University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s public universities propose cuts to meet state budget gap
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia’s largest public universities have proposed layoffs, not filling many positions and cutting back some programs to meet budget cuts ordered by state leaders to fill a revenue decline created by the coronavirus pandemic. The plans from the 26 schools and other University System of Georgia facilities include eliminating 735 positions that are currently filled and not filling or eliminating another 1,341 jobs, according to a 51-page plan the system submitted to state officials last week. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution received a copy of the document through the Georgia Open Records Act.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia State University president plans for employee, student return
By Eric Stirgus
The leader of the university with the largest enrollment in Georgia said in a video released Tuesday that some faculty and staff will return to its campuses next week, with some additional guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Georgia State University President Mark Becker said workers will be required to wear masks in campus elevators and encouraged to wear masks in other public spaces. No more than four people will be allowed at a time in an elevator. Teleworking will continue, Becker said.
Athens Banner-Herald
Small classes, face masks for all, lots of hand sanitizer: What UGA may look like this fall
By Lee Shearer
Single occupancy in dorm rooms. Big inventories of face masks and other “protective personal equipment.” Staggered work shifts. A blend of online and in-person classes, with no classes larger than 30 students and each assigned a seat. Quarantine rooms for students who inevitably contract COVID-19. No magazines in waiting rooms. And lots and lots of hand sanitzer, social distancing, hand-washing and infection-control education. Those are some of the college reopening recommendations of a task force of the American College Health Association published earlier this month.
11Alive
11Alive obtained a copy of the system’s “Return to Campus Planning Framework,” Tuesday.
Author: Adrianne M Haney
While the semester may have just ended for many, with college students across Georgia completing their classes online, universities are turning their attention to preparing for the fall. The University System of Georgia is giving students and staff a glimpse of what a return to class may look like for students in August in their “Return to Campus Planning Framework.” 11Alive obtained a copy of the system’s plan Tuesday. The 29-page guidance outlines multiple scenarios for the fall semester, ranging from classes with limited social distancing expectations, to classes and operations being hosted online.
WSB-TV
Georgia Gwinnett College celebrates new class of nursing graduates
Video
They said it was a challenge not being inside a hospital but they were able to complete their clinical rotations with simulation using patient avatars. Dean of GGC’s School of Health Sciences said they had to switch to interactive learning remotely completing everything virtually. The dean said the students are well prepared and ready. The college thinks applications for their nursing program will actually go up in this new world of global pandemic.
WABE
At 16, Meet GSU Perimeter College’s Youngest 2020 Graduate
Grace Walker
At 16 years old, David Gaines is the youngest graduate candidate in Georgia State University Perimeter College’s Class of 2020. However, his accomplishments don’t stop there. From an early age, Gaines said he knew he wanted to practice medicine. He enrolled at Georgia Perimeter College at 14 as a biology student with his sights set on becoming a doctor. “Always, since 5 years old, I remember my first pediatrician appointment, and I just always wanted to go into medicine. I always wanted to help people,” Gaines told “Closer Look” host Rose Scott on Friday’s edition of the program.
The Union-Recorder
Wilkinson named Donaldson Recipient at ABAC virtual spring commencement
Joshua Allen Wilkinson from Haddock received the prestigious George P. Donaldson award at the recent virtual spring commencement ceremony at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. The award goes to the top associate degree student graduating this semester. Majoring in agriculture with a concentration in animal science, Wilkinson maintained a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. He is the son of Teresa and Scott Wilkinson.
Tifton CEO
Fitzgerald Student Receives Award of Distinction in Stafford School of Business at ABAC
Jennifer Pardo from Fitzgerald has been selected as the top student in the Stafford School of Business at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Dr. Renata Elad, Dean of the Stafford School of Business, said Pardo will receive the Award of Distinction. Pardo is majoring in ABAC’s bachelor’s degree in Business. She has compiled a 3.80 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Her aspiration is to work for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
WRDW
More colleges in the two-state will resume in-person classes in the fall
By Tyria Goines
Augusta University and the University of South Carolina at Aiken will resume in-person classes in the fall semester. Augusta University AU is finalizing a plan to resume face-to-face instruction for the fall semester. All 26 University System of Georgia institutions are developing plans to ensure the safe reopening of campuses across the state. Those plans are pending approval from Governor Brian Kemp and state public health officials.
