University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: New presidential hires, programs and scholarships
By Eric Stirgus
Summer officially began on Friday, and while there are not many students on campus, it doesn’t mean there isn’t much happening. In recent days, Clark Atlanta University hired a new president and Georgia Tech’s incoming president visited the campus. Here’s our round-up of some things that took place in the last week in this week’s AJC On Campus. Presidential searches & transparency …UGA rural scholarships …Report: HBCUs “punching above their weight” …
College Consensus
25 MOST AFFORDABLE ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS 2019
ONLINE MBA PROGRAMS WITH THE LOWEST TUITION RATES
The MBA is one of the most trusted degrees for business management higher education. But no one wants to get bogged down in student loans, and today, thanks to some affordable and high-quality degrees, students may not have to ever again. Looking for a prestigious program like an MBA with an affordable tuition rate gives students the best chance for a high return on investment. The program curriculum in an MBA is designed to equip graduate students with a broad spectrum of leadership training, including a solid understanding of marketing, accounting, economics, and finance. Many MBAs give students a chance to be exposed to real-world case studies so they can understand what it takes to be a decision maker in an organization. The MBA is applicable to students interested in working in the government, as entrepreneurs, in the private or public sector, and in nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike. Couple an incredible curriculum like the MBA with an online format, and you open the doors of possibility for many business leaders currently working in America’s workforce. …#2 Augusta University James M. Hull College of Business … #8 Georgia Southwestern State University School of Business Administration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By the numbers: UNCF report on historically black colleges
By Eric Stirgus
The UNCF released a report Tuesday that concludes historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) educates and graduates a higher percentage of African American students in Georgia and everywhere else they operate. There are seven accredited HBCUs in Georgia that offer bachelor’s degrees. Here are some key numbers from the 36-page report: 2,548 – the number of African American students in Georgia awarded bachelor’s degrees by HBCUs, second only to North Carolina.15,349 – the number of African American undergraduate students attending HBCUs in Georgia. …
Albany Herald
Rooms available for ABAC students who want to live on campus
From Staff Reports
Students enrolled for the upcoming fall semester who desire to take full advantage of what Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has to offer can apply for on-campus housing. Move-in days for the new academic year are scheduled for Aug. 8-9 by appointment. Fall term classes begin Aug. 13. Chris Kinsey, director of residence life, says limited spaces are available in ABAC Place and ABAC Lakeside for students seeking a place to live for the fall semester. “We are 90 percent full and expect all rooms to be claimed by the end of summer,” Kinsey said. “I encourage students to contact the office as soon as possible to ensure a spot is still available and to successfully be matched with or to choose the roommate of their choice.”
WJBF
Local students train to prevent suicide and other mental health episodes
The latest numbers show suicide rates are rising. New research published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health and Statistics shows that 33% more people commit suicide now than 20 years ago. Tuesday, Students at Augusta University took a course on how to help prevent it. The program called Health First Aid is designed to give people the confidence and tools help someone who is struggling with mental illness or suicidal thoughts. “More people commit suicide than are killed by homicide each year,” says Denise Kornegay. “This is a huge problem.” Denise Kornegay is an Associate Dean at The Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. She is also a trainer for the internationally recognized program, Mental Health First Aid.
Morning Ag Clips
UGA’s Katrien Devos recognized as Fellow of Crop Science Society of America
Devos has played an integral role in the development of a more food-secure world
Katrien M. Devos, a professor of crop and soil sciences and plant biology at the University of Georgia, has been named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA). Her nomination and selection as a CSSA Fellow recognizes a career dedicated to breaking new ground in understanding the genetics and evolutionary biology of crops and in the search for more resilient and sustainable crop varieties. From mapping the genomes of orphan crops, like finger and foxtail millet, to tracking the genetic evolution of agronomic and wild grasses, Devos has played an integral role in the development of a more food-secure world. The CSSA, the premier international scientific society for crop scientists and crop breeders, selects CSSA Fellows to recognize members for professional achievements and meritorious service. Only up to 0.3% of the society’s active and emeritus members may be elected as Fellows. Fellowship is the highest level of recognition offered by the society. Since the program was established, 24 UGA professors have been selected as CSSA Fellows; four of them are still active in UGA agricultural research.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Gwinnett mulling proposed retirement community next to UGA’s Gwinnett campus
By Curt Yeomans
Gwinnett County commissioners are mulling over a proposal to build a retirement community with at least 166 units on nearly 10 acres near the University of Georgia’s Gwinnett campus and Interstate 85. Brand Partners LLP wants to build the Clarion/Huntcrest community on 9.96 acres on the 2300 block of Sever Road, between Old Peachtree and North Brown roads. Documents show that although the initial request was for 166 multifamily units, including some townhomes, the county’s Planning Commission approved a condition that would let as many as 200 units be built after an amended site plan was submitted in February. But the developer is asking county commissioners to wait a couple of months before making a decision so it can work out a deal with a builder, according to county Commissioner Jace Brooks, whose district includes the proposed site.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA ag scientists open research farm for public view
By Sarah Freund Correspondent
Creating methods that ensure economic and environmental sustainability has easily become one of the most important aspects of modern-day farming, according to University of Georgia officials. The UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has made this theme a priority in the 30-plus agriculture projects they have been researching for the past several years at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville. On Tuesday, the public was given free tours of the center as vans shuttled groups through the research stations scattered across the farm in Watkinsville.
