University System News:
Times-Georgian
UWG adds additional colleges to its West in Thirty program
By Sarah Powell
The University of West Georgia has recently partnered with two Georgia colleges through its West in Thirty program, expanding options for program participants. Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC) and Gordon State College (GSC) join West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) as partner institutions for students navigating another way West through West in Thirty. Executed by UWG’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and partner schools, West in Thirty offers aspiring students who do not yet meet admissions requirements the opportunity to start their academic journey by attending a partner institution for 24 credit hours and seamlessly transferring to UWG to complete their degree. Director of Undergraduate Admissions Dr. Justin Barlow believes that higher education should not only be available to a select few.
WMAZ
Middle Georgia State returns to in-person instruction this fall
The university will space out classroom seating and provide cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer for students and staff to use.
Author: Pepper Baker
Middle Georgia State’s Vice President of Enrollment Jennifer Stenander helped put together a plan for the university to return to in-person instruction safely. “We are opening for the fall semester, we are welcoming students back, we will be practicing social distancing,” she said. The University System of Georgia approved their reopening plans on Friday.
The Spectator
Valdosta State is one of many schools planning for face-to-face instruction
On June 8, VSU officially announced plans to return to face-to-face classes this fall, aligning with the majority of universities across the nation. Some other universities that also plan to go face-to-face next semester include Florida State University, University of North Carolina in Charlotte and Georgia Southern University.
WGAU
Prepping for in-person instruction
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia is out with a new set of guidelines to facilitate the planned reopening of its campuses for fall semester classes. UNG, like schools across the state, closed campuses in mid-March with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
From the UNG website…
The University of North Georgia (UNG) is preparing for students to return to campus in August for face-to-face classes during the fall 2020 semester. Social distancing guidelines and other preventive measures will be applied to keep the university community safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. …
The Red & Black
Self-service eliminated in UGA dining halls this fall, other COVID-19 guidelines released
Jacqueline GaNun | News Editor
The University of Georgia’s Dining Services said all self-service lines in the dining halls will be eliminated this fall, according to a Dining Services notification detailing safety guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Online ordering and to-go pickup options will be extended in the dining halls this fall. Dining staff will wear personal protective equipment, the website said. Seating in dining halls will be spread out, and less students will be allowed in at once. Reservations may be implemented in some dining locations, and entry points may be converted to take-out only, according to the website. All areas and utensils will be cleaned more frequently. Common areas will be cleaned and disinfected frequently, including door handles and tables. Soap, hand sanitizer, tissues and trash cans will be provided in common areas.
The Millen News
Resilient Teens Learn New Skills to Manage Stress of Isolation
By Joe Brady
Millen News editor
Caleb Asbury and over twenty other local area youth from the CSRA have completed a 6- week pilot project to help Augusta University and local Family Connection collaboratives develop an innovative program. It will teach resiliency skills to teens that will be offered this fall to high school students in the Augusta CSRA region.
The Bell Ringer
AU’s May graduates face tight employment market
By Brett Swain |
Staff writer
The Augusta University Class of 2020 had a very unique experience this last academic semester. Halfway through the semester, all classes were moved online. A lot of events and ceremonies were canceled or postponed. Also, some internships were unfortunately terminated. Networking for career opportunities have been very slim since the COVID-19 pandemic came to Georgia in March. Jeremiah Griffin, who graduated in May with a degree in communication, said the labor market is rather bleak right now. “Networking has been hard during COVID-19,” Griffin said. “There aren’t as many options out there, and not a lot of opportunities to get a name out.” Ally Williams, who also graduated last month, was not able to finish her internship with an Augusta television station.
Times-Georgian
Kelly: State budget cuts won’t affect UWG students
By STEPHANIE ALLEN
The expected cuts in the state budget for the next fiscal year won’t affect instruction and the campus experience at UWG, according to the university’s president. Dr. Brendan Kelly, president of the University of West Georgia, told the Times-Georgian on Tuesday that until the state Legislature determines a final budget, UWG officials won’t be able to finalize their budget plans for Fiscal Year 2021.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 16, 3pm)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 2,529 | Deaths confirmed in 140 counties. For 2 deaths, the county is unknown, and for 37 deaths, the residence was determined to be out-of-state. CONFIRMED CASES: 59,078 | A case’s county is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated. Cases have been confirmed in every county. For 1,470 cases, the county is unknown. For 2,776 cases, the residence was determined to be out-of-state.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Most instructors were novices in a new environment last spring, and many sought help. In preparation for fall, colleges and others share their expertise freely. Here are some new initiatives.
By Doug Lederman
Most professors became learners themselves this spring. Forced by COVID-19 to make their in-person courses available to suddenly dispersed students, instructors had a matter of mere days to figure out how to deliver their curricula and connect with students from a distance, using technology tools many had never used before. They got help from their fellow instructors and from their institutions’ teaching and learning centers and instructional technologists, who worked overtime to smooth the transition. They turned to more digitally experienced peers at their own colleges and elsewhere, and they sought advice from their colleges’ technology partners, from new crowdsourced resource lists and from experts sharing their tips in Inside Higher Ed and elsewhere. Two things were heartening about that phenomenon. First was the willingness of so many instructors to acknowledge that they needed help and to seek it out.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges Say They Can Reopen Safely. But Will Students Follow the Rules?
By Sarah Brown
… To return to learning in person this fall as the pandemic rages on, many colleges will require or recommend face coverings, physical-distancing, limited gathering sizes, and travel restrictions. But how will they get their students to follow the rules? Colleges already struggle to get students to abide by health and safety policies, particularly those governing alcohol and drug use. The Covid-19 restrictions at many institutions — which will upend most typical aspects of student life — will be even more stringent and challenging to enforce.
Inside Higher Ed
Higher Education and Work Amid Crisis
The pandemic has accelerated and worsened equity gaps in higher education and its connection to work, according to new data, which may also show paths to improving this connection.
By Paul Fain
Even before the pandemic, higher education faced growing scrutiny about its role in contributing to severe societal equity gaps that afflict black and Latino Americans, as well as Native Americans and other historically underserved groups. But that pressure is certain to increase amid what Richard V. Reeves, a writer and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, calls an extraordinary “collision of crises” that has further exposed multiple inequities and inequalities. Those widening chasms include the pandemic’s impact on the labor market. Black and Latino workers are more likely to have lost their jobs, while white and wealthier Americans are much more likely to be able to work from home and to not be deemed essential, front-line workers, who are more likely to be exposed to the virus, said Reeves during a webcast hosted by Jobs for the Future last week. Likewise, the severe wealth gap means people of color are much less able to cope with the loss of a job or wages.
Inside Higher Ed
Public Sector Employment Hits Low, With Higher Ed a Major Factor
By Emma Whitford
Public sector employment has dropped below Great Recession levels, hitting its lowest point since 2001, according to a report released Tuesday by Pew Charitable Trusts. Jobs in the public sector are not recovering as quickly as private sector employment, and education jobs account for nearly two-thirds of public sector job losses. Since March, public colleges and schools and other areas of state and local government have lost 1.5 million jobs, the report says. Most of the education job losses are temporary layoffs and furloughs.