University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Regents approve tuition freeze for public colleges for upcoming year
By Maureen Downey
Vote came amid warnings of rising financial fallout from pandemic
The Board of Regents, the appointed board that oversees Georgia’s higher education system, froze tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year amid warnings the coronavirus pandemic is creating fiscal challenges. The vote assures that students at Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities will pay the same tuition next year as they did this year. But it is unclear what the future holds. In his update to the regents, Chancellor Steve Wrigley said financial losses are being felt from the system-wide closing of campuses and refunds to students for their housing and dining hall costs. Those refunds across schools totaled about $200 million, he said.
The Washington Times
Georgia colleges hold line on tuition, cut some summer fees
By JEFF AMY – Associated Press
Despite bleeding revenue after students went home because of COVID-19, Georgia’s public universities and colleges will give those 330,000 students a break on costs for online summer classes and mostly hold the line on next year’s costs. Chancellor Steve Wrigley told regents Tuesday in a meeting conducted by telephone that he thought it was an important gesture to students facing challenges from the coronavirus outbreak. The move could also make it easier for universities to recruit students going forward even as student recruitment nationwide has been thrown into confusion by school closures and uncertainty over what will happen next.
Daily Citizen-News
Regents approve no tuition increase for Dalton State next school year
Dalton State College’s tuition and fees will remain the same for the 2020-21 school year after the Board of Regents approved no increase in tuition at any of the 26 University System of Georgia institutions. Residents of Georgia or Tennessee taking 15 credit hours will pay $2,123 a semester, while those outside of Georgia or Tennessee will pay $6,478 for 15 credit hours. “One of the University System of Georgia’s top priorities is affordability, and that has never been more important than now for our students and their families,” Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. “We are all trying to navigate an extraordinary time. It is more critical than ever for our institutions to provide a quality education while maintaining the affordability and accessibility that helps more Georgians attain a college degree and find success in the workforce.” Dalton State is one of the most affordable schools in the nation and ranks among the top 10% for the lowest net price (cost of attendance minus grant/scholarship aid), according to the College Affordability and Transparency List compiled by the U.S. Department of Education.
See also:
WGAU Radio
Regents finalize tuition freeze
Coronavirus means no tuition hikes at UGA, other schools in USG
WTVM
University System of Georgia freezes tuition for 2020-2021 academic year
WRBL
No tuition increase, online tuition reduced for Columbus State students
Marietta Daily Journal
Coronavirus playing havoc with University System of Georgia finances
By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service
The coronavirus pandemic has cost the University System of Georgia about $200 million, losses that could add up to $350 million by the end of the summer, system Chancellor Steve Wrigley said Tuesday. The state’s 26 public colleges and universities have done some belt tightening to help offset income lost when the system was forced to switch to all-online instruction and refund student payments for housing and other services they’re no longer receiving, Wrigley told members of the system’s Board of Regents. The schools have canceled both camp and study abroad programs this summer, as the system will continue to be limited to online classes during the summer semester, Wrigley said.
Athens Banner-Herald
Georgia public colleges could take $350 million hit from virus
By Lee Shearer
The University System of Georgia faces revenue losses of $340 million to $350 million through this summer because of coronavirus impacts, according to University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley. The system’s per-student funding from the state is already down 35 percent over the past 20 years, he reminded members of the state Board of Regents in a telephonic meeting Tuesday. Revenue losses through spring semester already add up to around $200 million, Wrigley said. The system has reserves to cover some of the losses, and will get an estimated $125 million from the federal COVID-19 relief bills passed last month, he said. There are “some restrictions” on how the money can be used, and university system officials have not yet gotten guidance on when the money might come, according to Wrigley.
