University System News:
The Times-Georgian
Kelly to take UWG post a week early
By Stephanie Allen
The University of West Georgia announced Friday that Dr. Brenden Kelly will begin his presidency on Monday, March 23, after he was originally scheduled to begin April 1. Kelly will assume his role as the eighth president of UWG, as Dr. Stuart Rayfield leaves her position as interim president. Rayfield said in a press release Friday afternoon that, “it is imperative we have leadership focused on the long-term implications of each decision that must be made and what the strategy will be to address each challenge.”
Augusta CEO
AU/UGA Medical Partnership Announces Seventh Successful Match Day
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Students at the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership participated in a “Virtual Match Day” at noon March 20 to receive their postgraduation assignments for residency programs. In past years, students and faculty gathered in George Hall on the UGA Health Sciences Campus to celebrate with family and friends, but plans were altered this year due to growing concerns over the recent coronavirus infectious disease pandemic and requirements for social distancing. This year, students had their own private celebrations with family and friends. Students shared videos and photos to social media and had the option to share their good news through an online virtual map.
Albany Herald
George Vellidis named University Professor at UGA
By Carolyn Payton CAES News
George Vellidis, professor in the department of crop and soil sciences in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has been named University Professor, a title bestowed on those who have had a significant impact on the university in addition to fulfilling their normal academic responsibilities. Vellidis’ research focuses on water resources and precision agriculture. He applies principles of engineering and the sciences to measure, model and manage the interaction between agricultural production systems and the environment. Vellidis is located at UGA’s Tifton campus, where he serves as director of academic affairs for the campus.
U.S. News & World Report
Today Columbus State University graduate programs ranked among the top 200 universities nationwide in two U.S. News & World Report rankings. CSU’s Turner College of Business was ranked #200 nationwide in the part-time MBA listings, an improvement from last year’s ranking of #235. CSU was also ranked #191 for best graduate education programs, an improvement from #214 last year.
The West Georgian
Media Day Showcases UWG’s Excellency Once Again
by Taylor Jackson
The University of West Georgia’s 39th Annual Media Day was a success with Assistant Professor Kelly Williams planning it for the first time. Williams is no stranger to Media Day since she is an alumni of UWG, but this was something slightly different from what she was used to. Although there was much to be done, Williams felt no type of overwhelming fear since she has background in event planning. Even though many of the professionals were absent due to a sickness, the event still played out well. This year the planners had a late start on getting everything together, starting in late December, but they made it work. Everything was organized and the professionals that did attend were offering summer internships to many of the students. Media Day is not always about trying to find a job. It’s about finding tips on what’s going to make an individual successful.
Albany Herald
From staff reports
This year, over 16,000 students from 12 different south Georgia counties have had the opportunity to learn about agriculture through the Destination Ag program at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture because of past contributions to the ABAC Foundation from the Harley Langdale Jr. Foundation Inc. Now the Foundation has continued its support with a recent check presentation to Garrett Boone, director of the Georgia Museum of Agriculture. “The Harley Langdale Jr. Foundation is proud to help support Destination Ag as the instructors educate our children at an early age and expose them to agriculture and the working forest,” Donnie Warren, executive director of the Langdale Foundation, said. “We appreciate ABAC for what they are doing to enhance the opportunities of young people in our region and state.”
Albany Herald
UGA Extension helps Georgia improve water usage efficiency
By Sharon Dowdy CAES News
For the past three decades, Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been battling over control of water resources in what has become known as the “tri-state water wars.” Judge Paul Kelly of New Mexico, a Supreme Court-appointed expert known as a “special master,” recently ruled in favor of Georgia in the ongoing Florida vs. Georgia court battle. “Two years ago, the original Special Master on the case chided Georgia, saying the state doesn’t monitor its water usage very well,” said Laura Perry Johnson, associate dean for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. “This year, that note was removed as the state now does an amazing job of tracking water usage.” Johnson said UGA Extension has strengthened its water resource education program by adding new personnel and new programs.
