University System News:
Marietta Daily Journal
University System of Georgia sets enrollment record despite pandemic
By Dave Williams Capitol Beat News Service
This week, the University System of Georgia reported record enrollment for the fall semester despite the coronavirus pandemic. The fall enrollment of 341,485 students was up 2.4% over the fall 2019 semester, marking the seventh year in a row of growth in the system. Enrollment increased at 16 of the system’s 26 colleges and universities and declined at the other 10. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, students still seek education,” system Chancellor Steve Wrigley told members of the system’s Board of Regents. While enrollment was on the rise in Georgia, university enrollment in the nation as a whole fell by 3% during the past year, said Angela Bell, the Georgia system’s vice chancellor of research and policy analysis.
See also:
Albany Herald
University System of Georgia sets enrollment record despite pandemic
GPB
University System Of Georgia Sets Enrollment Record Despite Pandemic
Calhoun Times
University System of Georgia sets enrollment record despite pandemic
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: USG enrollment up; Morris Brown’s push toward accreditation
By Eric Stirgus
One of the big questions before the fall semester began was will students come to college amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic? The answer is yes, according to an enrollment report Wednesday by the University System of Georgia. Enrollment increased again, despite data showing its going in the other direction nationally. We look at the numbers, the latest in Morris Brown College’s effort to regain accreditation and other recent news in the latest edition of AJC On Campus.
USG enrollment rises despite pandemic …USG budget update …Georgia Tech professor in Biden administration? …UWG faculty’s no confidence vote …UGA student’s salute to veterans
News Channel 9
Graduate students fuel rise in numbers at Georgia colleges
by Jeff Amy, Associated Press
Enrollment at Georgia’s public colleges and universities continues to grow, driven by strong demand for graduate degrees as well as increasing numbers of new freshmen. Those factors boosted total enrollment at the 26 schools governed by the University System of Georgia to more than 341,000 students this fall, up 2.4% from last fall. The system outperformed other public and private colleges nationwide, according to numbers presented Wednesday to regents. It’s the sixth straight year of record enrollment for the sprawling university system. Graduate enrollment increased by more than 5,000, a much larger jump proportionally than the 3,000-student boost in undergraduate enrollment. Georgia Tech led increased graduate enrollment as its popular online master’s degree programs continued to expand. …Angela Bell, the system’s vice chancellor for research and analysis, told regents that waiving the requirement for students to take the SAT and ACT this year, holding tuition flat, and stating early that campuses would be open for resident students and some classes would take place in person all may have driven enrollment increases.
Times-Georgian
Fall enrollment increases at UWG
By Stephanie Allen
While the University of West Georgia has had an increase in total enrollment, its full-time enrollment has decreased, according to an official report from the University System of Georgia. USG has released its official enrollment report for its 26 universities, including UWG. The report shows that total enrollment for UWG’s Fall 2020 semester has increased by 1.4%, with a current enrollment of 13,419 students, according to the report.
WGAU
UNG reports enrollment increase
Reflects growth across University System of Ga
By Tim Bryant
The University of North Georgia says its fall semester enrollment is approaching 20,000. That’s up slightly from last year’s fall semester student population at UNG.
From JK Devine, UNG…
Enrollment for fall 2020 at the University of North Georgia hit a new record with 19,793 students on its five campuses across the region, an increase of 0.23% from fall 2019 figures. “The exceptional academic and student development experiences UNG provides, in combination with our commitment to student success and affordability, continue to attract talented students,” UNG President Bonita Jacobs said. “Based on this demand and regional population growth, we expect UNG to continue to experience moderate enrollment growth over the next decade.”
Savannah CEO
Staff Report
Official fall enrollment at Georgia Southern University rose by approximately 3.45% over 2019, thanks to a record-breaking class of first-year students. Also contributing is a post-consolidation record-high 79% retention rate from freshman to sophomore year. Newly released figures from the University System of Georgia show Georgia Southern’s official fall enrollment for 2020 was 26,949, an increase from the previous year’s official total of 26,054. The data show the increase is attributable to a freshman class of 5,247 students, which is a 42% increase over the 2019 freshman class of 3,675 and the largest freshman class ever recorded at Georgia Southern, buoyed by the largest freshman class recorded at the Armstrong campus in Savannah since at least 2012.