WGAU
Regents approve Isakson Chair at UGA
By: UGA Today
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on Tuesday approved the establishment of the John H. “Johnny” Isakson Chair for Parkinson’s Research at the University of Georgia. The chair honors the former U.S. senator by emphasizing research that analyzes and develops treatments for Parkinson’s, the disease with which Isakson was diagnosed in 2015. The university has raised $1.6 million so far to establish the chair, which will “attract an exceptional faculty member who will engage in teaching, research and public service, or a combination of such duties, related to the study of Parkinson’s disease and other related brain disorders,” according to a March 31 letter written by University of Georgia President Jere W. Morehead to the Regents.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia has 3 business grad schools in top 50 of US
By Nancy Clanton
The University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business moved up four spots on US News & World Report’s annual ranking of top business grad schools, but it still ranked only third in the state. To determine the 2021 rankings of business schools, US News & World Reports surveyed all 477 MBA programs accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. Of those surveyed, 364 responded.
Athens CEO
CAES Graduate Students Recognized with Annual Research Awards
Chad Cain
Three graduate students in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) were recently honored with an E. Broadus Browne Award for Outstanding Graduate Research. Given in honor of Browne, a former director of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations in the college, the award is presented to outstanding master’s and doctoral students based on research and effective communication. This year, Lorena Lacerda in the department of crop and soil sciences was awarded first place for the Browne Award in the doctoral division. …Doctoral student Dima White won second place in the doctoral division. …Raegan Wiggins was awarded first place in the master’s division.
Tifton CEO
Dacula Resident Receives Outstanding Healthcare Professional Award at ABAC
Staff Report
Lori Brown Ewing from Dacula has been selected as the 2020 Outstanding Healthcare Professional Award recipient by the ABAC Alumni Association at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. This award is normally presented at the Alumni Awards Luncheon at Homecoming each April but was postponed due to the pandemic. The event will be rescheduled, possibly during the fall term. The Outstanding Health Care Professional Award recognizes alumni who have distinguished themselves through professional achievement, community service, and service to the College in the various areas of health care including but not limited to medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and health care administration. Ewing, a 1987 ABAC graduate and a former Tifton resident, received an Associate of Science degree before earning a Bachelor of Physical Therapy degree from the Medical College of Georgia. She currently serves as a physical therapist in the home care department of the St. Mary’s Healthcare System.
Albany Herald
Lee County student at UGA wins Barry Goldwater award
By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia Honors student Landon Clark of Leesburg is among 396 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. University of Georgia Honors student Landon Clark is among 396 undergraduates across the nation to be recognized as Barry Goldwater Scholars, earning the highest undergraduate award of its type for the fields of the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Clark, from Leesburg, is a third-year CURO Honors Scholar who is triple-majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics, and biology. Since 1995, 61 UGA students have received the Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes exceptional sophomores and juniors across the United States.
Savannah CEO
Savannah AMBUCS Awards Nearly $20,000 in Scholarships, Announces 2020-2021 Recipients
Staff Report
On April 4, 2020, Savannah Ambucs presented $19,250 in scholarships to graduate students of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy programs within The University Systems of Georgia and South Carolina who are actively volunteering within their communities. The annual Savannah Ambucs scholarship program represents the largest single private source of educational grants for therapists in America. Since 1955, the Ambucs nonprofit organization has funded more than $9 million in scholarships as part of its mission to empower others and make a difference in the communities they serve, especially those with different abilities.
Albany Herald
Three Albany State athletes chosen for prestigious NCAA Career in Sports Forum
From Staff Reports
Albany State University student-athletes Travis Ray, LaToya Boyd and Titus Burns have been selected to participate in the 2020 NCAA’s Career in Sports Forum on May 27-29. This year’s Career in Sports Forum will be held virtually due to COVID-19. The NCAA selects just 200 student-athletes annually to participate in the forum out of its more than 460,000 total student-athletes across the country. The forum is designed to help student-athletes with their career paths after graduation. Ray is a senior on Albany State’s baseball team. He played high school baseball at North Florida Christian in Tallahassee, Fla. Boyd is a junior tennis player from Dunwoody, Ga. Burns, a redshirt sophomore on the Rams’ basketball team, is from Havana, Fla.