Growing America
Georgia Peanut Commission Increases Funding for Research Projects in 2020
The Georgia Peanut Commission (GPC) board of directors has approved $739,693 in research project funding for the 2020-21 research budget year. This action was taken during the commission’s March board meeting. The research projects approved include 40 project proposals submitted from the University of Georgia, USDA Agricultural Research Service and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
“As a peanut grower, I’m proud to invest in the Georgia Peanut Commission and in the future of the peanut industry by supporting research that continues to demonstrate a return on our investment,” says Donald Chase, GPC Research Committee chairman. “We are proud of our partnership with research institutions and look forward to seeing the results which will benefit farmers in the state and the entire peanut industry.” Georgia’s peanut growers invest $2 per ton annually toward GPC programs which includes research, promotion and education. The research programs primarily focus on peanut breeding, conservation methods, irrigation and water management, as well as, pests, weed and disease management.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Several Georgia colleges temporarily waive SAT/ACT exams for admission
By Eric Stirgus
Several Georgia colleges and universities are temporarily allowing prospective first-year students to bypass submitting results from the ACT or SAT if they have a sufficient grade-point average and meet other criteria as part of their admissions application. The University System of Georgia has approved the changes for various schools due to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak. The organizations that administer the exams, used by most U.S. colleges and universities as part of the application process to determine student proficiency, have been postponed due to the pandemic. There have been 25 deaths and more than 750 confirmed cases in Georgia, state officials said Monday. Prospective first-year students must meet all other admission requirements, including satisfactory completion of the Required High School Curriculum and all other requested documentation.
See also:
Calhoun Times
Students won’t need SAT/ACT scores for admission to University System of Georgia colleges
Douglas Now
SGSC CLASSES GO ONLINE FOR SEMESTER, CANCELS SPRING GRADUATION
Per guidance from the University System of Georgia, Georgia Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, South Georgia State College will move instruction completely online for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester. The college has also canceled its Spring 2020 Commencement Ceremonies.
Fun 101.1
STATUS REPORT COVID-19 GORDON STATE COLLEGE
COVID-19 FAQs for Gordon State College Faculty, Staff, Students and Community
Q. Is the Gordon State College campus closed?
The Gordon State College campus will continue to operate in a limited capacity through Sunday, March 29, 2020, with essential personnel, which includes Public Safety and Facilities staff members. All other faculty and staff should be telecommuting. All visitors to campus are required to seek service at the Student Services Center (at the corner of Spencer and College), open Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. til 12 noon.
WCTV
Valdosta State students petition online classes
By: Amber Spradley | WCTV Eyewitness News
Classes at Valdosta State University are set to resume March 30 online for the rest of the semester, but nearly 3,000 students are petitioning to receive a free pass instead. Following guidance from the University System of Georgia, classes at VSU were suspended for two weeks starting March 16. Graduation has been canceled, and students living on campus have been ordered to move out of their dorms. Now, all coursework remaining will take place online, and the university is facing major backlash. VSU student Kya Thomas took to social media, creating an online petition Sunday. It was signed by more than 2,600 students Monday.
WTOC
Georgia Southern professor offers words of encouragement for parents leading distance learning
By Dal Cannady
Plenty of parents suddenly find themselves at home and directly in charge of their child’s education, and that can be daunting. It can be from wrestling with an online portal or wrestling kids away from the video games when it’s time to study. It can also be getting them over the anxiety of what could happen next. Education professors at Georgia Southern University say parents need to work with their students and students’ teachers to get through this new way of learning.
KSU The Sentinel
University issues partial refunds for certain fees, extends course withdrawal date
Arielle Robinson
Following the university’s closure last week, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kennesaw State’s Office of the President announced on Thursday, March 19, it would be refunding students $234 for mandatory student fees, while Friday, March 20, the university announced students could withdraw from a class without academic penalty. In an email released to KSU students, the Office of the President said KSU is following the University System of Georgia’s guidance in giving students refunds. “Kennesaw State will provide a refund of $234 to students who have paid mandatory fees for campus services that will be discontinued for the remainder of the semester,” according to the statement. “Please log in to Owl Express to verify [the] fees you have paid this semester.” The $234 refund is representative of the fees KSU students would have paid for the 50 days left in the Spring 2020 semester for various campus facilities, according to the statement. The refund should be posted to students’ accounts by no later than Friday, March 27, and will be refunded through BankMobile.
Athens Banner-Herald
UGA to refund students amid virus shutdown
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia and other state public colleges and universities will refund students millions of dollars in housing charges, meal plan costs and other fees. UGA will begin issuing the refunds March 30, according to a message on the office of UGA’s Bursar & Treasury Services. For most fees, the refunds are 46 percent of the fee amount — not much more than $100 for most students. But refunds for students in UGA dorms and on meal plans will be much larger.
WSB-TV
Last of the Georgia Tech students leave campus
By: Audrey Washington
Move out day came early for some Georgia Tech students. Many were asked to pack up and leave because of the coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, Channel 2’s Audrey Washington went to the campus where she spoke to students who were heading home. “It was very abrupt; it was very sudden,” said Georgia Tech freshman Leah Hornsey. “Yeah, the virus is screwing everything up,” said freshman Chris Kaveney. Georgia Tech’s president announced the college would move to distance learning amid the coronavirus outbreak.
