University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Coronavirus cases in Georgia rise to 4,638, death toll at 139
By Chelsea Prince
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia has more than doubled in the past five days, from just over 2,000 cases Friday to more than 4,500 Wednesday. There are now at least 4,638 cases and 139 deaths statewide, according to the latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Fourteen more Georgians have died since Tuesday night as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia surpasses 4K coronavirus cases, reaches 125 deaths
By Chelsea Prince and Zachary Hansen,
UPDATE [7 p.m.]: A day after Georgia surpassed 3,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, the state hit 4,000, the Georgia Department of Public Health announced Tuesday evening. In total, 125 patients have died as a result of the virus. Since 12:57 p.m., the DPH announced 188 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 4,117. Of those cases, 885 patients are hospitalized, which is about 21.5% of all cases. Fourteen more deaths were reported since this afternoon, bringing Georgia’s death toll to 125. Dougherty County has suffered the most deaths with 26, followed by Fulton with 18 and Cobb with 13.About 16,200 tests have been conducted across the state, and about 25.4% have returned positive results.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Georgia officials report 108 deaths linked to coronavirus, 3,817 cases
By Chelsea Prince
Confirmed coronavirus cases in Georgia have risen steadily Tuesday after reaching two unwelcome benchmarks the day before, the recording of the state’s 3,000th case and its 100th death. There are now at least 3,817 cases statewide, according to the latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Six more Georgians have died since Monday night as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, bringing the state’s death toll to 108.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Georgia announces surge coming in coronavirus testing
By J. Scott Trubey
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office and the state’s public colleges and universities on Tuesday announced plans to dramatically increase coronavirus testing capacity in Georgia by some 3,000 tests per day. The state has obtained equipment and testing supplies to expand capabilities and will begin ramping up as soon as today, according to a news release, with fuller capacities expected online within five to seven days. A shortage of kits and other testing supplies and lab processing capacity has resulted in rationing of coronavirus tests throughout Georgia and across the nation. …The announcement is a partnership between the state, the University System of Georgia, Emory University and the state’s Department of Public Health. The news release said Georgia universities will transfer equipment for testing from labs to accredited labs at Georgia State, Augusta University, Emory and the state’s public health lab.
See also:
Marietta Daily Journal
Gov. Kemp, University System to partner for broader coronavirus testing
Gainesville Times
State announces plan to ramp up COVID-19 testing to 3,000 per day
Forsyth County News
State announces plan to ramp up COVID-19 testing to 3,000 per day
News Channel 9
University System of Georgia to test more COVID-19 samples
GPB News
Georgia Coronavirus Update: Testing Capacity Grows, But State Still Lags
By Stephen Fowler
Gov. Brian Kemp announced a plan to increase COVID-19 testing capacity by 3,000 samples a day using labs across the University System of Georgia and Emory University. Also, there are growing calls from top Republicans to delay the May 19 primary election as the state begins mailing absentee ballot applications to millions of voters. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, there are 4,117 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in nearly 140 of Georgia’s 159 counties with 125 reported deaths. Over 16,000 tests have been performed by state and commercial labs. The state also says 885 people have been hospitalized so far. Here is the latest coronavirus news from Georgia for Wednesday, April 1, 2020. University labs will boost testing capacity
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mental health needs an issue for Georgia Tech even before coronavirus
By Eric Stirgus
The solemn email announcement by Georgia Tech was sent on Feb. 14.
“Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,” the message by John Stein, Tech’s vice president for student life, began. “It is with great sadness that I write today to inform you of the death of William ‘Andrew’ Collins, a first-year biomedical engineering (BME) major from Kathleen, Ga. It is wrenching to have to report this news to you, even more so following the deaths of other members of our community this academic year.” Collins, 19, who died on Feb. 13, was the fifth Georgia Tech student to die this school year. While Georgia Tech officials declined to discuss the causes of those deaths, they have brought to the forefront longstanding problems the school has had grappling with student anxiety and mental health challenges. Georgia Tech’s Interfraternity Council began work after Collins’ death on new mental health initiatives. Georgia Tech, more so than any state school in recent years, has faced public pressure and scrutiny to better help students struggling with such issues.
Atlanta Business Journal
ABJ Digital Staff
Colleges and universities across the state are facing the unexpected cost of issuing refunds to students for the spring semester’s room and board fees.
