University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Students sue University System of Georgia for tuition, fees
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia should return a portion of the tuition and various fees to students who had to take classes online when the coronavirus pandemic began in March, according to two class action lawsuits filed Monday. The lawsuits, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, say the students did not receive the full educational experience they anticipated when they paid their tuition and fees before in-person instruction ended and they had to leave campus.
Henry Herald
Coca-Cola donates funds to create 70 scholarships at Clayton State
From staff reports
Clayton State University has received a $665,000 from The Cola-Cola Foundation to fund 70 scholarships for women and first-generation college students. The scholarships will support research and analysis in the areas of watershed/waterways quality, community-focused wellness, social innovation and civic engagement. “Often our campaigns are solely focused on fundraising activities, but Beyond Our Walls will allow us to live out the final phase of the University’s Strategic Plan 2022 …Clayton State will create four needs-based scholarship programs for eligible students:
WTVM
Uptown Tree Trail in Columbus focuses on giving back to the community amid pandemic
By Samantha Serbin
The holiday season is all about giving and that’s the idea behind Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to generosity around the globe. People are encouraged to give to non-profit organizations in order to uplift their own communities. Christmas lights and ornaments dawn branches of fir trees in Uptown Columbus. The Tree Trail brings the community together each year to not only brighten Broadway, but give back to the community. “There are lots of people in our very community, in our town, who don’t have as much privileges or resources naturally given to them,” said Anastasia Daniels, a senior at Columbus State University. Columbus State University’s servant leadership program sells donated Christmas trees to businesses, then gives the money back to a local area in need. This year, that’s the Highland community, including MercyMed, Truth Springs, and Fox Elementary. Tuesday, people came out to decorate their tree and reflect on their efforts this Giving Tuesday.
Fox28
Georgia Southern University kicks of holiday season with annual lighting ceremony
by Cody Thomas
Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus kicked off its holiday season with the third annual lighting ceremony Tuesday night. A handful of people gathered around to watch as the lights were turned on to celebrate this year’s holiday spirit. Holiday pictures and treats were available for those who came out to celebrate. School officials said with the year students and staff has experienced, this lighting ceremony was much needed. …School officials said Georgia Southern University has seen record enrollment numbers this semester, despite the pandemic.
WFXG
Medical College of Georgia is Igniting the Dream of Medicine for hundreds
The 8th Annual Igniting the Dream of Medicine brought hundreds of high school and college students to the Medical College of Georgia Saturday. It’s a program hosted by the Office of Student and Multicultural Affairs and the Student National Medical Association (SNMA). The goal is to bring more diversity to the medical field and under-served communities. The Medical College of Georgia opened its doors to hundreds of students hoping to spark interest in careers in medicine. JaBreia James, the President, SNMA, says this program gave her motivation.
CNN
Georgia runoff poll worker recruitment faces holiday and Covid challenges
By Shania Shelton
Evan Malbrough already spent the summer recruiting poll workers to staff in-person voting and count ballots in Georgia — but now, with a heavily contested January 5 runoff that will determine control of the US Senate, he’s back at it…With a team of fellow Georgia State University students, Malbrough recruits people ages 16 to 25 online through Google forms and Instagram posts, as well as speaking to other organizations. He recruited about 1,000 students to work in the November general election and is currently asking counties how many they need for the runoffs. …Some county officials say they are worried that, along with being burned out, potential poll workers will be put off by the surge in coronavirus cases and the timing of the runoff right after the holidays. …Georgia Tech student Samuel Ellis decided to get involved in election work because of his experience going to vote for the first time in 2018, when he and two Black friends were met with older White workers at the polls.
He served this year as the poll manager for Georgia Tech’s student-run polling precinct and led recruitment for the November general election.
FOX 21
LEAPS targets the non-mutating part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and works through activating a T cell response possibly offering long term benefits
CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE American: CVM) announced today its LEAPS COV-19 peptides, delivered as a therapeutic treatment following SARS-CoV-2 virus challenge, achieved a 40% survival rate in transgenic mouse models as compared to 0% survival in the two control groups in studies conducted at the University of Georgia Center for Vaccines and Immunology. Scientists at the University of Georgia working in conjunction with CEL-SCI’s scientific team conducted a challenge study in human(h) ACE2 receptor transgenic mice infected with a dose of SARS-CoV-2 (the causative agent of COVID-19 disease) virus sufficient to cause death in all animals within 8 days. This transgenic animal model is useful to study COVID-19 disease because the mice express the molecule that provides entry for the SARS-CoV-2 virus into human cells.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Plan for climate solutions takes Georgia-specific approach
By Nedra Rhone
Effort based on ‘Drawdown’ book looks at areas such as electricity, transportation, food waste
In the spring of 2017, a boldly subtitled book became a national bestseller. “Drawdown,” wrote the authors, was “the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming.” The book, an extensive examination of 100 solutions that could substantially reduce greenhouse gases over the next three decades, has influenced communities, curriculum and conversations about climate change. Inspired by the global endeavor, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation in October launched Drawdown Georgia, an effort to bring a local lens to those climate solutions and reduce Georgia’s carbon impact by one-third in 10 years. “The one thing Project Drawdown couldn’t do was tell any region what their solutions could be,” said John Lanier, executive director of the foundation, which provides funding and research that supports environmental efforts. So for 18 months, a team of experts from the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University and other organizations worked to determine which solutions were best suited to Georgia’s unique landscape.