11Alive
Move-out weekend for many college and university students
With colleges and universities closing due to the spread of COVID-19, many schools are using this weekend as move-out weekend to clear out the dorms.
Author: Nick Sturdivant
Packing up and moving out — this weekend, all across the metro area, thousands of college students are having to clear out their dorm rooms. With the high number of move-outs, the process must be strategic in order to control the spread. The deadline for many of the schools is coming soon. For example, at Spelman College, the deadline to move out is Saturday night at 9 p.m. Georgia College said that students have been given scheduled check-out times over the next eight days. They are only allowing a maximum of 24 students to check-out of each building during a 3 1/2 hour period. Students have been assigned times so that they are no closer than six rooms apart, on separate wings and across several floor levels. The University of Georgia has also assigned appointment times between now and March 27. Georgia Tech is asking students to move out of dormitories by March 29.
WCTV
Valdosta State plans alternative graduation ceremonies
Emma Wheeler | WCTV Eyewitness News
Valdosta State University is looking for ways to celebrate its graduates in spite of commencement cancellations. Last week, university officials announced spring graduation ceremonies at all 24 schools in the University System of Georgia are cancelled. In the days since, VSU President Richard Carvajal says the university has received a number of comments and suggestions for alternative ways to celebrate graduates. The University now has three options:
The Red & Black
UGA seniors ask for later commencement after cancellation of first ceremony
Melissa Ge | Contributor
Seniors at the University of Georgia are petitioning for a rescheduled commencement ceremony. Spring commencement for the undergraduate and graduate class of 2020 won’t be held as scheduled, per the University System of Georgia, which required UGA to cancel all public events including commencement. An hour after receiving the email notifying students the commencement ceremony was canceled, Hanna Jon Lewis asked President Jere Morehead to consider holding the ceremony later this summer. Her friend encouraged her to use the letter to Morehead to start a petition, which, as of press time, has received over 19,000 signatures on change.org.
Athens Banner-Herald
Athens area high schools, colleges hope to reset graduations
By Lee Shearer
University of Georgia seniors aren’t the only ones facing the loss of graduation ceremonies, a major life event for many. High schools are also experiencing indefinite postponement or cancellation of graduation exercises in May as Georgia and local governments limit group gatherings to slow down the coronavirus pandemic. Even worse for some students — school systems face the prospect of canceling high school proms. But there’s more hope that graduation ceremonies could be rescheduled. After more than 20,000 people signed an online petition asking UGA President Jere Morehead to reschedule spring graduation — rather than just canceling the big event — Morehead offered a ray of hope Monday.
Savannah Morning News
University of Georgia helps international athletes safely return home
By Ryne Dennis
Catarina Don needed to get home to her family late last week, but getting a flight into Italy proved to be a major obstacle. The University of Georgia golfer was traveling to her homeland, a country heavily impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Just two flights per day to Italy are currently allowed out of the United States — from New York’s JFK Airport — and she managed to catch one Thursday night, March 19, after flying from Atlanta to New York. She had a short layover in Rome before hopping on another flight into Turin, the closest city to her hometown of Pinerolo, where she was reunited early Friday with her family.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech student tests positive for COVID-19
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Tech on Monday reported its first case of a student who has tested positive for COVID-19. The unidentified male student traveled out of state with friends the first weekend of Spring Break and was tested Wednesday at Georgia Tech’s Stamps Health Center, the institute said on its website. The student was last actively on campus on March 11.Georgia Tech was notified of the positive test result earlier
Monday, it said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State University employee tests positive for COVID-19
By Eric Stirgus
A Georgia State University employee who works in the Robinson College of Business has tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Friday. The unidentified worker is the first employee or student at Georgia’s largest university to be diagnosed with the disease. The employee was diagnosed Thursday, Georgia State said in a message posted on its website. The condition of the employee, who is being treated at a local hospital, was not immediately known.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta-area with at least 20 COVID-19 cases
By Tom Corwin
AU Health System’s virtual screening web site has gone statewide in Georgia and is helping patients in South Carolina who are concerned they have COVID-19. Days after starting a virtual screening web site and app for patients who want to get screened for COVID-19, AU Health has expanded all across Georgia and reached into South Carolina. AU Health System reported Monday that there were 16 patients who have tested positive with the infection. There have been two positive at Doctors Hospital, while Edgefield and Aiken counties have reported one each. In Georgia, the number of patients took a dramatic leap to 800 on Monday, up from 620, and rose to 26 deaths, up one from Sunday.