Grist
How an outstretched hand launched a career in conservation
These days, we all could use a little good news — so we’re presenting a few of this year’s Grist 50 Fixers, in depth. For a quick dose of hope and optimism, meet 2020 Fixer Corina Newsome. As a child, Corina Newsome always loved animals, but she had no idea she could spend her life working with them, studying them, and making a difference in conservation and environmental issues. Newsome, who was recently named to the 2020 Grist 50, is a former zookeeper and current master’s student at Georgia Southern University. She tells us about the fortuitous event that changed the direction of her life. Her words have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Fun 101.1 News
GORDON ST. PLANS VIRTUAL SPRING COMMENCEMENT
Spring graduates for Gordon State College received information recently regarding a virtual ceremony scheduled on the original date of graduation, May 15 at 9 a.m. Graduates will be recognized online and the ceremony will be accessible to the families and friends of the graduates. An on-campus ceremony is also planned for these students to walk across the stage to receive their diploma on August 9, pending CDC guidelines for the Coronavirus group gatherings have been lifted.
The Sentinel
University invites spring graduates to summer commencement
Kennesaw State released a commencement update Tuesday, April 14, informing Spring 2020 graduates that they can participate in the July commencement ceremony. If that ceremony is canceled, both Spring and Summer 2020 graduates can participate in the December 2020 commencement ceremony. “Students scheduled to graduate will still earn their degrees and receive their diplomas, consistent with academic standards,” according to KSU’s commencement website. KSU typically holds three commencement ceremonies a year for graduates — in the spring, summer and fall semesters. Due to concerns over the outbreak of COVID-19, KSU decided to postpone its Spring 2020 commencement ceremony, according to the Sentinel.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
UGA planning for virtual ‘G-Day’ on Saturday
By Eric Jackson – Sports Business Reporter
The coronavirus outbreak forced the annual spring game to be canceled, but The University of Georgia is planning to host a virtual ‘G-Day’ this Saturday at 2 p.m. The school announced on Monday that the SEC Network will be re-airing last season’s matchup between UGA and Notre Dame. UGA head coach Kirby Smart will be live-tweeting the Sept. 21 game, which drew the highest rating of any college football game at that point of the season and also set a new attendance record at Sanford Stadium. UGA’s radio crew in Scott Howard, Eric Zeier and Chuck Dowdle will provide commentary via Facebook Live through the Bulldogs’ account page, according to a release.
Morning Ag Clips
Georgia 4-H offers camps for military dependents
Teen dependents, ages 14-18, of military service members are invited to apply before May 1
The University of Georgia 4-H program has coordinated military dependent camps since 2010 at locations in Georgia and Florida. Teen dependents, ages 14-18, of military service members are invited to apply before May 1 for the two summer camps. “The summits offer military dependents an opportunity to build leadership and life skills in a high adventure environment,” said Laura Goss, Georgia 4-H Military Camp coordinator. “Teenagers have the opportunity to have fun while connecting with teens to better understand their parent’s military service through targeted lessons, social interactions and service member volunteers. Youth gain independence, mastery and belonging.” UGA operates these two summer camps through the Military Teen Adventure Camps, a partnership funded by the Department of Defense between the Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture through a grant and cooperative agreement with Purdue University.
Savannah CEO
Georgia Southern Alumni Encourage Community, Adapt Small Business in Trying Times
Staff Report
For many small businesses, closing storefronts due to the Coronavirus pandemic has meant losing revenue and contact with customers. Focused on using art to boost the spirits of those in their Sandy Springs community, art studio owners and college roommates Sandra Lewis (‘92) and Kris Bleiler (‘91) are using the current crisis as an opportunity to offer new ways for their business to inspire and connect. Lewis and Bleiler franchised a Sips n Strokes art studio in 2011. They have recently had to temporarily close their three art studios due to the current crisis. After losing their revenue source, they decided to use their business to reach those sheltering in care facilities without contact with family and friends. “We saw news stories about nursing homes and how they were quarantining, not letting in any volunteers or family,” said Lewis. “I thought how lonely must they feel, and so we started Color for a Cause to offer free downloadable coloring sheets.” Color for a Cause provides both kids and adults with sheets to color and allows them to send a note of encouragement to patients in nursing homes.
11Alive
Four students at GSU work tirelessly to create COVID-19 test kits
Four students are working around the clock every single day to create tests by hand in a Georgia State University Lab.
