by Paul Fain
The college degree is considered the best ticket to a rewarding career and the middle class. But many say the traditional degree pathway is failing to meet the nation’s postsecondary education and training needs. As a result, a growing number of colleges are partnering with employers — or brokers who make those connections — and noncollege education providers to offer alternative credential pathways. This is the focus of Inside Higher Ed’s new special report, On-Ramps and Off-Ramps: Alternative Credentials and Emerging Pathways Between Education and Work. Based on interviews with more than 75 experts, this report seeks to explore whether colleges and non-accredited education providers, backed by labor-market data and in partnership with employers, create viable forms of alternative credentials that will help more Americans get a first job, promotion or make a career change? … Alternative Graduate Credentials – Snapshot: Georgia Tech and Lifelong Learning
Georgia Research Alliance names first new CEO in 18 years
By Maria Saporta – Contributing Writer, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Russell Allen, the president and CEO of Georgia Bio, was selected Thursday morning as the new president and CEO of the Georgia Research Alliance. Allen will succeed Michael Cassidy, who has been with GRA for 25 years and served as its president and CEO since 2000. The board of the Georgia Research Alliance started its quarterly meeting Thursday by going into executive session to name Allen the new CEO. “It’s not going to be easy to follow Mike,” Allen said to members of the high-powered GRA board. “I think we have some exciting times ahead of us.” Allen mentioned how Georgia Bio and the Georgia Research Alliance have been close partners over the years in efforts to grow the state’s bioscience industry and research capabilities. …“Our universities are drivers of innovation and new startups,” said Russell Allen. “GRA has been a tremendous asset to our state for almost three decades; I look forward to carrying on its legacy and helping grow our innovation economy in Georgia.” The board of the Georgia Research Alliance includes top business leaders from across the state as well as the presidents of Georgia’s eight research universities: Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Emory University, Augusta University, Clark-Atlanta University, Morehouse School of Medicine and Mercer University.
Rendering: Next Tech Square facet could bring a two-tower Georgia Tech complex
With a projected 400,000 square feet, the Midtown development would welcome business and engineering students
https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/9/17/17869270/tech-square-project-two-tower-georgia-tech-midtown
By Sean Keenan
The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Midtown footprint is projecting to become even more robust in coming years. The school last week announced that Tech Square—an evolving, multifaceted project enveloped by 8th Street on the north, 3rd Street on the south, West Peachtree Street to the east, and Williams Street to the west—is primed for the third phase of development. The estimated $200 million Phase III will likely begin with the development of a two-tower complex that is expected to host programming for graduate and executive education at the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business and the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
At Children’s Minnesota hospitals, a shot at reducing needle pain
Strategies to reduce pain, anxiety from needles shown to work
By Jeremy Olson Star Tribune
For every child who has squirmed and cried over a shot or a blood draw — and every parent who has stood by helplessly — doctors at Children’s Minnesota hospitals are reporting success in a campaign to eliminate needle pain … New technologies are emerging to address needle pain as well. A Georgia Tech researcher who has studied the causes of needle fears invented the “Buzzy,” a device that resembles a bee and delivers cold and vibration to the skin to reduce injection pain.
3D PRINTED TRACHEAL SPLINTS USED IN PEDIATRIC SURGERY
https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printed-tracheal-splints-used-in-pediatric-surgery-140113/
Swamini Khanvilkar
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHoA) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) have successfully used 3D printed tracheal splints in the pediatric surgery of a 7-month old patient with a life-threatening airway obstruction. The surgeons of CHoA used three custom-made splints, which were made by biomedical engineers of Georgia Tech. Donna Hyland, President and CEO, CHoA, said, “This is a great example of how aligning Children’s clinical expertise with the missions of our research collaborators can improve patient outcomes.” … The Pediatric Technology Center is a joint initiative supported by Georgia Tech and CHoA. Scott Hollister, Ph.D., director of the Center for 3D Medical Fabrication at Georgia Tech, developed this process for creating the tracheal splint using additive manufacturing technology at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
All clear given after report of shots fired at Savannah State
http://www.wtoc.com/2018/09/21/all-clear-given-after-report-shots-fired-savannah-state/
SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) – The Savannah State University Police Department investigated a report of shots fired in the University Village area in the early morning hours on Friday. An alert was sent to students, faculty and staff via the LiveSafe app notifying them of the situation. An “all clear” notification was sent to students and faculty a short time later.
Family of student killed by campus police to sue university
By Associated Press
ATLANTA — The family of a Georgia Tech student killed by a campus police officer last year says it’s going to sue the university. WSB-TV reports Scout Schultz’s father, Bill, says the family has waited long enough since the September shooting. The 21-year-old Schultz called 911 last year to report an armed suspicious person and was then killed by Officer Tyler Beck. Beck has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office still is investigating.