WKRG
Nursing student collecting donations for at-risk families
by: Ashley Osborne
An Augusta University nursing student is gathering supplies for at-risk people in the Augusta area. Brittany Bledsoe is using the free time she has now thanks to e-learning to collect donations. She is going to bring the items to at-risk people so they do not have to put themselves in danger to go out and get what they need. I really really like helping people and connecting with people,” Bledsoe said during a video conference interview with NewsChannel 6 reporter Ashley Osborne. Bledsoe’s desire to help people lead her to start collecting sanitation products and other household essentials.
WGAU
UGA responds to City Hall’s Shelter in Place order
By: Tim Bryant
The University of Georgia has issued a campus-wide notification on the 24-7 shelter in place order imposed by Athens-Clarke County Commissioners in an emergency session held last Thursday.
From the UGA listserv…
In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Athens-Clarke County Commission (ACC) adopted a local ordinance declaring a local state of emergency and imposing shelter-in-place requirements applicable to individuals and businesses in Athens-Clarke County. The ordinance becomes effective at midnight tonight and will remain in effect until April 7, 2020, unless extended or rescinded by ACC. ACC’s announcement of the ordinance can be found here: https://www.athensclarkecounty.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3646.
The Register
On the other hand, these Pwn2Own results are legit
By Shaun Nichols in San Francisco
…Pwn2Own results
With everything going on, it’s easy to overlook this year’s Pwn2Own hacking competition, in which elite exploit developers are challenged to find vulnerabilities and compromise big-name products for big prizes. Among the winners this year were the team from Georgia Tech Systems Software and Security Lab, the hacking team Fluoroacetate, and the STAR LABS hacking team.
Rapid Microbiology News
Georgia Researchers Develop 2-hour Antibody Coronavirus Test
The Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia Department of Pathology has developed a novel, accurate coronavirus test that can tell patients if they are infected within about two hours instead of waiting typically days to hear from remote testing facilities. “We want patients and physicians in our community to have timely access to information that will ultimately benefit us all by helping limit spread of the virus,” says Dr. Ravindra Kolhe, director of the GEM Lab, chief of the Section of Molecular and Genetic Pathology and vice chair for translational research in the MCG Department of Pathology at Augusta University. “More rapid identification of individuals who are infected will help ensure they get help as needed and that the risk of exposure to others is significantly reduced,” Kolhe says of the test rapidly developed by the GEM Lab team over recent days.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Virginia biotech company teams up with UGA to develop COVID-19 therapy
By David Allison – Editor
A Virginia biotech company has teamed up with The University of Georgia to develop a therapy to fight coronavirus. Cel-Sci Corp. (NYSE American: CVM) said March 23 it signed a collaboration agreement with UGA’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology to develop LEAPS COVID-19 immunotherapy. “CEL-SCI’s immunotherapy candidate aims to treat patients at highest risk of dying from COVID-19,” the company said. “The collaboration will commence with pre-clinical studies based on the experiments previously conducted with LEAPS immunotherapy in collaboration with the National Institutes for Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) against another respiratory virus, H1N1, involved in the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic. Those successful studies demonstrated that LEAPS peptides, given after virus infection has occurred, reduced morbidity and mortality in mice infected with H1N1.”
MSN
CSRA hospitals continue to update latest COVID-19 numbers
Jeremy Turnage
Local hospitals continue to update the latest numbers involving COVID-19 diagnoses around the CSRA. At Augusta University Health, officials there say they’ve had 16 total positive cases of COVID-19 followed by 332 negative cases. Over 500 cases remain pending at this time, though. Over at University Hospital, medical professionals have tested 83 people and returned 17 negative results. No new results have been made available as of Monday morning.
GPB
Coronavirus Goes Viral: How Online Meme Culture Reflects Our Shared Experience Of A Global Pandemic
By Emilia Brock, Pria Mahadevan & Virginia Prescott
The online community is connecting in what may be an unprecedented way with the collision of two viral phenomena: coronavirus and meme culture. Social distancing has become the new normal. With borders closing, shelter-in-place orders in California, lockdowns in Europe, and the Trump administration’s guidelines to limit gatherings, millions of Americans are shuttering indoors — and spending a lot of time in front of a screen. And the memes have flourished. …Dr. Andre Brock, associate professor at Georgia Tech who studies digital culture, also joined the conversation, noting that the internet has become a “communicative infrastructure” in society — and that this pandemic has magnified its role as a societal tool.
Government Technology
Data-Driven Research Aims to Solve First/Last-Mile Problem
Together with the city of Atlanta and Georgia Tech, the Socially Aware Mobility Lab uses data and machine learning to look at how on-demand multimodal transit could improve traffic congestion and mobility inequalities.