Gainesville Times
Construction winds down on building for looking up
UNG Dahlonega finishing work on new observatory
Nathan Berg
Construction on a new observatory at the University of North Georgia’s Dahlonega campus is drawing to a close. Two domes which will house telescopes were lifted and lowered onto the new building via crane on May 22, marking a major milestone in the project over a year in the making. …The main feature of the observatory will be its pair of brand new telescopes measuring 24 and 28 inches across in the primary mirror diameter. The site will give UNG students the opportunity to work in a professional-grade observatory and will also be open to the public for planetarium shows on Friday nights.
MedicalXpress
Female Gulf War combat veterans have persistent symptoms more than 25 years later
More than a quarter century after the Gulf War, female veterans who saw combat have nearly a twofold risk of reporting more than 20 total medical symptoms, like cognition and respiratory troubles, than their fellow female veterans who were not deployed, investigators report. A sizeable percentage of the female combat veterans still report neurological symptoms; about two-thirds report difficulty remembering new information and trouble concentrating, investigators report in the Journal of Women’s Health. An association with more headaches among the combat veterans also was reported and there were “strong associations” between deployment status and respiratory symptoms with 39% of combat veterans still reporting difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. …”It’s been over 25 years since the war ended and these are very persistent health outcomes,” says Dr. Steven S. Coughlin, interim chief of the Division of Epidemiology in the Medical College of Georgia Department of Population Health Sciences. “This tells us that the way the Gulf War illness manifests itself may be different in female than male veterans, so it’s important to take gender into account,” says Coughlin.
SaportaReport
Rare corpse flower blooms at the University of North Georgia
Megan Anderson
Rare corpse flower blooms at the University of North Georgia. Biology professor Ashlee McCaskill notes, “It’s right up there with the giant redwoods in northern California in terms of botanical record-holders.” The flower has the biggest inflorescence in the plant world. Commonly called the corpse flower, the plant has three unusual characteristics.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia senators suggest state staffers work same hours for less pay
By James Salzer
Pre-K teachers could lose 10% of pay
Georgia senators raised the possibility that instead of furloughing state employees to meet mandated budget cuts, they might require staffers to work the same number of hours for less pay. Under furloughs — which were used extensively during the Great Recession — employees take days off without pay. The issue came up Tuesday during the first live committee hearings at the Capitol — conducted by an education subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee — since mid-March. The 2020 session was suspended then because of the coronavirus pandemic.
GPB
Researchers At Georgia Tech Receive NIH Funding For Coronavirus Vaccines
By Ben Abrams
Researchers at Georgia Tech received funding from the National Institutes of Health to evaluate specific molecules that may help the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to school’s news blog. These molecules, known as adjuvants, may improve coronavirus vaccines’ ability to stimulate the immune system and help protect the general population against the virus. Biomedical engineering professor Krishnendu Roy said the adjuvants his team is studying are molecules often found in viruses and bacteria that efficiently stimulate the immune system.
SaportaReport
COVID-19 makes ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ more than a check-box exercise
Anna Stenport
By Guest Columnists ANNA WESTERSTAHL STENPORT and SEBNEM OZKAN, of the Atlanta Global Studies Center at Georgia Institute of Technology
Now is the time for universities to renew their commitments to preparing global citizens and serving the global public good. The pandemic has made the old opposition between local and global obsolete. This heightens the importance of global learning as a core mission of higher education. This is especially true in metro Atlanta, known for its international connectivity and strength of globally oriented business and residents. Arguing for a more ambitious global agenda and connectivity might sound counterintuitive given the current situation – a time when social distancing is prescribed as the key to containing the virus.
Other News:
Yahoo News
As Georgia reopens, is it creating a model for America?
Patrik Jonsson, Christian Science Monitor
Georgia peach broker Brandon Jones was hoping for a banner weekend. He thought peaches on Memorial Day in Georgia would be a sure sellout, so he brought 20 boxes to Tybee Island, which exploded with people over the holiday weekend as the United States began to reopen. But his peach sales were far off despite the crowds. He took the profit problems instructively – as a symbol of an America cautiously stepping out from under pandemic restrictions. Also on display: the challenge ahead. Local customers at a farmers’ market in nearby Savannah nearly all wear masks. But perhaps 1 in 100 tourists at Tybee Beach did on Monday as a T-shirt that said “I survived the 2020 pandemic” hung from the rafters at the grocery store. …The fact that Georgia so far seems to be bucking the consensus that its rapid reopening of businesses exactly one month ago would result in disaster has been widely noted. The Wall Street Journal dubbed it the “Georgia Model.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Latest Atlanta coronavirus news: COVID-19 cases near 44K overnight; deaths close to 1,900
Deaths in Georgia reached 1,895 by Monday evening and there are 43,983 confirmed cases
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Continued Confusion Over CARES Act Money
Education Department caused confusion twice in recent days by saying it won’t enforce guidance on who can receive the CARES Act’s emergency grants.