Author: Kaitlyn Ross
Four students at Georgia State University are working around the clock to crank out an incredible number of COVID-19 test kits. The PhD and Masters candidates are part of the Governor’s COVID-19 response team and say they take pride in the work they’re doing. They gave 11Alive’s Kaitlyn Ross a tour of the lab where they’re producing 2,000 tests a day by hand. “When all the samples are extracted from the virus, they all come here and can be tested,” Dr. John Houghton explained. He’s supervising the four students who are working to make the COVID-19 test kits. It’s loud inside the lab where the students have been spending most of their time. …He says they’re proud to be working so hard to help people. …The four students volunteered to take the work on, because they knew how important it was.
Fox5
Georgia hospital tests donor plasma treatment for coronavirus patients
By Beth Galvin
It was an emotional moment on the night of April 9 inside the ICU at Floyd Medical Center. As part of a Mayo Clinic study, two critically-ill COVID-19 patients at the Rome, Georgia hospital were given plasma collected from a survivor of the virus. …The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the emergency use of convalescent plasma in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19. To help Floyd Medical Center test the treatment, McClain set up a nonprofit, the Plasma Therapy Corporation, to recruit COVID-19 survivors, collect their plasma, and then deliver it to hospitals. Students from the Medical College of Georgia are helping with the project, working with the local public health department to find and recruit survivors. McClain says most of the 20 to 30 survivors the students have contacted have agreed to donate their plasma, which is a process similar to donating blood.
Athens CEO
UGA Law School to Help Mediate Conflicts Arising from Sheltering in Place
Heidi Murphy
With sheltering orders in place, conflicts are sure to arise between family members, partners and roommates or even between tenants and landlords. The University of Georgia School of Law is offering its services to help guide such parties to a resolution. The law school’s Mediation Practicum is offering qualified, registered mediators who can assist. This free and confidential service is available by calling 706-542-5213. At the start of the process, these professionals will define some ground rules and allow the affected parties to raise their concerns and explore various options. The mediators will then talk individually with each party to discuss proposals that could help resolve the conflict, culminating with a group discussion – including all parties – where a possible resolution is found.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Museum of Art adapts rapidly to serve community
Hillary Brown
Even before the Georgia Museum of Art decided to close to the public, its staff was hard at work planning how to move its activities online. The museum is a much-used public space as well as a teaching and research institution, and its staff and docents serve tens of thousands of visitors a year with tours and programs. Instead of turning inward, the museum’s staff saw the closing of its doors as an opportunity to serve an even wider audience than usual, generating programming that could help bring the museum to its visitors rather than the other way around. Director William U. Eiland said, “The staff of the Georgia Museum of Art has joined with colleagues — regional, national and international — to continue to reach audiences through online services and teaching. I am proud of our effort and the rapid adaptation of the latest technology to accomplish our mission.
The George-Anne
Georgia Southern’s aquaponics farm donates leafy greens during COVID-19 epidemic
By Blakeley Bartee
The FORAM Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus is donating produce grown at their aquaponics farm to a regional food bank organization. SARC recently donated leafy greens to the Savannah-based America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, according to a GS press release. Brigette Brinton, SARC curator, said in the press release that they are donating produce that would otherwise be in excess or spoil before getting consumed.
Northwest Georgia News
MCG students in Rome get rare opportunity during COVID-19 crisis
By Doug Walker
Any difficulty can be an opportunity to learn, and a few students at the Medical College of Georgia are in the midst of applying that maxim. The third- and fourth-year students who are finishing their academic work in Rome are helping combat the COVID-19 health emergency in a variety of ways, according to Dr. Leonard Reeves, associate dean of the Northwest Georgia Clinical Campus. When the campus in Rome was placed on pause a month ago, Reeves and the rest of the instructional staff started to look for opportunities for the two groups of students. They immediately found a willing partner in the Georgia Department of Public Health.
WRDW
AU Health aids Albany patients, keeps elective procedures on hold
By Staff
Augusta University Health has extended its cancellation of all elective procedures during the COVID-19 crisis. Meanwhile, the health system is helping the Albany area, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. AU Health has received five coronavirus patients from Albany. The health system includes Augusta University Medical Center, Augusta University Medical Associates, Children’s Hospital of Georgia and Surgery Center of Columbia County.