Kennesaw State cheerleader who kneeled during anthem goes on ‘The View’
By Ben Brasch – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A former Kennesaw State cheerleader suing the university for allegedly violating her rights after she and other cheerleaders knelt during the national anthem last season appeared Wednesday on “The View.”
Tommia Dean was one of the four protesting cheerleaders who wasn’t invited to rejoin the squad after kneeling during the anthem in protest of police brutality and racial discrimination. Their kneeling put the cheerleaders in the national debate over athletes and others protesting during the anthem. Dean told the hosts of the show why she kneeled. …Dean’s lawsuit claims the decision to keep cheerleaders off the field means her civil rights were violated by the university and two elected officials, Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren and former longtime state Rep. Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs. The suit says the two men tried to stop the protests because she and the other cheerleaders are black. Both elected officials are white.
UPDATE: Facebook used to lure 2nd suspect in groping cases at, near Georgia State
By J.D. Capelouto, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two men have been arrested in connection with three groping cases at or near Georgia State University earlier this week, and police used social media to capture one of the suspects. Zaquaris Q. Carter was captured Wednesday and Brandon Hunt was arrested Thursday, officials said. Both face sexual battery charges. After the alleged assaults, police initially said they believed one man was behind all three incidents. They determined that was not the case. …Hunt is not a GSU student, Spillane said. …An Atlanta police officer saw a man, later identified as Carter, lying in a driveway on Auburn Avenue about 11 a.m. Wednesday, Daugherty said. “The officer detained the male and was able to determine he was the same male from the assault,” he said. Atlanta police arrested him and took him to the Fulton County Jail.
Georgia Southern student’s death in March was drug-related, GBI says
By Steve Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The March death of a 22-year-old Georgia Southern University student from DeKalb County was drug-related, according to a GBI autopsy. Bradley Frietas, a Decatur High graduate, died of accidental acute heroin and fentanyl toxicity, a GBI medical examiner determined. “There is no suspicion of foul play” in Frietas’ death, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles told AJC.com on Thursday.
See also:
Georgia Southern student’s death in March ruled an accidental overdose
http://www.thegeorgeanne.com/news/article_b9f78fd2-cbdd-5cd0-851d-86724ebf0979.html
Georgia Southern student found dead in same apartment where another student died in March
By Steve Burns, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the second time in six months, the GBI is investigating the death of a Georgia Southern University student in the same university housing facility. Malik Jones, a 20-year-old junior, was found dead about 8 p.m. Tuesday in his apartment in the Freedom’s Landing complex, the GBI said in a statement. …On March 1, the body of 22-year-old Bradley Frietas, a Decatur High School graduate, was found at Freedom’s Landing by responders conducting a wellness check. Frietas died of accidental acute heroin and fentanyl toxicity, according to a GBI autopsy. The investigation into his death is ongoing. When questioned Thursday about the deaths occurring at the same housing facility, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles would not comment on any possible connection.
Southern Poly, Kennesaw State alum donates $2.5 million earmarked for baseball team
MDJ staff
Kennesaw State’s athletic department on Thursday announced a $2.5 million commitment earmarked for the Owls’ baseball program. The commitment by Mickey Dunn, president and CEO of ML Industries, equaled the largest one-time single donation an individual donor has given to the Owls’ athletic department. Dunn, who has a degree from Kennesaw State, played baseball from 1978-81 at Marietta’s Southern Polytechnic State University — the present-day Marietta campus of Kennesaw State — and was inducted into its athletic hall of fame in 2015. Dunn and his wife, Teresa, presented a $2.5 million check last Saturday, during Kennesaw State’s home-opener football game against Alabama State.
Higher Education News:
College rankings need more focus on graduation rates of low-income students
By Bridget Burns
This time of year always brings a robust debate over college rankings — which ones matter most, and whether to trust what they value. Too often, rankings have asked America’s college and university leaders to face the tough choice of investing in students from low-income families or weeding them out in a quest for prestige. These decisions are critical for both our nation’s economic future and the futures of low-income students and their families … Colleges ought to pull out all the stops to help more low-income students graduate. Historically, the incentives in place have not rewarded colleges for doing this. The now well-documented story of Georgia State University helps to illustrate the point and may signal a welcome shift among rankings.
Report: Counselors Need Better Training to Help Students Apply to Colleges
by Jamie Rogers
Confusing wording on financial aid documents, not enough access to school counselors along with the limited knowledge of the counselors they can access, are just some of the barriers facing low-income and first-generation students needing critical information about college financing options, according to a new report. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) report, “Barriers to Successfully Financing a College Education-And How to Help Overcome Them,” highlights areas that negatively impact all high school students’ ability to get all the needed facts about paying for higher education. Some college career professionals and school counselors do not know enough about financial aid to offer the best advice to students, according to supported by PriceWaterhouseCooper’s (PwC) Access Your Potential commitment. According to the report, about 68 percent of school counselors feel they are well-versed in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) – the first and most fundamental step in the college aid process. Just 38 percent of early-career college admissions professionals feel they are well-versed in FAFSA.
