University System News:
Douglas Now
SGSC ASSISTS STUDENTS WITH THEIR DREAMS OF A COLLEGE EDUCATION
South Georgia State College (SGSC) has entered into a partnership with Fresh Start Academy (FSA) in Albany, Georgia, to create additional pathways for students to pursue higher education at a residential state college of the University System of Georgia. The collaboration will allow for SGSC’s enrollment specialists to host recruitment events, conduct sessions to assist students with navigating the financial aid process and guide them through admissions and housing applications. Fresh Start Academy provides academic and support services to students either at risk of not earning a high school diploma or wishing to return to school after a gap in their education. Once they complete their required coursework at FSA and earn their diploma, SGSC will support and assist the students with admissions and registration for classes at the Douglas, campus or one of the entry programs at Valdosta State University or Georgia Southwestern State University.
11Alive
With COVID-19 still in the forefront, Georgia State’s president predicts what the fall semester could look like.
Author: William Liss
The State’s largest university, Georgia State, is now facing unique challenges as it weighs how to address the coronavirus looking ahead to the fall and beyond. With a student body of more than 53,000 students, the university ranks among the largest in the nation. When the pandemic hit, the staff and faculty had just two weeks to figure out how to operate mostly remotely until September. Dr. Mark Becker, GSU’s President, pulled out all the stops.
Albany Herald
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Valdosta State sign articulation agreement
From staff reports
Alleviating a shortage of mental health providers in rural areas will be one of the goals of a new articulation agreement between Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Valdosta State University. Matthew Anderson, dean of the ABAC School of Arts and Sciences, said the agreement guarantees qualified ABAC graduates with a bachelor’s degree in Rural Community Development an interview and consideration for acceptance into VSU’s Marriage and Family Therapy master’s degree program.
WJBF
MCG students host “Teen Resiliency” program
By: Ashley Flete
Parenting teens while they are navigating their teenage years is no easy task, that’s why students at Augusta’s University Medical College of Georgia are taking what they learned during their younger years and paying it forward. Students at MCG started a ‘Teen Resiliency” program which carters to the 14 counties across the CSRA.
Douglas Now
SGSC STUDENTS NAMED TO PHI THETA KAPPA’S ALL-GEORGIA ACADEMIC TEAM
South Georgia State College (SGSC) students Kaylen Wilkerson of Douglas and Ernest Wesley of Fitzgerald were named to the All-Georgia Academic Team, a program recognizing the scholarly achievements of students enrolled in two-year programs at Georgia’s colleges and universities. Colleges may nominate students from their campuses to the All-USA Academic Team. Students from Georgia nominated to the national team make up the All-Georgia Academic Team. Nominations are based on outstanding academic performance and service to the college and community. The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation is a valued partner of the All-Georgia Academic Team.
The Newnan Times-Herald
Carriger inducted into National Society of Collegiate Scholars
Steven Carriger of Newnan has accepted an invitation of lifetime membership in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. NSCS is an honors organization for high-achieving first- and second-year college students with a minimum 3.0 GPA. Less than 10 percent of all eligible students are invited to join the society, which includes students from tw0-year, four-year and online institutions…Garriger, who graduated with high honors from Newnan High School in 2019, recently completed his freshman year at the University of West Georgia.
Tifton CEO
Adel Student Receives Award of Distinction in ABAC School of Arts and Sciences
Staff Report
Jaylee Bass from Adel has been selected as the top student in the School of Arts and Sciences at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Dr. Matthew Anderson, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, said Bass will receive the Award of Distinction. Bass has compiled a 3.97 grade point average on a 4.0 scale in the bachelor’s degree in Writing and Communication. An ABAC Foundation Scholar, she received the AT&T Georgia Scholarship from the ABAC Foundation.
The Augusta Chronicle
Davidson’s Logan Kelly named Georgia Scholar
By Miguel Legoas
Logan Kelly has had to overcome obstacles very few his age share. “I was diagnosed with an inactive gallbladder early on…it can really affect my health sometimes where I’m in constant pain,” said the Davidson Fine Arts senior. “Then my dad [who has cystic fibrosis]…in the past, he had very bad accidents where he would end up in the ICU for not being able to breath, and it would just be kind of scary not knowing what would happen next.” But his father has gotten better , and these struggles have not hindered Kelly from excelling academically. His performance in and completion of almost every AP class Davidson offers has earned him a 4.5 GPA, a 1430 SAT score, and the honor of being named a Georgia Scholar with a seal on his diploma to prove it. …“I enjoy all of my Red Cross activities, I enjoy late swim team practices, I enjoy tennis practices, I enjoy my job,” Kelly said. “Each of these things, I just don’t look on them as work as much as I do as what I like to do.” That do-what-you-love attitude is what led Kelly to the profession he plans to pursue after graduating from the University of Georgia. “I hope to be a pediatric orthopedic surgeon,” Kelly said. “One of my best friend’s dad, he’s a pediatric orthopedic surgeon up at Augusta University, and I shadowed with him going to clinics in Athens. So I’ve definitely kind of fallen in love with it. It’s what I really enjoy to do and I always want to be able to help people.”