The Red & Black
How UGA researchers are tackling COVID-19
Samantha Perez | Contributor
University of Georgia researchers are working to combat the spread of COVID-19 by researching treatments and testing, tracking the virus’s spread and researching its societal and psychological effects, according to a UGA Today news release. Scott Pegan, director of the UGA Center for Drug Discovery, is working with colleagues in the College of Pharmacy to develop a vaccine, according to the release. Other scientists in UGA’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology lab are working on new vaccines and immunotherapies to fight the new coronavirus. Ongoing research into the effectiveness of chloroquine in preventing malaria could help determine how effective the drug is against the coronavirus, according to the release. Several UGA infectious disease faculty have “extensive experience with chloroquine, the parent drug of hydroxychloroquine.”
Daily Hunt
Indian American scientist bats for mathematical modelling for COVID-19
Researchers, led by an Indian-origin scientist, have pitched for mathematical modelling that can take what information is reported about the coronavirus, including the clearly under-reported numbers of cases, factor in known like the density and age distribution of the population in an area, and compute a more realistic picture of the virus’ infection rate, numbers that will enable better prevention and preparation. “Actual pandemic preparedness depends on true cases in the population whether or not they have been identified. With better numbers, we can better assess how long the virus will persist and how bad it will get. Without these numbers, how can health care systems and workers prepare for what is needed?” asked study researchers Dr Arni S.R. Srinivasa Rao from Augusta University in the US. Better numbers also are critical to better protecting the population and overall pandemic preparedness, the researchers said in the paper published in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
WGAU
UGA’s Drake tracks coronavirus
As Ebola raged across Africa in 2014, Distinguished Research Professor John Drake and his colleagues at the University of Georgia developed sophisticated mathematical models that helped predict the epidemic’s spread and guided policies designed to save lives. Six years later, the deadly virus that Drake and his team are battling has hit much closer to home. “One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear to people is that viruses don’t respect borders,” says Drake, who directs the Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases in the Odum School of Ecology. “A virus that likely originated in bats found in the Hubei Province of China has—within a matter of months—infected more than 1 million people worldwide and caused tens of thousands of deaths.” Shortly after the virus was identified, Drake convened a team of researchers with broad expertise in data collection, interpretation, disease modeling and more. “The disease is spreading rapidly and globally and is a major threat to public health.” The university’s Coronavirus Working Group now includes 30 UGA faculty, staff, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
WRDW
AU pharmacy produces hand sanitizer in-house for hospital use
By Brady Trapnell
Augusta University Health has been a front runner for multiple COVID-19 prevention operations. From creating new COVID-19 tests to running testing sites, all to help the community. But now, there’s another operation going on. And they’ve never done this before either. There’s a small factory running inside AU now — producing hand sanitizer. A production they hope will help save more lives with each batch. Hand sanitizer has been one of the top products sold when the COVID-19 pandemic first began. Stores struggled to keep it, amongst other essentials, on the shelves. Even now, some people can barely find a bottle anywhere. This is why AU decided to help out in a new way.
WRDW
AU Health opens special unit for coronavirus patients
By Staff
The Augusta University Health System has opened what’s billed as the region’s first emergency unit dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients who need critical procedures such as intubations and resuscitations. The unit has five critical-care rooms plus an adjacent 10 acute-care rooms, all with negative air pressure, which helps cut risks to patients and providers.
Higher Education News:
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Students File Proposed Class Action Suits on Tuition, Other Refunds
Two students, one from the University of Miami and the other from Drexel University, filed proposed class action lawsuits against their institutions last week saying they should be refunded spring semester 2020 tuition and other fees and costs because their schools have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Law 360. Both suits are lodged in South Carolina federal court and both students are represented by Anastopoulo Law Firm LLC, which is also based in the state. The suits could potentially represent thousands of students each, from Philadelphia-based Drexel and the University of Miami.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Coronavirus Pandemic Has Impacted College Students’ Mental Health
by Sarah Wood
The changes in the higher education sector due to the coronavirus pandemic, such as campus-wide closures and the transition to online learning, have forced many college students to juggle their physical well being with possible food insecurity, financial stress, housing concerns and lack of resources to complete their academic work. This has impacted students’ mental health, with many suffering from feelings of loneliness, isolation, increased anxiety, sleeping troubles and difficulty concentrating on schoolwork, said Erica Riba, director of higher education and student engagement at the Jed Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to protect the emotional health of the country’s teens and young adults.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Covid-19 Is a Pivotal Moment for Struggling Students. Can Colleges Step Up?