Fun 101.1
GORDON STATE RETENTION RATE REFLECTS INCREASE
For the past two years, Gordon State College has reported an increase in freshmen retention with an impressive 3.3 percentage point increase for 2019 on top of 2018’s 10-point growth, according to a report released Wednesday by The University System of Georgia. The retention rate, an indicator for student success and satisfaction, for first-time full time freshmen for Fall Semester 2019’s cohort reflected 61.7 percent, the highest overall percentage for the college in more than 10 years. The improvement is noteworthy given the COVID-19 pandemic pivot to remote instruction and campus closing in March 2020 and faculty converting to delivering online courses to complete the academic year. As a result, the Gordon State faculty spent the summer committed to completing the college’s certification process to teach online and 100 percent of the full-time and part-time instructors teaching Fall Semester 2020 successfully completed the training and certification process.
The West Georgian
LIFE DURING WARTIME: MOVING UWG FORWARD WITH PRESIDENT KELLY
By Brittany Shivers
UWG President Brendan Kelly remains committed to the needs of the UWG students and hopes to move forward in a positive direction after a general faculty vote of no confidence in Kelly’s leadership passed in a 263-129 majority Monday, Nov. 9. The vote was intended to get the attention of the University System of Georgia’s (USG) Board of Regents who hired Kelly. USG holds the authority of assigning and firing university presidents in Georgia, including Kelly. However, USG and its Chancellor Steve Wrigley put out a statement as soon as they received the results of the vote saying they “wholeheartedly” support Kelly and his administration and are “confident” he remains focused on the students and the mission for the university. …USG and other governing bodies measure the success of both the institution and Kelly, not based on feelings but based on outcomes. Kelly has to look at the data and make the decisions necessary for the institution to move forward.
Athens CEO
UGA Study: Each College Graduate Adds $2M to Georgia’s GDP
Merritt Melancon
Georgians have long viewed higher education as the fastest path to a brighter future, but new research shows how college graduates also fuel the state’s economic engine. The lifetime earnings of each new four-year college graduate will increase Georgia’s gross domestic product by almost $2 million, according to a new study from the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. The research assumed a “work-life” lasting an average of 40 years per individual who earned a bachelor’s degree on top of their high school diploma and calculated the additional economic benefit to the Georgia economy to be $1,992,065 over that span.
MSN
AU gets approval to finish research space in College of Math and Science Building
Staff
A new building project is in the works for Augusta University after the Georgia Board of Regents gave it the green light Wednesday. The work will complete research space on the fourth floor of the College of Science and Math Building at the health sciences campus. Due to budgetary constraints, design of the fourth floor did not continue beyond the schematic design phase, leaving the floor to be constructed as shelled space. AU asked the regents to build out this remaining space, which totals approximately 28,750 square feet, for about $7.4 million. The project would provide additional space needed for research programs that are relocating from AU’s Summerville campus and would assist in the recruitment of new research faculty members, according to the university.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Installs State of the Art Media Studio for Students
Staff Report
Students who are interested in television broadcasting, radio, or producing will now have access to a new state of the art media studio at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Chris Daniels, manager of instructional technology, said the buildout to complete the studio will take several weeks. Installation of the set, lighting grids, and practice tests are still underway. …The 1,100 square foot studio in the recently renovated Carlton Center will be accompanied by an ultra-modern control room with stations for students to run lighting, audio, and graphics. Students enrolled in journalism classes and members of the Stallion TV production team can also use the new equipment to practice switching and producing.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Colleges Ask Professors to Return to the Classroom. Their Answer? That’s ‘Reckless.’
By Emma Pettit
When the University of Florida, in Gainesville, announced in July that fall-semester classes would be largely online, the daily new-case rate for Covid-19 was hovering between 60,000 and 70,000 nationwide. This week, daily new cases reached more than twice that number. Health experts warn that the country faces a prolonged surge. But at Florida and other colleges, leaders have signaled to their professors that, come spring, they will be expected to ramp up their in-person instruction. The reason? An on-campus learning experience is critical to their students’ success, these institutions say. That success, colleges know, is important for keeping enrollments up. …Clear Messages From on High
In some states, university-system governing boards have made clear what they prefer. The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia resolved that each campus is to maximize “safe in-person instruction.” Florida’s Board of Governors has said it is “strongly encouraging” state universities to resume as many face-to-face courses and activities “as they can safely do within CDC guidelines.”