MetroLab Network has partnered with Government Technology to bring its readers a segment called the MetroLab Innovation of the Month Series, which highlights impactful tech, data and innovation projects underway between cities and universities. If you’d like to learn more or contact the project leads, please contact MetroLab at info@metrolabnetwork.org for more information. In this month’s installment of the Innovation of the Month series, we explore the work of Georgia Tech and the city of Atlanta on the Socially Aware Mobility Lab (SAM). MetroLab’s Ben Levine spoke with Pascal Van Hentenryck, an A. Russell Chandler III chair and professor in the Georgia Tech Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and head of the SAM Lab; Jacob Tzegaegbe, senior transportation policy advisor for Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and part of the SAM advisory board; and Debra Lam, managing director of smart cities and inclusive innovation at Georgia Tech.
Growing Georgia
ABAC Assists Tift Regional Medical Center Operating Room
With a nationwide shortage of masks and goggles, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College answered the call on Friday night by donating 30 pairs of splash resistant goggles, 16 cases of gloves, and one box of laminated polypropylene aprons to the Tift Regional Medical Center Operating Room. Each case contains 10 boxes of gloves. TRMC Operating Room Charge Nurse Geanie Vines picked up the donation from ABAC Police Officers Ryant Wright (center) and Joe Weatherford.
Medicine Net
COVID-19: Asthma Patients Should Stay on Steroids
With COVID-19 infections documented in every US state and clinicians waking up to the fact that this is everywhere, there is still lack of clarity on many basic points about the management of infection. Although most people can be expected to recover at home without complications, patients with asthma are among those at risk for serious illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And people with asthma “have concerns about the steroids in their asthma inhalers weakening their immune system,” notes the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) website. But asthma specialists are stressing that patients must keep using their preventive inhalers during this pandemic.
Optimal Control of Asthma Is First Defense Against Infection
“People with asthma need their [preventive] steroids,” said Mitchell Grayson, MD, an allergist–immunologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and chair of the medical scientific council for the AAFA. Michael Blaiss, MD, executive medical director of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), echoed that advice. “If a patient has asthma they need to stay on their preventive asthma medication, which in most cases would include inhaled corticosteroids,” Blaiss, who is also clinical professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, told Medscape Medical News.
Higher Education News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Emory starts $5 million fund to help students through COVID-19 crisis
By Eric Stirgus
Emory University on Monday started a $5 million fund for students facing financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund, “EmoryTogether,” is perhaps the largest amount of money set aside for such purposes in the nation. “For Emory, and the nation, this is an historic moment — a time defined by our collective efforts to maintain our educational mission and momentum as we work to help mitigate a global pandemic. Those are remarkable, worthy goals, and we believe this community is up to the challenge,” Emory, Georgia’s largest private university, said in a news release.
WSAV
Student starts movement to showcase struggle after SCAD closes all campuses
By: Alex Bozarjian
An international student from Savannah’s College of Art and Design (SCAD) is starting a movement through Instagram. He said his goal is to shed light on how school closures and transitions to online learning have impacted student’s daily lives. “I haven’t really been able to catch my breath since finals week,” said Yu-Heng Li who goes by the pseudonym “Pink.” Pink is a Sequential Art major in his second year. He said since SCAD announced they would be closing all campuses due to the spread of COVID-19, his life has been chaotic. On March 13, his parents informed him he can’t go back to his home country. He said he also lost his on-campus job. “Because of my student visa I cannot work off-campus,” said Pink. “It’s also made a direct impact on my family’s finances.” Pink took his frustrations to Instagram and found many students who feel the same. His first post in the series called “Choice” asked international and domestic students to send in statements explaining how the closures have impacted their lives. He said the name spotlights the lack of options many international students feel like they have since travel bans and campuses were shut down.
Inside higher Ed
Democrats Press Student Debt Cancelation
House Democrats are calling for at least $10,000 of each borrower’s student debt to be canceled as part of the stimulus plan being negotiated in Congress.
By Kery Murakami
As negotiations over a mammoth economic stimulus package continued in the Senate Monday night, House Democrats unveiled their own $2.5 trillion proposal, which largely mirrors, and in some ways goes beyond, the plan pushed by Senate Democrats to cancel large amounts of the nation’s student debt. The House plan also proposes giving more aid to colleges and universities than the Senate Republican plan would, but the American Council on Education worried the money will be distributed too slowly to save institutions in immediate need of help from layoffs or even closure. The proposal largely mirrored the approach of Senate Democrats in using federal dollars to make the monthly federal student loan payments of Federal Family Education Loan, Perkins and direct loan borrowers for as long as a national emergency declaration over the coronavirus epidemic continues. After the declaration is lifted, borrowers would get a 90-day transition period in which they’d receive at least three notices indicating when they’d have to resume making payments. Missed payments would not result in fees or penalties during that time.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
A Coronavirus Stimulus Plan Is Coming. How Will Higher Education Figure In?