Study Reveals Perceptions of the Student Voice on Campuses
by LaMont Jones
WASHINGTON – Leaders of student government organizations on college campuses perceive themselves as having more impact on institutional decision-making when they have a right to speak during discussion as opposed to an ability to vote later in the process. That was one of the key findings in a research report released Thursday by the National Campus Leadership Council (NCLC). The Student Voice Index (SVI) report, titled “A Study on Student Voice in Decision-Making at Institutions of Higher Education,” is the result of a comprehensive study of the perceptions of more than 200 chief student representatives at a broad range of campuses across the nation, from public flagship universities and private research schools to community colleges, regional campuses and minority serving institutions. With a rise in student activism on issues ranging from mental health and campus safety to college affordability and cultural diversity, some experts say an in-depth look at the level of student inclusion in school governing is overdue. The NCLC study examined not only student perceptions, but also institutional practices and policies relative to the role of student government leaders in institutional decision-making.
U.S. Students Spend More Time Working Paid Jobs Than Going to Class
Facing mounting debt, U.S. college students spend double the time working paid jobs than in the library.
By Riley Griffin
Haunted by costly degrees and insurmountable student debt, American college students now spend more time working paid jobs than in lectures, the library or studying at home. The vast majority of current students—85 percent—work while enrolled, according to an HSBC survey published Thursday. Students spend an average of 4.2 hours a day working paid jobs, which is more than double the time they spend in the library, nearly two hours more than they spend in class and 1.4 hours more time than they spend studying at home … The United States spends more per college student than nearly every country in the world, according to a September report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. And the cost of tuition is at an all-time high, bringing with it the highest rate of student loan debt in history.
Study: Students With a Job After Graduation Earn More
By Emma Whitford
A new analysis by Gallup and Strada released today shows that students who have a good job upon graduation earn more money immediately after graduating and in the long-term scope of their careers than students who take between two and 12 months to secure a good job. A “good job” was defined by each student, and the data was pulled from a Gallup-Strada Alumni Survey that interviewed more than 4,429 U.S. adults between 2010 and 2016. (Note: Inside Higher Ed works with Gallup on some surveys but played no role in this one.) Students who did not seek a job immediately after graduation, such as students who decided to continue their education, were excluded from the analysis.
Black Male College Students Thrive When They Take Part in Black Male Initiative Programs
A new study led by a sociologist at the University of Cincinnati has found that Black male initiative (BMI) programs enhance Black male students’ sense of belonging and success in college. The study was led by Derrick R. Brooms, an associate professor of sociology and Africana studies. Dr. Brooms studied Black male students from three different educational institutions and found that their out-of-class involvement in BMI programs strengthened their sense of community. Black male students are often faced with issues of isolation due to the frequently low number of Black male students on college campuses. However, participation in BMI programs helped these students access social and cultural capital, provided support, and aided in their college success, according to the study. According to Dr. Brooms, “this research shows that creating an environment where these students feel valued, their voices are heard, and they are connected to people who believe in their abilities supports their transition, academic efforts, personal development, and persistence.”
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Model for Student Success
https://www.chronicle.com/article/There-s-No-One-Size-Fits-All/244580
By Kevin P. Reilly
About 17 million undergraduates are in American colleges, and they are more diverse — in age, race, ethnicity, wealth, and family background — than ever before. These students have differing expectations of what college can do for them, and they need to reach their goals using a wider variety of means than colleges have offered in the past. How should we define and deliver a quality education to all of them? Those means include online delivery, flipped classrooms, blended learning, accelerated semesters, collaborative learning, competency-based education, and prior learning assessment … (Author is Kevin P. Reilly, president emeritus and a regent professor in the University of Wisconsin system and a senior fellow at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.)
New York AG Sues Debt-Relief Companies
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Telemarketers from several student loan relief companies falsely represented themselves as employees of the federal government and told borrowers they could not enroll in debt-relief programs like income-based repayment on their own, the New York attorney general alleged in a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court Thursday. The suit also alleges that the loan-relief companies falsely told borrowers they could eliminate their student loan debt by making payments to the companies. The companies would typically charge borrowers $1,000 for those services, which are available without charge through the Department of Education. “These companies sought to line their own pockets by taking advantage of students who were simply trying to pay for their education,” said Attorney General Barbara Underwood. “My office will continue to do everything in our power to protect students — and all New Yorkers — from predatory scammers.”