WUGA
Summer Open Houses Highlight Sustainable Agriculture Research at UGA
By ALEXIA RIDLEY
The University of Georgia is holding the second of two Open House Farm Tours this week. Organizers say farmers, or curious members of the community, interested in fruit and vegetable production, organic farming, and strategies for helping growers overcome challenges are invited to attend the Twilight Summer Field Day. …Faculty and researchers will be at their plots to discuss their research and to share best practices at UGA’s 90-acre organic research and horticulture farm. Topics covered include natural pest and disease control, viticulture, no-till vegetable production, organic watermelon production, pollinator protection and beekeeping and more.
WALB News
Law enforcement, teachers, students learn new ways to prevent school shootings
By Darran Todd
Law enforcement agencies and teachers came together at the Tifton UGA Campus Tuesday to learn new and innovative ways to prevent school shootings. Over 500 teachers, law enforcement and students attended the Safety in Our Schools Prevention conference earlier at the UGA Tifton campus. The event taught school officials the safety procedures to take when faced with danger in the hallways. “This is the tenth year we have had this conference and it is an opportunity for educators, law enforcement and first responders to come together and learn from experts in the field about ways to keep students safe in our schools,” said Peter Leary, 1st Asst. U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia.
GPB News
In Search Of Flannery O’Connor’s Peacocks
By Emily Rose Thorne
Once you turn onto the dirt road leading up to Andalusia, it’s easy to forget that you’re in a college town and not a rural 1950s farmland. Flannery O’Connor’s historic home appears almost exactly as it did when she lived in Milledgeville, with a notable exception: the writer’s famous aviary, which once housed more than 40 peacocks, has been whittled down to just two of the colorful birds and moved to the opposite end of the backyard. This month, researchers broke ground on an archaeological dig at Andalusia, hoping to find the exact location of O’Connor’s peacock pens. Matt Davis, director of historic museums at Georgia College and State University, said the excavation will illuminate more about O’Connor’s life and allow curators to recreate the property as it appeared when she lived there. Georgia College, O’Connor’s alma mater, received Andalusia as a gift in 2017 and have operated the museum ever since.
Higher Education News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New study: Students ready for college miss key step of taking admissions test
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
Low-income students and those in small districts least likely to sit for college entrance exam
The current lament in Georgia is that we send too many high school students to college who aren’t ready. A new study out of Virginia suggests we could be overlooking students who are ready. A University of Virginia study released today asked what fraction of the students in Virginia who didn’t take the SAT would be revealed as candidates for four-year colleges and universities if they did take the test? In the study “Missed Exams and Lost Opportunities: Who Could Gain from Expanded College Admission Testing?” researchers examined Virginia’s 2014 graduating class, 44 percent of whom were “non-takers,” meaning they didn’t take the SAT.
Newsweek
HOW WOULD AN SAT-ONLY ADMISSIONS PROCESS ALTER STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS AT COLLEGES?