By Danielle McLean
A week after higher education saw its near-term financial outlook shot into a state of disarray, some relief could be coming soon from Washington. As members of Congress negotiate a plan to boost the economy during the recession expected to result from the Covid-19 pandemic, some lawmakers have proposed including relief for student-loan borrowers as part of the stimulus package. That relief would very likely exceed an option for borrowers, announced on Friday by the Education Department, to enter forbearance on their student loans for 60 days without accruing interest. The department also suspended payments by borrowers who are more than 31 days delinquent, and the White House had previously waived interest on federal student-loan payments in response to the crisis. Nearly a dozen higher-education associations have also asked lawmakers for about $50 billion in federal assistance to help colleges and students stay afloat. On Thursday the American Council on Education and 10 other higher-ed associations called on Congress to provide up to $1,500 apiece to students who were suddenly forced off campus, as well as assistance for institutions that have been forced to effectively close their doors and take instruction online.
Inside Higher Ed
Funding, Admissions and Assessments
Everything you need to know about higher ed and the coronavirus for Tuesday and beyond in one easy-to-read package.
By Madeline St. Amour
More than 100 million Americans are being asked to stay home to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. As more people get tested, the number of cases rises. It’s now over 40,000 in the United States as of Monday night. To take our minds off that, click here for a wholesome BuzzFeed list of nice and funny things people are doing to cope right now. I recommend stacking chips on a doggo, but only if you tweet out the photos for all of us to see. All right, let’s get to the news. As of Monday afternoon, Congress was still fighting over how to help those with student loans.
Inside higher Ed
Students studying abroad have difficulty getting home after countries close borders and restrict travel due to the coronavirus crisis. Some have gotten home, while others remain stuck in host countries.
By Elizabeth Redden
When Will Rayner, a University of South Alabama student, traveled to Peru as part of a spring break study abroad program earlier this month, he never imagined he’d get stuck there or become one of thousands of Americans stranded overseas and having a terrible time trying to return to the United States. But that’s exactly what happened after the Peruvian government, like governments of other countries responding to the deadly coronavirus pandemic, declared a state of emergency and suspended all international travel by land, air and sea. Rayner found himself separated from his group and unable to leave — and having to increase his credit card limits to book a stay in a Lima hotel — before he finally got home this past Saturday. His classmates remain stuck in Peru. (A South Alabama spokesman said the university is coordinating with other universities with students in the program, as well as government agencies, to arrange accommodations and flights back.)
Inside Higher Ed
Questions Without Answers on Admissions
Coronavirus has colleges fearful about yield, searching for the right strategy.
By Scott Jaschik
“There’s no good time for a pandemic,” said Jon Boeckenstedt, vice provost for enrollment management at Oregon State University. “But for admissions, this has got to be the worst time.” The time is right now, when colleges are admitting students and hoping they will say yes. The first thing he thinks of is the economy. Not in the belief that a bad economy is good for higher education because more people seek an education. That may or may not be true this year. What he’s focused on is the service economy, which has been devastated by the closures of restaurants and bars all over the country. Not only do the parents of some students work in restaurants, but many students work part-time in restaurants to pay for college. Wealthier colleges and universities, and the generally wealthy students they enroll, will be hurt by falling endowment values, he said. But he keeps coming back to the service workers getting laid off.
Inside Higher Ed
The Coronavirus Has Pushed Courses Online. Professors Are Trying Hard to Keep Up.
By Beth McMurtrie
Rebecca Barrett-Fox saw panic spreading across academe as colleges were shifting abruptly to remote teaching to stem the spread of the coronavirus. She felt she had an important message to send, to settle people’s nerves and make sure they put students first. “Release yourself from high expectations right now,” she wrote in a blog post, “because that’s the best way to help your students learn.” “Release yourself from high expectations right now, because that’s the best way to help your students learn.”
The post, titled “Please do a bad job of putting your courses online,” has been viewed more than one million times. It was informed by her experience as an assistant professor of sociology at Arkansas State University, where many students are lower-income and hold down jobs to put themselves through college. Barrett-Fox issued a call to instructors everywhere: Ditch the fancy technology and intensive demands on students. Don’t rely on real-time-video classes or proctored exams. Don’t assume your students understand, or have access to, the latest technologies. And remember that students’ and professors’ increased responsibilities with work and family mean it’s not realistic to expect the remote-learning transition to be seamless, let alone pleasant.