Campuses around Georgia closed and students returned home to finish their classes online to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in recent weeks. The University System of Georgia announced on March 19 that the 330,000 students within their network of 26 schools would be receiving partial refunds for room and board. This means ten of the largest schools in Georgia will lose more than $180 million in revenue, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle research.
Georgia Broadband
Georgia Internet Access for COVID-19 Update
The COVID-19 virus is impacting Georgian’s ability to work, access healthcare, and receive education services. Because of the shift to telehealth with “virtual visits”, teleworking, and remote continuity of learning, and in partnership with Governor Brian Kemp and the state Coronavirus Task Force, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs has launched this webpage to provide information to Georgians and resources connect to high-speed internet. Please check back here regularly, as we will be adding new locations in the coming weeks.
COVID-19 Internet Access Resources
In response to social distancing requirements and stay-at-home instructions, broadband providers are temporarily offering various options to get Georgians internet connectivity. These include free internet service, waiving disconnect and late fees, providing free access to WiFi hot spots, reducing limitation on data-usage, and offering other time-limited options.
Click the “Find Public WiFi” icon below for locations of WiFi options in Georgia, offered by the telecommunications industry, Georgia state government, and other wi-fi providers. All of these provide FREE internet access, and some locations are open-access and some require a login. But at this time, we are not able to provide that detailed information here on this website.
While many public libraries are currently closed, some are offering WiFi outside their buildings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Opinion: University System of Georgia deserves ‘F’ for nixing pass/fail option
By Maureen Downey
It cites need to protect standards, but that didn’t stop Harvard, MIT or Stanford
In rejecting a pass/fail option in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the University System of Georgia is making a bad situation worse for students at its 26 closed campuses. Georgia’s higher education leaders are ignoring the plight of the students who did not return home from shuttered classrooms to reliable internet, their own rooms or stable family situations conducive to learning. Nor does USG want to concede that students will not be getting the same level of instruction, support or resources since all classes went online this week.The explanation by USG for retaining standard letter grades was a string of greeting card schmaltz that ignored the magnitude of the disruption to students and faculty from this worldwide pandemic.
TaxProf Blog
With Pass/Fail Now The Norm, Outlier Law Schools Face Student Backlash
By Paul Caron
Law students at Arizona State, University of Georgia and Georgia State are among those pushing campus administrators to adopt mandatory pass/fail grading.
WJCL
Georgia Southern students underway with online learning
Dave Williams
Reporter
During this pandemic, everyone is adapting to a new way of life, that includes colleges and universities, who have now transitioned to exclusive online learning at least for now. Georgia Southern University began its online sessions Monday. It’s a pretty weird site at Georgia Southern’s Statesboro campus. Under normal circumstances this place would be bustling with students on their way to class. However, thanks to the coronavirus that’s not the case. Instead, with all of their campuses closed for the rest of the semester, online instruction has now begun.
The Augusta Chronicle
Pandemics like COVID-19 part of new online courses for MCG
By Tom Corwin
About 200 students at Medical College of Georgia are getting an online course in a subject that is unfolding around them, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as previous pandemics. And it is going out to MCG students in homes across the state as Augusta University has gone completely online. Dr. Doug Miller began his class Tuesday at Medical College of Georgia with a sobering note from an alumnus, who is an Emergency Room doctor in a New Orleans hospital hit hard by COVID-19. “Everyone is scared, patients and employees,” Miller read toward his computer screen, where his voice and image was going out across the state to 200 medical students taking the online course from home. “This is what it is like in the trenches.” Almost all of MCG at Augusta University classes, as well as the other schools at AU, are now online, with most beginning this week. Across the University System of Georgia, thousands of students were resuming classes in the same way as all 26 institutions went online-only for the remainder of the semester.
The Red & Black
UGA student workers feel the effects of closures on campus
Samantha Perez | Contributor
Sophomore sport management major Max Richards was ready to return to working for the University of Georgia Athletic Association after spring break. Richards said if anyone had told him that all Georgia athletic competitions would be canceled for the remainder of the athletic year, he would have never believed it. This announcement came after universities across the nation suspended in-person classes, including UGA. After the University System of Georgia decided classes will transition online due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Richards said he was notified through a GroupMe message that the SEC suspended required and voluntary team activities through April 15.
