University System News:
Gwinnett Daily Post
First commencement ceremony for new GGC president set for Thursday
By Taylor Denman
Georgia Gwinnett College president Jann L. Joseph will attend her first commencement ceremony in her new role on Thursday. GGC’s Summer 2019 commencement ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Thursday at Infinite Energy Arena.
Atlanta Magazine
The complicated math behind buying a college education in Georgia
The average student who earns a degree from one of these 10 schools is graduating with more than $27,000 of student loan debt
BY SEAN KEENAN
When tech investor Robert F. Smith pledged to pay off the student loan debt of Morehouse College’s entire 2019 graduating class earlier this summer, he threw a spotlight on the enormity of the student loan debt that many college graduates shoulder. …We set out to break down what it costs to attend some of Georgia’s top schools—and how much of those price tags is paid from the pockets of students. Of course, calculating the true price of college is far more nuanced than just looking at the tuition and fee costs institutions advertise on their websites. To help boil things down, College Factual, an online database that provides context to the numbers on students and graduates’ bills, has tabulated an annual net price for thousands of schools, and we’ve organized the data to help underline the sometimes stark disconnects between the sticker value and the bona fide cost of colleges in Georgia. …On the other hand, Kennesaw State University, which has the cheapest 2017-2018 in-state tuition ($6,347) of any of the 10 schools we studied, actually costs $22,453 annually, according to College Factual’s data, which comes from the U.S. Department of Education and private sources. That higher number accounts for student fees, room and board, and all other expenses after financial aid has been subtracted.
The Red & Black
UGA Child Development Lab awarded federal grant for child care support
Francisco Guzman | News Editor
The United States Department of Education granted the Child Care Access Means Parents In School (CCAMPIS) program about $124,000 per year for four years to fund reduced tuition rates for University of Georgia students, faculty and staff who’s kids go to the Child Development Lab at the McPhaul Center. The grant takes effect Oct. 1. Amy Kay, director of the Child Development Lab, said the grant makes child care services more affordable for UGA students.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
This $3.1 million academy will provide ChattCo students free college classes before graduation
BY MARK RICE
Chattahoochee County Middle and High School students will have more opportunities to get a head start on their career path, thanks to Tuesday’s opening of a new facility on their campus. The ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrated four years of planning and construction that resulted in the 25,000-square-foot addition, fueled by a $3.1 million state grant to establish the Chattahoochee Valley Academy. It’s one of 47 Georgia College & Career Academies established in the state during the past 13 years. …CVA’s partnership with Columbus State University, funded through the state’s dual-enrollment program, provides at the high school college-level core courses for students to earn credit toward an associate’s degree. More than 300 ChattCo students earned college credit last school year, Brooks said, when the academy started before the facility was finished.
13WMAZ
Middle Georgia State Sky Camp encourages the next generation of pilots
Forty campers, ages 10-15, learn how to build rockets and fly planes at Middle Georgia State’s Sky Camp at the Macon Downtown Airport.
Author: Pepper Baker
Middle Georgia State’s sky campers and their aviation dreams take flight, and it has already exceeded Sharif Bonner’s expectations. “I thought I was going to be in like a plane simulator, but then when my mom said you’re going to be flying a real-life plane, I just got scared,” Bonner said. The campers do not actually fly the planes, but they do assist camp leaders like Aaron George and Danielle Schriber during the flight.
WTOC
Georgia Southern University implementing shuttle buses for students
By Dal Cannady
Next month, you could start seeing shuttle buses taking Georgia Southern students between Statesboro and Savannah. They’ll start with two runs per day between the two campuses. Each one will be first come first serve. They may not be the buses you see around campus now, but they’ll each hold 24 riders, include wheelchair lifts, and be ADA accessible. With some majors requiring students to take courses on both campuses at some point, the university will offer this service at no additional charge to students. They’ll start with one route each in the morning and afternoon.
WTOC
Georgia Southern releases asbestos test results for Math/Physics building
By Dal Cannady
Georgia Southern University released the results of a test conducted on Tuesday into the potential release of asbestos in a building on the Statesboro campus on Monday. The Math/Physics building has re-opened after a contractor found asbestos in an HVAC duct following a routine repair. The school brought an outside consultant to complete an air monitoring test to determine the air quality following the asbestos exposure. Asbestos is known to cause serious health concerns if it becomes airborne. The test found that the building is safe and suitable for occupancy. Asbestos is dangerous if it is breathed in. The University’s investigation found that the asbestos exposed was solid in form, not powder or dust.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia leaders debate idea to separate HBCUs from state system
By Eric Stirgus
An African American state senator’s proposal several months ago to help Georgia’s three public, historically black universities is facing new obstacles after a key lawmaker and the leader of the University System of Georgia said they’re against the idea. State Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus, the longest-serving member of the Georgia Legislature, wrote a letter Monday to University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley outlining his concerns about the proposal. …Smyre sent copies of his letter to Gov. Brian Kemp and other state leaders. Wrigley agreed with Smyre’s position in a letter to him Wednesday, saying the three schools “continue to receive among the highest amount of funding per student for their academic sectors.” “It’s mutually beneficial to both USG and the institutions to have our HBCUs fully engaged in system initiatives to raise graduation rates, maintain affordability and increase efficiency,” Wrigley wrote.