Middle Georgia CEO
Earning Her Wings at Middle Georgia State University
Sheron Smith
When Lacey Needham decided to study flight at Middle Georgia State University (MGA), she knew she was entering a field many still consider a “boy’s club.” Even in an era when some barriers to women pursuing traditionally male-dominated careers are crumbling, aviation has been slow to change. In the U.S., women account for about 7 percent of all commercial pilots, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Women are even rarer among aircraft mechanics and service technicians. One study concluded that just 3.6 percent of all who do such work in the U.S. are female. But Needham, who is from Carrollton, was undaunted. She earned a private pilot’s license while still in high school and now, at age 20, she’s an MGA junior working toward her bachelor’s degree in Aviation Science and Management with a concentration in flight.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech, state schools could begin voluntary workouts June 1
By Ken Sugiura
On June 1, when Division I football and men’s and women’s basketball players will be permitted to return to campus for voluntary training, it’s possible that athletes at Georgia Tech and the state’s other public Division I schools could be part of the procession. The NCAA Division I Council voted on legislation for a June 1 return on Wednesday, granting permission to schools to recommence voluntary athletic activities on campuses as long as local, state and federal regulations are followed. Since the coronavirus pandemic prompted a shutdown of sports leagues worldwide in mid-March, this is perhaps the most significant public step that the NCAA has taken toward returning to competition.
Other News:
WSB-TV
EXCLUSIVE: State health commissioner looking into new questions about coronavirus case numbers
By: Richard Elliot
The person directing Georgia’s medical response to coronavirus sat down with Channel 2 Action News on Wednesday and answered questions ranging from, “How is the state doing right now?” to “Why have there been issues with data presentation?” Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey has become a familiar face in Georgia’s fight to contain the spread of coronavirus. She has been by Gov. Brian Kemp’s side since the beginning of the pandemic, advising how to fight it. “Does it appear the social distancing, the things that we are doing as a state have been working, or is it still a little early to tell?” Channel 2’s Richard Elliot asked Toomey in a one-on-one interview Wednesday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia farmland among most threatened in the nation says new report
By Nedra Rhone
Georgia farmland is among the most threatened in the nation according to a new report from the American Farmland Trust. Between 2001 and 2016, about 544,000 acres of agricultural land in Georgia were developed or used for purposes other than farming or ranching, 195,000 acres of which are considered the best land for growing food and crops. …Georgia ranks fifth behind states like Texas and North Carolina in the amount of lost farmland, the report said.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Latest Atlanta coronavirus news: Georgia COVID-19 cases near 40K
There are now 1,697 deaths from COVID-19 and 39,801 confirmed cases
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
CDC Issues New Guidance to Colleges
New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines considerations for colleges to take into account in reopening.
By Elizabeth Redden
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on Tuesday for colleges as they reopen their campuses Colleges will be looking to the CDC as many prepare to welcome back students, 19.9 million of whom were enrolled at U.S. colleges last fall. While the guidance does not address when or whether colleges should resume in-person classes, it describes practices colleges can put in place to reduce coronavirus spread and promote a healthy student body and workforce. It also outlines steps they should take to address suspected COVID-19 cases on their campuses. The CDC guidance notes that institutions of higher education “vary considerably in geographic location, size, and structure.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s tech college system planning furloughs, layoffs
By Eric Stirgus
The system that runs Georgia’s 22 technical colleges introduced a plan to its board Wednesday that proposes furloughs and layoffs to meet the state government’s demand to cut its budget by 14% for the 12-month fiscal year that starts July 1. The plan does not specify how many employees would be laid off. The system said it still in the process of evaluating to determine an exact number.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Fearing a Second Wave of Covid-19, Some Colleges Will End Fall Semester Early
By Bennett Leckrone
With infectious-disease experts forecasting recurring waves of Covid-19 contagion, a number of colleges are coalescing around a plan to send students home by Thanksgiving this fall. Hundreds of institutions have pledged to return to in-person classes in August, after the coronavirus forced them to move instruction online in the spring. While some of those colleges intend to return to normal operations, others have configured their calendars with earlier start and end dates.