The George-Anne
Participation forms for virtual graduation ceremony due April 10
Graduates can walk at an in-person ceremony at a later date and participate in an online commencement
By Blakeley Bartee
Graduating students who want to participate in the spring 2020 virtual commencement ceremonies on May 8 and 9 must submit their participation forms by April 10, according to an email from Georgia Southern University. In addition to the virtual ceremonies, graduates can choose to walk at either a rescheduled ceremony at a date-to-be-determined or the Dec. 11 and 12 commencement ceremonies, according to the email. GS requests participants send a phonetic spelling of their name, a 4×6 jpg headshot and a message of thanks to someone they would like to acknowledge. “You will soon see a form in the MyGeorgiaSouthern portal, asking you to submit information for your Spring 2020 Virtual Commencement. Candidates will receive a MyMessage with instructions on how to access the Virtual Commencement Participation Form and will be able to make submissions or edit previous submissions through April 10,” reads the email. Each graduate will have a personalized slide in the virtual ceremony with a faculty member reading their name aloud, according to the email.
The Red & Black
UGA cancels Maymester study abroad programs
Lorna Ramage | Contributor
The University of Georgia has canceled all Maymester study abroad programs, according to the UGA coronavirus information page. All summer study abroad programs are continuing to be monitored. Maymester study abroad programs in China, South Korea and Italy were canceled on March 5. UGA has 68 Maymesters located across the world, as listed on the Office of Global Engagement’s website. “We will continue to monitor the evolving situation and provide an update on programs to be conducted in the United States, as well as the status of Summer programs, when warranted,” the university’s website said.
The Times-Georgian
ACT/SAT scores not required for UWG summer/fall applicants
By Staff Reports
In light of the cancellation of SAT and ACT test dates because of the coronavirus, the University of West Georgia is working to help future Wolves by making an admissions decision based solely on their high school transcripts and academic GPA. First-year students applying to UWG for the summer and fall 2020 semesters can be admitted without an ACT or SAT score if they have a sufficiently high GPA.
WGAU
UGA campus kitchen works to fill local needs during pandemic
By: Aaron Cox, UGA Today
On a rainy Monday morning in March, staff at the UGA State Botanical Garden of Georgia are in the children’s garden harvesting bushels of kale, collards, parsley and beets they no longer need for educational programs this spring. They are vigilant in maintaining a safe distance from one another, even outside in the rain. A few hours later, employees from the University of Georgia Office of Service-Learning deliver the produce and food donated by Trader Joe’s and the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, where kitchen employees prepare meals. The meals are stored in vegetable coolers at UGArden, a student run farm on South Milledge Avenue that supplies produce to Campus Kitchen at UGA year-round. The next day, the UGA employees and volunteers deliver the prepared meals and bags of groceries to 53 food-insecure families in the Athens area, placing the packaged food on doorsteps, ringing the bell, and standing 6 feet back while residents answer the door. In all, they will deliver enough for 170 meals.
Tifton Gazette
Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation supports Destination Ag
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 Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation, Inc., 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 Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation, Inc., said. “We appreciate ABAC for what they are doing to enhance the opportunities of young people in our region and state.” The Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation, Inc., has enabled ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture by contributing annually over the past five years to the ABAC Foundation to engage guests in the past and present of agriculture and natural resources through Destination Ag.
Americus Times Recorder
GSW’s Vincent Norrman selected for Prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup
By Ken Gustafson
From Staff Reports
NORMAN, OK -– Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) senior Vincent Norrman has been selected to play in the 2020 Arnold Palmer Cup. The announcement was made on Friday, March 27, by the Golf Coaches Association of America and selections were revealed during a broadcast on the Golf Channel. Norrman is one of 12 men’s collegiate players selected for the international team and the only NCAA Division II player on the men’s side. He is also the first Peach Belt Conference (PBC) golfer to ever be selected for the Arnold Palmer Cup. Norrman was in the midst of a historic season when it was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of all collegiate and conference championships.