By Vimal Patel
…The burden the pandemic is placing on many students has exposed the staggering class divides that have always existed in higher education. For many students, going home to study online — missing activities like team sports or even their commencement ceremony — represents a rough patch they’ll get through. But for students like Ouanemalay, this is a time of extraordinary stress. Without campus jobs, they don’t know what they’ll do for income. Some are disoriented by the online migration; others don’t even have the internet. Some can’t afford to travel home, or have no home to go to. These are the students colleges say they desperately want to reach and serve. These are the students colleges are most at risk of losing in the months ahead. Over the past several years, colleges have opened their doors to an increasing number of students like Ouanemalay. But the promise of higher education as an engine of social mobility rests on whether it can deliver on the commitment to get them to the finish line.
Inside Higher Ed
The inequitable ways the move to remote learning has affected different groups of students; are recession-affected students flocking to online courses? What’s happening with the fall semester?
By Doug Lederman
I’m changing it up a bit in this week’s column. In most recent weeks, the column has gone deep on a single theme — the human impact of this spring’s shift to remote learning, professors’ responsibility for their students’ workplace success and how colleges are handling teaching evaluations during the pandemic, to name a few. Maybe it’s just because my mind is scattered, but so many topics are striking me as interesting and important these days that I’m finding it hard to focus on just one. So this week, I’m exploring a handful of subjects that have drawn my attention in recent days: the inequitable ways the move to remote learning has affected different groups of students, early signs of whether recession-affected students are flocking to online courses and the status of the fall semester.
***
A Hotspot (or Router) for Every Student?
People are dealing with lots of terrible implications of and fallout from the coronavirus epidemic — deaths and sicknesses of family members and other loved ones first and foremost, but also loss of jobs, other forms of economic and family instability, and much other misery. This doesn’t fall into that life-or-death category, but among the most distressing education-related articles I’ve read in recent days are several (including here, here and here) about how certain groups of students — especially financially needy students and those who live in rural communities — are struggling to continue learning as colleges have shifted to remote instruction.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Will the Pandemic Usher in an Era of Mass Surveillance in Higher Education?
By Alexander C. Kafka
After college students joined the swarm of 200 million daily Zoom users this semester, experts bashed the company over privacy breaches and concerns about data sharing with third parties. That prompted Zoom executives to start a three-month re-evaluation of the videoconferencing platform’s encryption and licensing. But online learning and meeting apps are just one aspect of privacy in higher education brought to the fore by the Covid-19 pandemic. Some academics fear the spreading crisis will be used to justify accelerated growth in intrusive observation of faculty members and students, further eroding individual rights in the name of education and public health. The pandemic will hasten a “race to the bottom to a surveillance society, with very little indication that it’s going to make people safer,” said Chris Gilliard, a professor of English at Macomb Community College, in Michigan, who studies privacy and digital policy.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Low-Income Students Count on Finding Jobs. But the Pandemic Has Halted Their Job Training.