Inside Higher Ed
Remote work is proving difficult for many professors, given the circumstances and despite some early predictions to the contrary. What institutions are doing and can start doing to ease the pressure.
By Colleen Flaherty
When institutions started sending students and professors home due to COVID-19, more than a few academics opined on social media that this would be a boon for research productivity: the idea, presumably, was that isolation breeds creativity. A significant share of these posts mentioned Isaac Newton, who discovered calculus while “social distancing” during the Great Plague of London, starting in 1665. Newton — then still a student at the University of Cambridge and not yet a sir — also watched apples fall from “that tree” on the grounds of his family estate during the plague, as a recent Washington Post essay explains. The period has since been called Newton’s annus mirabilis, or “year of wonders,” even if nearby London itself was draped in death. The retorts came almost as quickly as these views were voiced. No, this spring will not be a time for groundbreaking insights and increased productivity, and institutions should not expect either, academics argued. Many also pointed out that Newton was not a professor during his isolation, let alone one thrusting all his courses online for the first time. Nor was he a parent, simultaneously acting as daycare provider or teacher to children displaced by widespread pre- and K-12 school closures. The good news for faculty members is that colleges and universities appear to be listening to these reality checks about working from home.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
As Coronavirus Spreads, Colleges Make Limited Allowances for Support Staff
By Karin Fischer
…Even as classes have moved online and students and professors have been told to stay off their campuses, many staff members have been expected to report to work as usual. Custodians and cafeteria workers, security guards and residence-life staff members, librarians and IT specialists — they do jobs deemed essential to helping colleges navigate the abrupt transition to online teaching and to supporting those students who remain on campus. If they didn’t clock in, could colleges continue to run? Yet some campus workers who shared their stories with The Chronicle said they, too, could do their jobs remotely and wondered why colleges had been quicker to put in place safeguards for students and faculty members than for those on the staff. Some said they felt pressure to report to work even though they felt uneasy; others said they had been told to take vacation days or sick leave to work from home. The coronavirus outbreak underscores what many see as a pre-existing labor divide on campuses, where the rules that apply to those who teach in the classroom don’t always extend to those who mop the floors or serve the meals. For now, at least, the support staff of the knowledge class is reporting to work.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Covid-19 Has Forced Higher Ed to Pivot to Online Learning. Here Are 7 Takeaways So Far.
By Lee Gardner
Who says academe can’t be nimble? In the space of a few weeks in early March, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread, colleges across the country ditched their customary glides toward the end of the semester in exchange for closing campuses and moving all classes online. …It’s too early to tell how, or if, this mass experiment in online mobilization will work. Many institutions just started teaching remotely this week. But early lessons have already made themselves evident. What most colleges are doing right now is not online education.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Sexual-Assault Investigations May Be Delayed as Coronavirus Disrupts Colleges
By Sarah Brown
Lexie thought this month that her Title IX case might finally be coming to a close. Lexie, who asked to be identified only by her first name because the case is pending, filed a sexual-misconduct complaint against another student at her Midwestern public university in November. The investigation wrapped up in January, and a hearing was scheduled for March 11, when a panel would decide whether the student she had accused should be found responsible and, if so, what sanctions he should face. Then, as the Covid-19 pandemic upended campus life across the country, her university suddenly extended spring break, moved classes online for the rest of the semester, and asked students to move out of campus housing. As a result, administrators postponed her Title IX hearing until in-person classes resume — summer, at the earliest. But Lexie is graduating this spring. “I just want it to be done,” she said. “It feels like I wasted my last semester of college.” Title IX hearing delays are just one consequence of the nationwide scramble to move college operations online at a moment’s notice.
Inside Higher Ed
Reporting Their History While Living It
Student journalists are continuing to cover their colleges and surrounding communities even though the coronavirus pandemic has pushed them off campus. They say their work is needed now more than ever.