By Kery Murakami
In a statement on its website and a court filing over the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Department of Education said it does not intend to enforce guidelines it has issued that say only those eligible for regular student aid can get emergency student grants created by the CARES Act. However, financial aid administrators and associations representing colleges say that still leaves as clear as mud the question of whether colleges can give the grants to undocumented students without fear of being later penalized by the department. “I don’t think it significantly increased the clarity that institutions were seeking,” said Terry Hartle, the American Council on Education’s senior vice president for government and public affairs. At the same time, Hartle was befuddled by another department move as it distributes money for education in the CARES Act. The department on Friday removed from its website an explanation of how it is distributing other CARES Act funds that were supposed to go to colleges that are in particular distress because of the pandemic. But instead, the money initially was earmarked for small institutions like seminaries and postsecondary schools for meditation, acupuncture and dog training.
Inside Higher Ed
FAFSA Renewals Down, Especially for Lower-Income Students
By Madeline St. Amour
The number of students filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid is still down from this time last year. Completions of the application started to decline in mid-March, when parts of the country began to shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the National College Attainment Network, which is tracking FAFSA applications. Application renewals have improved since April but are still lagging behind counts from last year. Through May 15, there have been nearly 4 percent fewer FAFSA renewals than through the same time last year. Students from low-income backgrounds are not filing or renewing in disproportionate amounts compared to higher-income students. Applications from students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants whose families have incomes of $25,000 or less are also down by more than 7 percent compared to last year.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Will Higher Ed’s ‘Culture’ Help Colleges Navigate Their Future? Or Make It Tougher?
By Goldie Blumenstyk
Higher-ed culture is powerful. Will it help or hurt colleges manage through the pandemic?
I’ve never been 100-percent convinced that “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” but with colleges now three months into the pandemic, I’ve been trying to understand what elements of higher-ed culture could help — or hurt — institutions as they go forward into this era of economic hardship and uncertainty. I also posed some version of that culture question to several of the panelists who have joined me in a series of virtual forums over the past few weeks. Here’s some of what they said. On the promising front, the dedication of faculty and staff members to the needs of students, the power of cross-institutional collegiality among professionals in sectors like information technology, and the prevalence of a “first adopter” mentality among people in academe all stood out as key themes. On the down side, though, I also heard about colleges’ tendency to compete in ways that drive up costs, resist the expertise that resides within their own campuses, and their tendency to revere process over action.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Welcome to the Socially Distanced Campus
By Francie Diep and Megan Zahneis
…Welcome to the new normal.
One day, students across the country will return to their colleges, just as Western’s physical-therapy students have. Nobody knows exactly when that will happen because so much depends on the future spread of the novel coronavirus and on orders by state and federal officials. But many college presidents have suggested it will be fairly soon — this fall, in fact. Whenever it happens, as long as no vaccine exists yet, it is likely to involve some social distancing. College leaders are already preparing for that future by considering ideas to prevent the virus’s spread in spaces like classrooms, dining halls, and dormitories. To get a sense of what studying, working, and living on a socially distanced campus would look like, The Chronicle gathered documents and interviewed administrators to learn their plans to re-engineer their campuses’ physical spaces to blunt the virus’s contagion. The Chronicle heard proposals from community colleges and public and private four-year institutions with enrollments ranging from fewer than 400 to 30,000. Many administrators emphasized they had not made firm decisions yet, but they shared ideas that might work for themselves and others.
Inside Higher Ed
Can Active Learning Co-Exist With Physically Distanced Classrooms?
Advocates for active learning worry that their favored approach will be hard to pull off in physically distanced classrooms — and that instructors will revert to the straightforward lecture.