By Katherine Mangan
… As the coronavirus pandemic has forced nonessential businesses to close and colleges to shutter their campuses and clinics, students in the final stages of work-based training have been left in limbo. Many come from low-income families. Some programs can be completed in a year or less, which appeals to students with limited funds looking for a quick entry into a job. Those students were counting on jobs they assumed were just months away but now seem just out of reach. Even as they retreat to their laptops to study YouTube tutorials and demonstrations hurriedly posted by their instructors, they’re wondering if they’ll be able to graduate without the clinical or work-based hours their professions require. Adding to the stress: With social-distancing rules in place, the testing sites that administer licensing exams are closing or cutting way back.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
How Has Grading Changed Since Coronavirus Forced Classes Online? Often, It Depends on the Professor
By Emma Dill
As Jenny Davidson tracked the news early last month about the coronavirus, it began to seem inevitable: Her university would move instruction online for the rest of the semester. She immediately thought about the chaos that would envelop her students’ lives as they packed up their dorm rooms and moved home or elsewhere. To ease the strain, Davidson, a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University, told them they would all receive A’s in the course. “Academic pressure, at least as far as my class is concerned, doesn’t need to be added to your stressors,” was how Davidson put it in an interview. Columbia subsequently moved classes online and announced a mandatory pass/fail policy. Students will either pass a course or fail it, with no option to petition for a letter grade. As students were sent home and professors retooled courses for online delivery, instructors and colleges encountered a quandary about how or even whether to adjust how students’ work is assessed. While the pass/fail option reduces the pressure to earn a high letter grade, students who choose it may be penalized later, when they apply to graduate school or for grants or scholarships. Professors at institutions across the country have developed an array of grading approaches based on the needs of their students and the course content.
Inside Higher Ed
The death toll from COVID-19 continues to grow among professors. How will universities cope?
By Marjorie Valbrun
One of the professors was a famous artist who transformed and raised the profile of African American art. Another spent decades steeped in the art of making music. The third gentleman was more focused on the art of the deal, or the business of professional selling. They traveled different paths in life, but they shared a sad fate — all three died recently from health complications related to COVID-19, the latest victims of the pandemic that has already caused so much upheaval in American higher ed. …There are many more academics whose deaths have not been publicized and whose life stories are still unknown. There will undoubtedly be more deaths as the pandemic continues. The current moment demands an appraisal of the victims as individuals and, perhaps more importantly, as a collective. …These various scenarios raise troubling questions. What happens if professors start dying at higher rates than average, at more universities than usual?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
How Should Colleges Prepare for a Post-Pandemic World?
Anticipate and plan for change rather than merely hope that it will not arrive.
By Brian Rosenberg
If one were to invent a crisis uniquely and diabolically designed to undermine the foundations of traditional colleges and universities, it might look very much like the current global pandemic. An industry that for decades has seemed immune to radical change has been confronted by an enemy that appears to turn its strengths into weaknesses and its defining characteristics into vulnerabilities. Higher education, in its traditional form, promises many things — vocational preparation, rites of passage, a broadening of the mind — but at its heart what it promises is closeness: closeness between students and their teachers, closeness among students in classrooms and residence halls, closeness on sports teams and in organizations, lifelong closeness among graduates. Whether it is a small liberal-arts college promoting a low student-to-faculty ratio or a Division I powerhouse promising cheering crowds of students at football games, the narrative that draws students to college campuses is one of community.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Georgia confirms just under 15K coronavirus cases, 552 deaths
By Chelsea Prince
Known coronavirus cases in Georgia continued their steady climb Wednesday, with the state now reporting nearly 15,000 cases and 552 deaths. Twenty-eight more Georgians have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus, since the state last reported data Tuesday night. The latest numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health also show 14,987 confirmed cases, a rise of roughly 3% from the day before. Since the outbreak began, 2,922 COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized across the state, according to the health department.
Albany Herald
State to augment Phoebe health care staffing levels
From staff reports
At a COVID-19 briefing at the state Capitol, Gov. Brian Kemp announced the state’s plans to augment staffing levels for health care facilities in various parts of Georgia to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency. The state has partnered with Jackson Healthcare, a Georgia company with a portfolio of staffing, search, and technology companies that assists health systems, hospitals, and other health care facilities with work force needs. The state is working with Jackson Healthcare through its subsidiary Healthcare Workforce Logistics to bring roughly 570 additional health care professionals to key health systems.