Education Dive
Most US colleges expect international enrollment will decline, survey finds
Natalie Schwartz
Dive Brief:
With travel and other pandemic-related restrictions making it harder for colleges to recruit international students, many are adopting measures to ease their entry or return to school, according to a new survey from the Institute of International Education (IIE). Out of 599 U.S. institutions, 44% said they’re allowing international students to take online exams instead of in-person tests, 42% are updating accepted students more regularly and 40% are offering them the option to defer enrollment. Even with these new measures, 88% of institutions expect international student enrollment to decline in the 2020-21 academic year — a trend that could further harm college budgets.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Unemployment Hardships Could Derail the Very Students Who Were Poised to Drive Colleges’ Enrollment
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Hispanic students are higher ed’s growth engine. Unemployment and underemployment could keep them from enrolling. A year ago, Latino unemployment was at an all-time low. But with Covid-19 it has ballooned. Hispanics in the United States have been hard-hit economically by the pandemic, with about 20 percent having been laid off or furloughed, data continue to show. That joblessness comes on top of the tragedy that Covid-19 illnesses and deaths have occurred at disproportionately higher rates among Latinos, African Americans, and members of the Navajo Nation than in the U.S. population as a whole. Colleges will feel the impact of that immediately — and in years to come.
Inside Higher Ed
New Analysis Says Pandemic Hits Women Graduates Hardest
By Greta Anderson
The American Association of University Women, or AAUW, is calling on policy makers to provide more emergency aid to college students, cancel up to $10,000 of loan debt and close the gender pay gap. The demand is in response to the increased economic uncertainty that women college graduates are now facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organization announced Thursday. A new analysis released on May 20 by AAUW, a nonprofit organization that advocates for gender equity, found that more than two-thirds of student loan debt in the nation is held by women, particularly women who are black or the first in their families to attend college. Women were also found to make up nearly 59 percent of unemployment claims during the first weeks of the economic crisis caused by the pandemic, the analysis said. The financial difficulties 2020 college graduates especially are facing at this time are “untenable,” AAUW CEO Kim Churches said in a statement.
Inside Higher Ed
Academic Minute: Debt and Price as Predictors of Enrollment
By Doug Lederman
Today on the Academic Minute, Rob K. Larson, associate professor of management at Luther College, explores how student debt is affecting college admissions. Learn more about the Academic Minute here.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges are considering additions to their conduct codes to enforce social distancing measures next fall, but their reach only goes so far off-campus.
By Greta Anderson
As colleges unveil intricate reopening plans to regularly test and trace students for coronavirus infection when they return to campuses this fall, large graduation celebrations among students in recent weeks have served as stark reminders of the difficult work that lies ahead. Widely circulated videos and news images of students partying — without face masks and seemingly oblivious to social distancing guidelines — made it clear that protecting students from each other, as well as the larger campus and neighboring communities, will not be limited to classrooms and residence halls.
Inside Higher Ed
Colleges Lower the Boom on Retirement Plans
Colleges and universities are increasingly suspending or trimming employee retirement plan contributions to battle budget deficits.
By Colleen Flaherty
Facing devastating financial losses related to the coronavirus pandemic, colleges and universities are cutting costs just about everywhere they can. Increasingly, that includes faculty and staff retirement benefits.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
How Workforce Credentials Can Become More Accessible After COVID-19
by Sara Weissman
U.S. employers cut 20.5 million jobs in April, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate surged to 14.7% this month. People need work, and for some, that’s going to mean going back to school for new credentials. With the pandemic as a backdrop, a webinar – hosted by the center-left think tank Third Way and sponsored by the Lumina Foundation – explored how workforce credentialing could be made quicker and more accessible to those who need it the most. Ten speakers addressed the question from across industries and sectors.
Inside Higher Ed
College Board Sued Over AP Exams
By Scott Jaschik
Students whose Advanced Placement exams could not be submitted last week have filed a federal class action suit against the College Board. Many students last week could not submit their answers and were told that they would have to take a makeup exam next month. The suit seeks to force the College Board to score their answers. FairTest: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing joined the suit, which claims breach of contract, gross negligence, misrepresentation, unjust enrichment and violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Plaintiffs will seek “compensatory damages in an amount that exceeds $500 million” and “punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish defendants” and “to deter them from engaging in wrongful conduct in the future.”