By Doug Lederman
As colleges and universities begin to craft their plans for the fall, a divide appears to be emerging. Administrators at most campuses that have announced decisions to physically reopen their campuses (some with larger caveats than others) have asserted both that in-person learning (a) is superior to virtual learning and (b) can be done effectively and safely in classrooms that ensure physical distancing. Many faculty members agree with the first premise but are uncertain about the second, out of concern for their students and for themselves. Some of them fear that in planning to reopen, their institutions may be putting financial and enrollment considerations ahead of their students’ and employees’ safety. The faculty members and administrators who run campus teaching and learning centers or are otherwise responsible for shaping their institutions’ overall instructional strategies find themselves in a potential bind.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Why Covid-19 Could Force Colleges to Fix Their Transfer Problems
By Katherine Mangan
…This year, the pandemic threatens to magnify inequities that already plague the transfer system. Data on community college students, who make up about half of the transfers to four-year colleges, show that eight out of 10 aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree, but only 13 percent do so, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. For lower-income students, it’s more like one in 10. “The students who are least likely to come back are the ones we’re trying hardest to bring in,” said Ed Venit, who leads student-success research for the consultancy EAB. At the same time, the stakes have never been higher for colleges to attract new students. Which raises the question: Could the pandemic finally force them to remove the roadblocks that have knocked so many students off course?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
To Keep International Students During the Pandemic, Colleges Get Creative
By Karin Fischer
As colleges navigate an uncertain route to the fall semester, one of the biggest question marks is international students. Although a recent survey by the Institute of International Education found that most international students in the United States this spring stayed here when the coronavirus shuttered campuses, new international students — and those who did return home — face very real hurdles to making it to their colleges: …With most American consulates around the globe closed, time is running out for them to get visas in time for an August or September start. … So colleges are getting creative to keep their overseas students, even if from a great distance. They are repurposing study-abroad programs, setting up online courses with an international audience in mind, and enlisting alumni to help foster a sense of community. Such efforts have the potential to reshape how colleges think about international enrollments long after the pandemic has subsided.
Inside Higher Ed
Compilation on Planning for Fall 2020 and Beyond
By Scott Jaschik
Inside Higher Ed is pleased to release today our latest print-on-demand compilation, “Planning for Fall 2020 and Beyond.” You may download a copy here, free.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Sara Weissman
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued new guidelines last week to help higher education institutions plan for the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It described closing residence halls as the “lowest risk” option for housing and suggested alternatives like allowing fewer students to live in dorms. It also said closing communal spaces like kitchens and dining halls, providing takeout meals with disposable utensils instead, will be safer. As universities weigh these possible new realities, experts fear that limiting campus facilities – or keeping them closed – will exacerbate disparities for low-income students, even if it’s the right call.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Being a Woman in Academe Has Its Challenges. A Global Pandemic? Not Helping.
Here are the steps professors say colleges must take for equity.
By Emma Pettit
In the Before Times, before the word “unprecedented” appeared in countless headlines, before professors scrambled to salvage the spring semester, being a college instructor while also being a woman had its challenges. That’s not to say all women in academe share the same experience. They don’t. But research has laid bare certain disparities. Female faculty members are generally paid less than their male colleagues and are more likely to take on emotionally laborious tasks and to shoulder more service work for their departments. Women of color spend their time supporting and mentoring students of color and performing other types of “invisible labor,” so called not because no one sees it, but because it’s not considered coin of the realm in the faculty-reward structure. Those were the waters in which the female professoriate swam — sometimes unfair, but at least familiar. Then came the global pandemic.
Inside Higher Ed
Dems Schedule Veto Override on Borrower Defense
By Kery Murakami
The White House did not respond when asked if President Trump plans to veto a resolution passed by the House and Senate to undo U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’s borrower-defense rule. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters Democrats have scheduled a vote on the measure, and an aide confirmed the vote would be to try to override a veto, if there is one.
Inside Higher Ed
A Trump administration policy could deny education benefits to National Guard members helping states fight the coronavirus. Criticism mounts of plan to end deployment after 89 days instead of the 90 required for eligibility.
By Greta Anderson
The way retired Brigadier General J. Roy Robinson sees it, one of the primary draws for young people to join the National Guard is the opportunity to go to college using tuition benefits provided by the federal government. Many National Guard members see the benefits as recognition of and appreciation for their service during times of crisis. But members currently on active duty assisting states in responding to the coronavirus pandemic may fall short of qualifying for federal tuition and retirement benefits because of a Trump administration decision to end some members’ deployment just one day shy of the 90 days of federal service required. The federal deployments are set to end June 24. If the Trump administration sticks to this cutoff date, it will have a negative impact on some Guard members’ ability to begin or complete their college education, said Robinson, who is president of the National Guard Association of the United States, or NGAUS, an advocacy organization that serves mostly officers in the National Guard.