The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta man donates 10,000 masks to University Hospital, Golden Harvest
By Jozsef Papp
A friend from China reached out to Phillippe Erramuzpe in Augusta and gave him 10,000 surgical masks to donate to local community organizations. Now, he is doing just that. On Tuesday, Erramuzpe, who is French and has lived in Augusta for 30 years, donated 2,500 masks to Golden Harvest Food Bank and 7,500 to University Hospital after receiving them this week. Now retired, he used to travel the world on business trips, going to China many times and usually spending about two months a year there. “For the past close to 20 years, I’ve been doing business in China,” he said. In China, he was able to build business relationships there. A friend, who is now also retired, used to run a flooring company in China and contacted him about the masks, after he came in possession of them and knew about the shortage facing the U.S. “I know him, he’s got a good heart and he is willing to give back,” Erramuzpe said. “Not only to his people in China, but to his friends throughout the world as well.” Erramuzpe said his friend told him to donate it to local organizations, so he reached out to University and Golden Harvest.
The Gainesville Times
Gainesville’s new temporary medical unit will provide 20 beds to address COVID-19
Megan Reed
Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville will be getting an additional 20 beds on May 5 to expand capacity for COVID-19 patients. The temporary medical unit is one of four that the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency is opening in the state. It is in addition to two 13-bed mobile units that opened in March at the Gainesville and Braselton hospital campuses. The Georgia Department of Health has confirmed 363 coronavirus cases from Hall County as of April 14. Northeast Georgia Health System serves Hall and the surrounding area. Statewide, just under 20% of COVID-19 cases are hospitalized. Gov. Brian Kemp first announced Gainesville was getting a temporary unit at a press conference Monday, April 13. Other units will be in Rome, Albany and Macon.
The Gainesville Times
GEMA to provide 911 centers with addresses of patients with COVID-19
The state will begin providing 911 centers with the addresses of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19. The move is an effort to protect first responders who might encounter the patients during emergency calls, according to a release from the governor’s office. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Health, will begin to provide a list of COVID-19 cases in each jurisdiction to 911 centers this week, the release said. The data will be pulled from the health department’s daily report on the number of COVID-19 patients. To ensure the confidentiality of the patients, only the address will be shared with 911 centers, according to the release. If a 911 call is made from that address within the 21-day period of when a patient was potentially infectious, the dispatch center will alert the responding personnel.
GPB
Emory Develops Diagnostic Antibody Blood Test To Determine Antibody-Responses To COVID-19
By Grant Blankenship
Emory has come up with a test that looks for signs the body’s immune system has fought off coronavirus, known as coronavirus antibodies. For now, the test, which requires drawing a small vial of blood, is only for patients and workers in the Emory Healthcare system, but Dr. Aneesh Mehta of the Emory University School of Medicine said he expects the test to be rolled out more widely by summer as tracing the path of the coronavirus continues. “The test will indicate whether somebody has developed antibodies to the COVID-19 virus,” said John Roback, MD, PhD, executive vice-chair for clinical operations in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and medical director of Emory Medical Laboratories. Roback emphasized that the presence of antibodies is no guarantee of immunity.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Experts hopeful but cautious about new coronavirus treatment report
By Eric Stirgus
Cautious. Hopeful. Realistic. Those are words that medical experts are frequently using to describe results of a recent test of the drug remdesivir for patients hospitalized with severe infections of COVID-19. More than half of the patients were so ill that they were on mechanical ventilators, while another 8 percent were on a treatment that uses a pump to oxygenate blood outside the body. After receiving remdesivir once a day for up to 10 days, two-thirds of patients improved their support status, and nearly half were discharged from the hospital, researchers reported in an article published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Seven patients died from the disease after completion of remdesivir treatment, including six who had been receiving invasive ventilation.
Gwinnett Daily Post
By Leah Asmelash and Maggie Fox, CNN
This may be the new normal for quite a while. The US may have to endure social distancing measures — such as stay-at-home orders and school closures — until 2022, researchers projected on Tuesday. That is, unless, a vaccine becomes quickly available. That’s according to researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who published their findings in the journal Science on Tuesday. Those findings directly contradict research being touted by the White House that suggests the pandemic may stop this summer.
Albany Herald
CDC, FEMA have drafted a national plan to reopen US, report says
By Theresa Waldrop, CNN
There is a draft of a back-to-work strategy for the nation, created by a team led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to The Washington Post. The plan offers guidance for local and state governments on how to reopen the country safely and in phases, the newspaper reported. President Donald Trump has been pushing to reopen the country as soon as possible, although experts warn that it’s too early to lift social distancing requirements and other restrictions.