13WMAZ
GSU police chief resigns following second DUI arrest, school confirms
Following his resignation, the university named Assistant Chief Anthony Coleman as interim police chief.
Author: Jason Braverman (11Alive)
The police chief for one of the state’s largest universities has resigned following his second DUI arrest. Georgia State University Police Chief Joe Spillane resigned last week following an arrest in Fayette County for DUI, a school spokeswoman told 11Alive. She said it was his second arrest while serving as GSU police chief. Following his resignation, the university named Assistant Chief Anthony Coleman as interim police chief.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Dec. 1)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
DEATHS: 8,798 | 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: 424,929 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
WSB-TV
CDC panel makes its recommendation for who should get COVID-19 vaccines first
By: Tyisha Fernandes and Matt Johnson
An advisory panel with the Atlanta-based CDC voted 13-1 to recommend that healthcare workers and long-term nursing home residents receive the COVID-19 vaccine first when it becomes available. Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes has been following the panel’s meeting throughout the afternoon Tuesday. The recommendation was made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The panel of experts recommends who to vaccinate and when. It’s the advice that the government almost always follows.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Teaching Online in the COVID Crisis: What We Have Learned
As we prepare to launch another semester mostly online, we are better informed than we were in the spring and fall semesters. From experiences with rapidly applied pedagogies to better understanding of how our students’ radically altered lives impact their learning, we must adapt.
By Ray Schroeder
This past spring semester marked a heroic response to the coronavirus that prompted radical change in the mode of delivery of much of higher education — a change that will continue to influence the way learning is accessed from this point forward. So, what did we learn? First and foremost, we learned that we must be prepared for future pandemics, natural disasters or other breakdowns that disrupt our educational institutions and systems. Further, we learned that, in this instance, we were prepared to launch remote learning initiatives across the country to help protect our students and staff while delivering the curriculum, albeit in some cases in less than optimal presentations. We now have models upon which we must improve and expand to assure continuity of curriculum delivery in cases of disruptions.
Forbes
Colleges Ramp Up Coronavirus Testing For Spring Semester As Some Plan More On-Campus Activities
Michael T. NietzelSenior Contributor
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage, American colleges are updating their virus mitigation and containment measures as they prepare for the spring semester. The past two weeks have seen scores of new announcements about how institutions plan to conduct their operations in the new year. A major development is the growing number of institutions implementing stronger Covid-19 testing requirements for faculty, staff, and students after a semester in which more lax testing protocols were in place. In almost all cases, the mandatory testing is accompanied by additional requirements such as wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and avoiding large social gatherings.
Inside Higher Ed
Report: Improving Enrollment Health
By Madeline St. Amour
Institutions need to rethink their offerings in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent negative enrollment impacts, according to a new report from Ad Astra. In the current recession, students are not looking for an education, the report argues. Instead, they’re looking for training that will get them a good job. In the last recession, students may have flocked to colleges for education and retraining, but many didn’t achieve that goal. Completion rates at four-year institutions dropped by three percentage points in 2008 and 2009, according to the report. The report argues that institutions need to be more thoughtful about their “completion promises” and create systems to give students defined paths to complete their majors on time.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Number of International Students Is Shrinking. Here’s How That’s Affecting the Economy.
By Audrey Williams June
The economic fortunes of college towns have long been tightly linked to the students who learn and live there. But with fewer students attending college in the wake of the global pandemic — and with many who are enrolled learning from home — economic activity in some college communities has plummeted. International students play an especially prominent role in generating economic activity. A fresh reminder of the significance of these students’ spending surfaced last month when data from Nafsa: Association of International Educators revealed that the amount international students contributed to the U.S. economy in 2019-20 fell to $38.7 billion from the year before. The 4.4-percent decline was the first drop in the more than two decades that Nafsa has been calculating economic impact data. The number of jobs created or supported by international students fell, too. Both economic disruptions coincide with a 43-percent decline in new international students this fall — a staggering figure that has fundamentally altered the colleges and communities that would typically host them. But the slide in new international students has been underway since fall 2016, and international-student attendance over all decreased nearly 2 percent in the fall of 2019.
Inside Higher Ed
University Employees Rely on Social Safety Net
GAO report finds several university systems among their states’ largest employers of working adults receiving Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
By Rick Seltzer
A significant number of working adults enrolled in public safety net programs for low-income people work at public university systems in some states, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. The report, drawn up in response to a request from Senator Bernie Sanders, examined data on working adults in two programs: Medicaid, the federal-state health-care program for low-income people, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, sometimes called food stamps. The report focused on where those working adults are employed and what they do.
Inside Higher Ed
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos didn’t offer any reassurances as student loan borrowers near having to make payments again.
By Kery Murakami
For days, higher education policy experts had been hoping that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would use a speech Tuesday at a conference on student aid to stop what they see as a looming crisis for student loan borrowers. In less than a month, on Dec. 31, a moratorium President Trump had put in place excusing most borrowers from making payments on their loans will expire. But speaking remotely to the Federal Student Aid Training Conference as she prepares to leave office this month, DeVos instead focused on having made it easier for borrowers to access their information online and through an app. She took a shot at free college plans, one of the top aims of the incoming Biden administration, as “socialist.” DeVos, though, didn’t mention the coming loan crisis, much less announce, as advocates had hoped, that the administration will be extending the pause on making payments on student loans.