By Jenni Fink
For almost 90 years, SAT scores have been a consideration in a candidate’s application for college. If the exam was the sole decision maker, a recent report found over 50 percent of students would not have gained admittance to the most selective higher education institutions. The exam has been criticized for failing to accurately measure a student’s preparedness for college and over the years, an increasing number of institutions have made submitting SAT scores optional for applicants. Others often use a holistic approach, opting to consider a number of factors, including grades, exam scores, extracurricular activities and the essay with the goal being to establish a well-rounded, successful class. However, if the SAT was the only factor for acceptance to higher education, Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) recently reported that classes would be formed differently. If students were admitted solely on their SAT score, 53 percent of students who were high school freshman in 2009 and later enrolled at one of the top 200 selective colleges in America would no longer be attending.
Inside Higher Ed
DeVos Calls for Making ‘Second Chance Pell’ Permanent
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos called for making the Second Chance Pell experiment permanent Tuesday in remarks at a commencement ceremony for Tulsa Community College’s prison education program. The Obama administration launched the Second Chance program in 2015 to award Pell grants to incarcerated students through a limited number of institutions. The department’s experimental sites authority allowed it to bypass a quarter-century ban on federal aid to students behind bars. The Trump administration, which has sought to make criminal justice a signature issue, has embraced the Second Chance program and in February renewed the program for another year. DeVos told students at the commencement Tuesday that she and President Trump “have faith in the power of redemption.” …The Second Chance experiment is expected to reach about 10,000 students through 65 participating colleges in its third year. That’s less than half the number of incarcerated students who received Pell Grants before Congress passed the 1994 ban.
The Daily Signal
College Costs Are Out of Control. Here’s What Can Be Done.
Lindsey Burke
American colleges and universities are failing in one of their most basic missions: to equip students with the tools they need for a career. Many students graduate ill-prepared to earn a living and pay off the debt they’ve accumulated getting their degrees—40% of those who start college don’t finish within six years. Additionally, students are often subject to indoctrination into socialist ideology. They face hostility toward opinions that don’t conform to the predominantly leftist thinking on campus. They’re also immersed in identity politics that pit students of different backgrounds against one another. Despite these problems, colleges continue to raise tuition. Because federal loan money is handed out with little scrutiny as to the student’s ability to pay it back, colleges have had free reign to raise prices at levels often double the inflation rate. Flush with all that money, their first spending priority often isn’t the classroom but the bureaucracy.
Inside Higher Ed
Senators Question College Board Data on Paying for College
Does information offer incomplete picture of what it costs to attend a community college?
By Scott Jaschik
Every fall, the College Board releases reports on prices to attend college and the availability of aid to pay for college. Inside Higher Ed is among the many publications that write about the reports and cite their data throughout the year. Last week 14 Democratic senators wrote the College Board to urge it to make changes in the way it calculates expenses faced by students, and the way it presents the data. In some instances, the letter said, the presentation fails to portray the real costs faced by students, especially at community colleges. The senators were led by Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Those signing the letter include four senators running for president: Kamala Harris of California, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
Inside Higher Ed
Lawmakers Reconsider Bankruptcy for Student Loans
By Andrew Kreighbaum
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee put a renewed focus in a hearing Tuesday on whether student borrowers should have access to bankruptcy relief. Restrictions passed in 2005 blocked both private and federal student loan borrowers from discharging their debt through bankruptcy. But the growing volume of student debt and the issue’s salience as a campaign issue has fueled interest in legislative solutions like access to bankruptcy. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat and the committee’s chairman, has introduced legislation along with Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, called the Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act that would eliminate current restrictions on student debt in the bankruptcy code and treat student loans like other types of consumer debt.
Inside Higher Ed
New Bill May Allow Athlete Compensation
The NCAA suggests that college athletes in California may not be able to participate in championship games if state passes legislation to allow them to profit off their name, image and likeness.
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is fighting a California bill that would let certain athletes to make money off their name, image or likeness, which NCAA officials and other traditionalists argue would undermine the “amateurism” of college sports. NCAA President Mark Emmert sent a letter last week to the chairs of the two California State Assembly committees that vote on the Fair Pay to Play Act, USA Today first reported. The legislation already passed the State Senate in a 31-5 vote. It would permit athletes to be compensated if the college they attend earns an average of $10 million in media rights revenue a year. At least 23 institutions in the state participate in Division I athletics, including four universities in the high-ranking Pacific-12 Conference. The bill is the latest pressure the NCAA faces to rework its rules on athlete compensation on name, image or likeness. Pundits have accused the association and its member institutions of profiting off players while not sharing the wealth with them. The NCAA has maintained that paying athletes would push the college system too far into professional territory.
See also:
The Chronicle of Higher Education