The Augusta Chronicle
By Katie Nussbaum
After a semester of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including mandatory face coverings and virtual classes, Georgia Southern University students will have the opportunity to participate in a longstanding tradition next month. After consulting with local and state health officials, the university will hold five in-person graduation ceremonies in December — four at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro and one at the Savannah Convention Center on Hutchinson Island. Scheduling in-person ceremonies will also allow GS to host graduates from the spring and summer 2020 semesters. Spring 2020 ceremonies were moved to a virtual event in May in response to the pandemic. John Lester, Vice President of University Communications and Marketing, said to ensure social distancing and safety precautions looked at how much capacity each venue could have and tickets per guest in relation to graduates.
WGAU
Catching COVID twice? UGA researchers weigh in
Georgia teen says she was re-infected
By WSB TV
With a second wave of coronavirus infection going on in Georgia, there are still questions surrounding the virus and the possibility of catching it twice. UGA researchers have been looking into how long someone is immune once they are infected with the coronavirus. So far, the results show that immunity may only be temporary. Channel 2′s Matt Johnson spoke with researchers and a local teenager who became infected with COVID-19 twice in just four months.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech to lay off 27 workers, citing pandemic’s financial strain
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Tech plans to lay off 27 workers and not fill 129 vacant positions because of financial hardships created by the coronavirus pandemic. “Based upon the latest tuition and state revenue projections, the Institute is reducing its budget by $33.7 million for FY 21,” Kelly Fox, Georgia Tech’s executive vice president of administration and finance, said in an email to employees Thursday. “In response to this budget reduction, some units have reduced operational expenditures in addition to making the difficult decision to reduce workforce.” The email also says 109 Georgia Tech employees will retire by Dec. 31 as part of its Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.
Other News:
WSB-TV
COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations soar in Georgia
By Carol Sbarge
A metro Atlanta epidemiologist said Georgia is overdue for a mask mandate and even tighter restrictions to fight the coronavirus. The latest coronavirus numbers from the state came out Thursday afternoon. The Georgia Department of Health reports that 70 people have died from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours and over 2,500 new cases have been reported. On Wednesday, 69 deaths were reported. These death tolls are the highest since September.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Nov. 12)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 8,403 | 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: 380,190 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Are Students Happier With Virtual Learning This Fall? A Little
Survey finds undergrads feel modestly more engaged — especially when they think their professors have made an effort — and are somewhat likelier to continue their educations.
By Doug Lederman
Undergraduates who are studying online this fall rate their learning experience as modestly better than what they encountered last spring — with greater levels of satisfaction among students who see their instructors taking steps to understand and engage them, according to a new survey of 3,400 undergraduates in the U.S. and Canada. The survey by Top Hat, whose courseware platform is used by about 750 colleges, also finds that nearly three-quarters of students who say their instructors are meaningfully interacting and engaging with them say they are likely to return for the spring semester, compared to less than two-thirds of students who disagree that their professors are doing so. So at a bottom line, while satisfaction with online learning isn’t strong, the investment that colleges (and instructors) are making in trying to improve their online offerings appears to be encouraging students to stay on their educational paths.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Study: Black People Who Attend HBCUs May Have Lower Health Risks Later in Life
by Arrman Kyaw
A new study suggests that African Americans who attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) might have a lower risk for health problems later in life than those who attend predominantly white institutions (PWIs), BET reported. The study — published in the American Journal of Epidemiology — showed that Black people enrolled in HBCUs had a 35% lower chance of developing metabolic syndrome, “which is defined as three of the five factors which increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke,” BET reported.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Harvard Doesn’t Discriminate Against Asian American Applicants, U.S. Appeals Court Rules
By Eric Hoover
Harvard University just won another round in a closely watched legal bout over the use of race-conscious admissions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on Thursday ruled that the Ivy League institution does not discriminate against Asian American applicants. The university’s consideration of race and ethnicity, the court said in a lengthy opinion, is consistent with precedents affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling was a defeat for Students for Fair Admissions, or SFFA, which sued Harvard in 2014.