Athens CEO
What 2020 Stimulus Plan Can Do for Economy
Merritt Melancon
The U.S. Congress has passed a $2 trillion emergency relief bill that will expand unemployment insurance, provide $1,200 stimulus checks in emergency financial relief to most American adults and provide life preservers to distressed businesses impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic. The bill, touted as the largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history, was passed by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House this week and is signed by the president. William Lastrapes, the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair of Private Enterprise in the department of economics at the University of Georgia, argues Congress had to take action.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Due to COVID-19, NCAA Extends Spring Sports Eligibility, Scholarships
by Jessica Ruf
As COVID-19 cuts short athletic seasons at colleges across the country, the Division I Council of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced yesterday that it will allow spring sports student athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility. The council said it would not extend an extra year of eligibility to participants in winter sports, which includes men’s and women’s basketball as well as ice hockey for both men and women, reported NBC Sports. The council also adjusted financial aid rules to allow teams to carry more members on scholarship to account for incoming recruits and student-athletes who had been in their last year of eligibility who decide to stay.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Pennsylvania State Universities, UW-Madison Anticipate $100 Million Coronavirus Loss Each
Pennsylvania’s 14 state universities collectively estimate $100 million in losses due to room and board refunds to students, necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic, reported Penn Live. And University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) alone expects losing the same amount, also due to room and board refunds and parking permit reimbursements, reported the Wisconsin State Journal. A Pennsylvania state university system spokesperson said each university will have to find money from its own budget to cover the loss. Most of the 14 universities have already informed their 96,000 students that they are issuing refunds. UW-Madison’s loss estimate doesn’t include a refund of tuition and fees, which the university said Monday it doesn’t plan to offer.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Report: In 2018, Public Colleges Received More Philanthropy Than Private Institutions
In 2018, public colleges and universities received more philanthropic gifts than private ones, says a new research report by TIAA Institute. The institute said 2018’s data shows a reversal in trends from 30 years previously. TIAA’s research used a national sample of about 400 public and private institutions. The report found that after adjusting for inflation, giving to institutions increased an average of 3.6% annually.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Report: US coronavirus deaths surpass China’s
By Stephanie Toone
Questions still loom over the validity of China’s reported death toll
U.S. deaths due to coronavirus have surpassed the reported number of deaths in China, where the rapidly spreading virus first emerged, according to a Tuesday news report. The number of Americans who have died the COVID-19 has now reached 3,393, according to a report by Reuters. The reported tally for virus deaths in China thus far is 3,305. Though the reported numbers have overtaken that of China, The New York Times reports that Chinese figures have been scrutinized, as European countries like France and Italy have also exceeded 3,000 deaths. Coronavirus cases jumped past 163,000 on Tuesday, Americans were told they may soon get a look at the statistical disease models that public officials have been using to urge more than 250 million people to stay at home, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Marietta Daily Journal
Georgia to deploy soldiers to fight virus in long-term care facilities
Staff reports
Over the next few weeks, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia National Guard Adjutant Gen. Tom Carden will activate and deploy over 100 guardsmen to any long-term care facility – assisted living facility or nursing home – with COVID-19 cases, Kemp’s office announced in a news release. The troops will be sent to specific locations to implement infection control protocols and enhanced sanitation methods to mitigate COVID-19 exposure among vulnerable residents. “Georgia’s top priority is increasing healthcare capacity to protect vulnerable Georgians, especially those residing in long-term care facilities,” Kemp said in the news release. “If we can keep these populations as healthy as possible, we will be able to conserve precious medical supplies and hospital bed space in the coming days and weeks.”
accessWDUN
Trump says ‘life and death’ at stake in following guidelines
By The Associated Press
President Donald Trump warned Americans to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks” ahead as the White House projected there could be 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the U.S. from the coronavirus pandemic even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained. Public health officials stressed Tuesday that the number could be less if people across the country bear down on keeping their distance from one another. “We really believe we can do a lot better than that,” said Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force. That would require all Americans to take seriously their role in preventing the spread of disease, she said. Added Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, “This is a number that we need to anticipate, but we don’t necessarily have to accept it as being inevitable.”
accessWDUN
State officials work to refine reporting of COVID-19 cases
By B.J. Williams Assistant News Director
Every day at noon and 7 p.m., the Georgia Department of Public Health releases updated numbers tracking the progression of COVID-19 across the state. As public health officials refine the recording of those numbers, they say Georgians may be confused about what appears to be a sudden increase in cases in one or more counties For example, the noon report on Tuesday, March 31 showed Hall County had 65 confirmed cases of coronavirus; on the previous report at 7 p.m. Monday, March 30, the county had 34 confirmed cases. Dave Palmer, spokesman for the District 2 Public Health Department, said there are a couple of factors for the increase, not just in Hall County, but in other counties, as well. For one thing, more testing is being done because more test kits are available.
The Brunswick News
Congress asking Trump administration to step up aid to rural hospitals battling COVID-19
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
More than 120 members of Congress, including three from Georgia, are asking the Trump administration to prioritize rural hospitals for funding from the $2 trillion economic stimulus package Congress passed last week. The package includes $130 billion aimed specifically at the needs of hospitals fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, dated Monday and sent to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, is signed by 41 senators and 81 members of the House of Representatives, including Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, and Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton.