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Board of Regents supports continuing safe in-person instruction
Chester Stevens
The Board of Regents approve a resolution supporting safe, in-person instruction at its October 13, 2020, meeting
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the following resolution in the October 13, 2020, Board meeting:
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA
WHEREAS, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia is focused on supporting its institutions continuing to return to safe in-person instruction; and
WHEREAS, the Board is focused on the continued success of Georgia students.
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia believes in-person instruction maximizes the well-being and mental health of each student; and
IT IS RESOLVED, that each campus is to maximize safe in-person instruction; ensure hybrid instruction includes a vast majority of in-person interactive instruction where appropriate and safe; promote transparency in the modality of instruction prior to registration; and collect data on the effectiveness of student engagement and face to face interaction with their instructors.
WSAV
Georgia Southern announces plans for modified, in-person graduation ceremonies in December
After consulting with local and state health officials, Georgia Southern University says it is planning to hold in-person graduation ceremonies at the end of the fall 2020 semester. The university says it will host multiple ceremonies in order to implement social distancing guidelines. Additionally, Paulson Stadium is no longer available on weekends in December due to the rescheduling of several football games this year. Georgia Southern is now planning five separate ceremonies, spaced out over three days:
WGAU
UGA set for makeup commencement ceremony
By Logan Booker
The University of Georgia is gearing up for an in-person commencement ceremony Friday in Sanford Stadium, making up for the class of 2020 spring ceremony that was cancelled due to concerns over coronavirus. Victor Wilson, vice president for Student Affairs at UGA will be the speaker. Gates open at 4:30, ceremony to begin at 6:30. A live stream for those not able to attend will be available on the University’s website.
Athens Banner-Herald
University System of Georgia’s economic impact growing
By Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service
The University System of Georgia delivered an economic impact of $18.5 billion to the Peach State during fiscal 2019 while generating 157,770 jobs, system Chancellor Steve Wrigley reported this week. That represents a 4.5% increase over the previous fiscal year. “USG and our 26 institutions play a critically important role in local economies all across Georgia,” Wrigley said. “At the same time … USG remains committed to improving on the state’s investment in higher education and carrying out our ultimate mission to prepare students for life and work with a college degree.” The annual economic impact study conducted by the University of Georgia also revealed every dollar spent by the system’s colleges and universities generates an additional 47 cents for the surrounding region’s economy.
Cherokee Tribune & Ledger News
Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
The University System of Georgia delivered an economic impact of $18.5 billion to the Peach State during fiscal 2019 while generating 157,770 jobs, system Chancellor Steve Wrigley reported this week. That represents a 4.5% increase over the previous fiscal year. Locally, Georgia Highlands College is a member of the University System of Georgia and its economic impact was up 2.5% over FY 2018. Of the more than $18 billion reported by the USG as a whole, Georgia Highlands College’s contribution was nearly $181,400,770. This represents an increase of over $4 million when compared to the FY 2018 report and an increase of $8 million from the Fiscal Year 2017 report.
WGXA
Gordon State College providing boost to regional economy
by Ryan Weaver
Gordon State College and the whole University System of Georgia are contributing big to the economy. According to a release from the USG, GSC has contributed $137 million and provided 1,182 jobs to the regional economy during the 2019 fiscal year running from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019. USG says their impact on the economy has grown to $18.5 billion along with 157,770 jobs.
WRDW
How will local universities handle holiday season and graduations?
By Tradesha Woodard
As we enter the second half of the semester, local universities are continuing to lay out plans for the second half. “This year is going to be a little different to try to avoid large outbreaks on campus. We know people are out of town traveling and with people they haven’t been around,” said Thayer McGahee, a COVID-19 coordinator for the University of South Carolina Aiken. …At Augusta University, some students will be coming back to campus, while others may have the option to do it online. The university is also planning a face-to-face but physically distant graduation ceremony. “Currently, we are in our design planning phase right now about what that would look like,” said Dr. Zach Kelehear, interim provost. AU officials say even if that means having two or three graduations to accommodate the numbers, they are doing everything they can to show appreciations to their students’ hard work.
WRDW
AU student sings for a cause as he pursues his Broadway dreams
By Nick Proto
Theaters may be shut down, but one Augusta University student is looking to keep the music alive through Broadway’s online singing competition. He’s hoping to earn the opportunity of a lifetime. Listening to Ontario Williams sing, you would never guess this hasn’t been a lifelong passion. “I started singing in the seventh grade,” Williams said. He caught the musical bug watching his brother perform in a school play. …Now he studies music education at AU and is also a student teacher for music at Greenbrier Middle School in Evans. Scrolling through Facebook one night, he saw an advertisement for a singing competition with Broadway. The winner gets to record and release a song with Broadway’s label, Broadway Records. “It’s for a good cause, as well,” Williams explained. Broadway Records will also donate $1,000 to the charity of the winner’s choice. “My charity would be Stephen’s Johnson Syndrome Foundation.
Morning AgClips
UGA closes Tifton Dairy Research Center
Since 1998, UGA faculty have utilized these facilities to conduct research
After several years of battling low milk prices, changes in administrators and recent state budget cuts from COVID-19, the vacuum pumps at the University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton Dairy Research Center were permanently turned off on Sept. 4, Georgia Milk Producers reported in its September Georgia Milk Review. Since 1998, UGA faculty have utilized these facilities to conduct research in the areas of nutrition, lactation and metabolic physiology, milk quality, animal health, heat stress abatement, production management, nutrient management and water quality.
Patch
NE Health District Adds 2 COVID-19 Deaths, 102 New Cases
University of Georgia reports increase in positive COVID-19 tests.
By Lee Becker, Community Contributor
The Northeast Health District had two new deaths from COVID-19 listed in the Daily Status Report of the Department of Public Health on Wednesday and 102 new confirmed cases of the disease, resulting in small crops in the seven-day rolling averages of both deaths and cases. …The University of Georgia reported 92 positive tests for COVID-19 in the Oct. 5 to Oct. 11 time period of reporting, up from 68 a week earlier. Fifty-three of those cases were local, up from 35 a week earlier. The University also reported that the positivity rate for Surveillance Tests at its Legion field facility increased just slightly from 1.2 in Week 4 to 1.4 in Week 5.
WJCL
Savannah State University holds free flu shot clinic
Dave Williams
In an effort to keep its students, faculty and staff safe, Savannah State University held a special flu clinic Wednesday. A lot of people take advantage because experts say this year with COVID-19 still going around, getting a flu shot is more important than ever. They say it’s important to guard yourself against what’s being called the twin-demic. “It’s very important that we protect from the illness that can get the body’s immune system,” said Kimberly Ballard-Washington, interim president, Savannah State University. “That’s why we thought it was really important to offer flu shots to our students, we’re also offering flu shots to our faculty and staff.” …Savannah State says it hopes to hold these flu shot clinics at least once a week until the end of the semester.
The Signal
‘Outside the box and inside the house’: Local physician talks COVID and college
By J.P. Irie
With coronavirus myths aroused, Dr. Neha Shah suggests students think “outside the box and inside the house.” Dr. Shah, a physician at Piedmont Healthcare, wants to debunk the idea that only older people are affected by COVID-19, and address its risks and severity for young adults and college students. …Can We Make It Work?
Face-to-face classes versus online learning is still a divisive issue, both among students and the administration. On the students’ side, a petition to make Georgia State classes online-only reached over 100 signatures. At the same time, many canceled their housing agreements with the school when more classes were converted from in-person to online in August. “We have under 3,000 residents residing on campus as of today,” Shannon Corey, Interim and Associate Director of Resident Life, said on Sept. 3. “Having … completed move-in, we are still reconciling those who did not show or those who are still canceling, and we are still assigning a few students as well.” Meanwhile, Georgia State’s administration has done what it can to hold classes mostly online, and the University System of Georgia (USG) has maintained its position in favor of face-to-face learning. The USG’s chancellor “emphasized the importance of physical presence on campus to the student experience,” stating in an agenda of the Board of Regents’ Sept. 15 meeting that online-only instruction “would be detrimental both to students and to the USG.” Georgia State Provost Wendy Hensel, who manages academic affairs, said Georgia State is reserved for classes that need it, such as band classes.
Cision
Georgia Ranked #1 for Aerospace Manufacturing and Camden County Best for Space Launch
Separate studies from the consulting giant PwC and Georgia Southern University’s Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research (CBAER) demonstrate the business attractiveness of Spaceport Camden. PwC’s 2020 Aerospace manufacturing attractiveness rankings (PDF) lists the State of Georgia as the number one state in the country for aerospace manufacturing. According to the report, “[Georgia’s Aerospace and Defense] workforce of 108,000 is employed by more than 800 aerospace companies. Aerospace products, valued at $10.8 billion, account for the state’s top exports and represent the second largest manufacturing industry in the state, representing $57.5 billion in economic impact.” Separately, a report by CBAER (PDF) at Georgia Southern University found that Camden County already accounts for 278 of Georgia’s 926 direct space industry jobs.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Oct. 14)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 7,470 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 334,601 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
‘We Haven’t Begun to Feel the Real Economic Damage’
A Chronicle survey explores the impact of the pandemic on fall enrollments and how colleges are planning for the spring
By Eric Kelderman
Two-thirds of institutions responding to a new survey by The Chronicle reported drops in undergraduate enrollment this fall, with community colleges experiencing the steepest declines during a semester of pandemic-fueled challenges. The survey of enrollment managers and registrars provides a look at enrollment shifts and spring-planning decisions at institutions representing a broad cross-section of Carnegie classes. The Chronicle undertook the project in collaboration with the course-scheduling firm Ad Astra and Davidson College’s College Crisis Initiative. The responses to the survey reinforce some of the top-level findings of recent studies by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center and the American Council on Education: Declining enrollment, increased operating costs, and state budget cuts are inflicting deep financial pain on nearly every sector of higher education.
Inside Higher Ed
Graduate Enrollment Grew in 2019
Survey finds gains among underrepresented minority students as well as international students. The biggest enrollment increases by field were in mathematics and computer sciences and engineering.
By Elizabeth Redden
First-time enrollment in graduate programs increased by 2.5 percent between fall 2018 and fall 2019 even while the number of applications to graduate programs dipped slightly, by 0.6 percent, according to a new survey conducted by the Council of Graduate Schools and the Graduate Record Examinations Board. The survey found notable increases in first-time graduate enrollment among members of racial minority groups. First-time graduate enrollment increased by 5.7 percent among Hispanic/Latinx students, 5.5 percent among Black/African American students, 5.3 percent among Asian students and 3.5 percent among American Indian/Alaska Native students. First-time enrollments declined by 3 percent among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
Inside Higher Ed
A Generation Defined by the Pandemic
A new survey about student experiences during the fall semester and the coronavirus pandemic found that stress, anxiety and loneliness were their overriding concern. The data are representative of the real-life challenges and uncertainty that students say they face.
By Greta Anderson
Uncertainty, instability and self-doubt have been common themes in the lives of college students during 2020 as their education and career plans shift due to the coronavirus pandemic. These were the general feelings expressed by about 450 college students and recent alumni who responded to a small, open-ended survey conducted by a pair of 2020 graduates, and reiterated on a larger scale in a new nationally representative survey of 4,000 undergraduates by the Strada Education Network, a national organization focused on improving education and career pathways. The various responses show that heightened stress and anxiety — whether about achieving academic success, finding future employment or paying for the next meal — is currently dominating the student psyche.
Inside Higher Ed
Fewer Students Hold Debt as Cost to Attend Medical School Rises
By Emma Whitford
The Association of American Medical Colleges released a report Wednesday that details the state of medical education debt for recent graduates and the costs of attending medical school. Last year, 73 percent of medical school graduates reported having education debt from both medical and premedical education, down from 86 percent in 2012, the report shows. The median medical education debt was $200,000. Dozens of medical colleges have opened since 2012, and 16 of them have had a graduating class, the report states. The median cost to attend a four-year medical school has grown to $272,000, up from $243,000 in 2012. Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation.
Inside Higher Ed
Making Online Education and Workforce Training More Effective
By Paul Fain
Millions of displaced U.S. workers and the likely restructuring of industries — including retail, travel, hospitality and more — have increased urgency to improve workforce training in this country, according to new research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Task Force on the Future of Work. Three new research briefs from the MIT task force explore the fragmented U.S. workforce training system for low- to moderate-skilled workers, as well as comparable programs in Europe, where the private sector is significantly involved in both pedagogy and the workplace. The briefs also describe lessons from learning science and new technologies that could help make online education and workforce training more effective. For example, one brief features results from a nationally representative survey of 3,673 working adults. The survey, conducted in January, found that half of respondents received training from their employers in the previous year, while roughly 20 percent undertook some form of training on their own during the same period.