Apparel Resources
by Apparel Resources News-Desk
University of Georgia is going to partner Texprocess Americas next year! Yes, Texprocess Americas announced recently that University of Georgia will be their official academic partner for the 2020 edition that will be held from 12 to 14 May. The partnership will bring the experts from the University’s faculty and staff to provide the attendees at Texprocess with top educational opportunities. What else! The visitors and exhibitors will get a hold on the latest researches done by the university. Besides, there will be a feature area on the floor that will provide the school’s undergraduate and graduate research programmes an exposure and platform to showcase their contributions to the industry. The partnership between the two will also help facilitate future careers and strategic partnerships with the university’s administration.
The Moultrie Observer
ABAC Hosts Hunter Education Course August 5-6
Staff Reports
Take the first step toward becoming a licensed hunter in Georgia by registering for a free Hunter Education course at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Aug. 5-6 from 6-10 p.m. in Room 103 of the Yow Forestry Wildlife Building. Vanessa Lane, an associate professor of wildlife ecology and management at ABAC as well as a certified wildlife biologist, said the class is part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Statewide R3 Initiative to “Recruit-Retain-Reactivate” hunters. The ABAC R3 program is funded by The Georgia Wildlife Federation and led by Parker Gerdes, an ABAC student majoring in natural resources management. “Participants will learn firearm anatomy and safety, tree stand safety, the history of wildlife conservation in the United States, wildlife identification, and other important subjects,” Lane said. “This in-person training will be fun and interactive.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Arts and Culture Preview Open to Public on August 8th
Staff Report From Tifton CEO
The Office of College Advancement at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will host a special preview of 2019-20 Arts and Culture events at ABAC on Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture Conference Center. This preview event will highlight the new additions and spotlight the returning series such as the ABAC Presents! Performing Arts Series, the First Tuesday concerts, An Evening for ABAC, the Baldwin Players’ productions, the Georgia Poetry Circuit, the ABAC Lecture Series, and all musical performances at the college. New to the Arts and Culture events at ABAC this year are the ABAC at the Tift concerts which will spotlight popular music and bands from the past in the historic Tift Theatre, now managed by ABAC.
11Alive
Former Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach files lawsuit after being fired
She’s seeking relief against the defendants for sex discrimination, retaliation of violation of Title IX, breach of contract, and other alleged violations.
Author: Donesha Aldridge
The former Georgia Tech women’s basketball head coach is filing a lawsuit four months after she was fired. In March, MaChelle Joseph was terminated. One of the main allegations was that basketball players had been subject to mistreatment by Joseph and the staff. Joseph coached the team 16 years. Forty interviews were completed during the investigation. They talked to Joseph, the team’s 2018-19 assistant coaches, all 13 members of the 2018-19 team, various administrators and support staff, as well as parents of student-athletes. …Now, Joseph is filing a complaint against the Board of Regents of The University System of Georgia, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association, the athletic director Todd Stansbury, and others. She’s seeking relief against the defendants for sex discrimination, retaliation of violation of Title IX, breach of contract, and other alleged violations.
Statesboro Herald
Donors provide police dogs with bulletproof vests
When bullets start to fly, most law enforcement officers are protected by safety vests. Now, Statesboro police, Georgia Southern University police and Bulloch County sheriff’s K9 partners have that same protection, thanks to donors who provided them with lightweight body armor.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Textbook Spending Continues Slow Decline
Survey finds the amount students spend on course materials each year has decreased, possibly indicating students are increasingly utilizing open-source material and other educational resources.
By Nick Hazelrigg
Keeping in line with recent trends over the last couple of years, spending on course materials such as textbooks decreased 14 percent in the last year, an annual survey of students finds. A separate study of internal prices of one textbook retailer found that prices had decreased 26 percent in the last year. According to the survey of more than 20,000 students across 41 institutions conducted by the National Association of College Stores, students on average spent $415 on course materials in the 2018-19 academic year, down from $484 last year. Student spending has declined almost every year in the last decade — in 2008 students spent an average of $700 on course materials. Richard Hershman, vice president of government relations at NACS, said this decline is the result of attempts within the college stores industry to make materials more affordable.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
New Program Provides Opportunity for Faculty to Get Published
by Jamal Watson
A new partnership between a prominent scholar of urban education and a respected academic press is being hailed as a “game changer” that will yield new publishing opportunities for academicians—particularly those at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions—who have traditionally struggled to get their research published and widely disseminated. The Academic Publishing Program in Urban Education & Black Studies is a collaborative effort between Information Age Publishing and Dr. Chance W. Lewis, the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Urban Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The partnership was created to forge relationships with academic departments and schools at colleges and universities across the country that have a desire to help their faculty produce academic books in the growing field of urban education and Black studies.