By Greta Anderson
When the University of Maryland’s student-run newspaper, The Diamondback, published its last print edition on March 9, the front page read, “It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Online.” The Diamondback staff had no idea how much weight those words would carry about a week later, when colleges across the U.S. hurriedly moved to online instruction in response to the coronavirus pandemic and several campus newspapers decided to halt their print editions, said Leah Brennan, The Diamondback’s editor in chief. Maryland’s paper of record had decided to move to exclusively digital reporting months earlier, but the final front page “ended up ringing really true” to the experiences of the thousands of students displaced by the spread of COVID-19, which has quickly become the biggest news story of their lives to date, Brennan said. “People are trusting us for those updates and looking to us for guidance during this time,” Brennan said. “We are student journalists … This all-encompassing team effort really hasn’t ceased. When all this is changing, people are still devoted to this job.” Student publications are producing “enormously important” work during the pandemic, telling the stories of young people whose lives have been completely upended, even more so than some adults’ lives, said Hadar Harris, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, or SPLC. They are covering the pandemic in ways that go well beyond the number of people sickened, she said.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: 32 deaths reported in Georgia as coronavirus cases surpass 1K
By Chelsea Prince
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surpassed 1,000 as health officials reported 226 new cases and six new deaths Tuesday. A total of 1,026 confirmed cases were reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health, an increase of about 28% from Monday’s final count of 800.COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, has resulted in the deaths of 32 Georgians, according to the latest data from the health department.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp expands Georgia’s coronavirus task force as pandemic spreads
By Greg Bluestein
Gov. Brian Kemp has vastly expanded the state’s coronavirus task force as Georgia grapples with a growing pandemic that has sickened hundreds and killed at least 14 residents. Initially created in February before Georgia had a single confirmed case of the illness, the task force’s panels are now focused on addressing the disease’s impact on the economy, healthcare network, emergency preparedness and the needy. The 18-person task force has swelled to 66 members, including elected officials, statewide officers, physicians, nonprofit heads and executives plucked from some of Georgia’s most prominent businesses. …The full list of each committee can be found below: …Allan Adams, University of Georgia Small Business Development Center …Alfie Meek, Georgia Tech Center for Economic Development Research
Forsyth County News
Governor Kemp bans gatherings over 10, orders vulnerable population to self-quarantine
Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday ordered closures of bars and nightclubs statewide beginning at noon on Tuesday as part of the state’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Gatherings of more than 10 people, unless the people can be kept six feet apart, will also be banned. The ban will be in effect through April 6. The Georgia Department of Public Health will be authorized to close any business for noncompliance. …To address a shortage of health care workers, graduate nurses who have not yet taken their nursing exams will be able to seek a temporary license through the Georgia Board of Nursing, Kemp said.
Statesboro Herald
Georgia governor orders bars, clubs closed amid coronavirus
Associated Press
Statesboro Herald
Georgia’s governor said Monday that he was ordering all bars and nightclubs in the state to close because of the coronavirus and giving state officials the authority to shut down businesses that don’t comply as the number of infections confirmed statewide reached 800. The order will take effect at noon Tuesday and last for just under two weeks, Gov. Brian Kemp said at a news conference. He said the state would also ban gatherings of 10 or more people unless people could maintain a distance of 6 feet (2 meters). Kemp’s announcement did not mention restaurants.
WABE
Coronavirus Updates: Kemp Issues Shelter In Place Order For Those At High Risk
Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Monday evening that he plans to sign an executive order closing all bars and nightclubs, banning all gatherings more than 10 people, and requiring all Georgians at high risk for COVID-19 to shelter-in-place. That includes the elderly, those with chronic lung disease, those who are undergoing cancer treatment, those who have pending or positive coronavirus test results and those who have come in contact with a coronavirus patient. Gatherings over 10 people are permitted if participants are able to maintain 6 feet of distance between them. The executive order will go into effect Tuesday at noon for two weeks. Kemp said he will also suspend restrictions on medical licenses that have lapsed within five years and will allow graduate nurses who have not taken their exams will be allowed to seek temporary licensure to address “critical healthcare needs in the weeks ahead.”
Savannah Morning News
City of Savannah issues mandatory shelter-in-place, effective midnight Wednesday
By Zach Dennis
Mayor Van Johnson has issued a shelter-in-place directive for the city of Savannah, effective at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24. The directive will expire at midnight April 8. According to the directive, residents can only leave their homes for essential activities, governmental functions and business operations such as going to the grocery store. Other operations listed as essential business includes liquor stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, food banks, convenience stores, stores that sell groceries and all city business offices. The directive also allows restaurant delivery to continue.
The directive prohibits any travel outside the home unless for one of the named essential functions.
accessWDUN
Negotiators close on a nearly $2 trillion virus aid package
By The Associated Press
Top congressional and White House officials emerged from grueling negotiations at the Capitol over the nearly $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package saying they expected to reach a deal Tuesday. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said they had spoken by phone with President Donald Trump during the long night of negotiations. While the two sides have resolved many issues in the sweeping package, some remain. At midnight Monday, they emerged separately to say talks would continue into the night. “We look forward to having a deal tomorrow,” Mnuchin told reporters after exiting Schumer’s office. “The president is giving us direction,” Mnuhcin said. “The president would like to have a deal, and he’s hopeful we can conclude this.”