University System News:
Jackson Progress-Argus
Gordon State College gets green light to offer two new academic degrees
By Larry Stanford
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia have given Gordon State College the green light to begin the process of offering two new degrees; a Nexus Degree in Film Production and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice through the University System of Georgia’s eMajor. Gordon hopes to start offering classes for the new degrees pending approval by the Gordon State Faculty Senate and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
WSAV
Georgia Tech’s Savannah campus to offer introductory on-set film production class
by: Ashley Williams
The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Savannah campus will soon offer a new on-set film production course that could boost employment within the state’s multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry. Georgia Tech-Savannah teamed up with the Georgia Film Academy to begin teaching the class on Saturdays beginning on Feb. 13. The hands-on professional education class will introduce students to the basics of film production, says Georgia Tech-Savannah’s marketing communications manager, Kerry Jarvis.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pharrell Williams, Georgia Tech & Amazon partner on education project
By Eric Stirgus
Music superstar Pharrell Williams scored another hit last year with “Entrepreneur,” a collaboration with Jay-Z that celebrated African Americans who created their own business enterprises. Williams is now looking to develop the coding skills of future, socially-conscious entrepreneurs, with some help from Georgia Tech. Williams, Georgia Tech and Amazon announced Tuesday they are partnering on a music education competition that will provide $5,000 scholarships to the winning middle and high school students or grants to start a business. The initiative, “Your Voice is Power,” is designed to expand computer science education to more students from underserved communities and groups currently underrepresented in the technology sector.
The Red & Black
UGA SGA steps in to help students struggling with cost of class materials
Shelby Israel | Campus News Editor
In a year where financial burdens are even greater due to the onset of COVID-19, the extra cost of course materials can be an expense many University of Georgia students can no longer afford. The UGA Student Government Association is now hosting programs to help students who are struggling to pay for such materials. The estimated cost of attendance at UGA for the 2020-2021 academic year is $27,658 for in-state students living on campus. Of this sum, the Office of Student Financial Aid recommends $1,052 for books and supplies, but the costs often exceed the suggestion and must be paid out of pocket if no further financial aid is received. According to SGA, only 1,064 out of 13,050 total freshmen receive scholarships, placing UGA in the 20th percentile of all U.S. schools.
WTOC
By Bria Bolden
Savannah State University recently broke ground on a campus community garden they hope will address the needs of students and staff, along with making their community a little greener. “Now we don’t have to ride like three or four buses to the mall because it’s by the mall to get food, which is more expensive. We can actually grow what we want,” said student Owasan Andrew Okorodudu. …It’s a partnership between SSU’s International Education Center and Marine Biology Department. …Faculty members say it’ll also be an opportunity to help students who need it. They say the university usually has between 20 to 80 students who are insecure at any given time.
Valdosta Daily TImes
Sweet Sound: Violinist forges a path in music
Violinist forges a path in music
By Bryce Ethridge
Violinist Eddy Fabrizio Castellanos is someone whose will pushes him toward hope instead of ruin – to make the best out of any situation. He did it as a youth and continues to in adulthood. …After studying in a conservatory for five years, Castellanos began his undergraduate at Valdosta State University for music performance. He plans to continue on to his master’s degree, but his ultimate goal is to be a traveling performer, improving himself along the way and just be free to play. Along the way, he wants to help the people he meets along the way – children trying to find their way in playing violin. Castellanos has taken charge of doing that through private lessons as well as teaching students in the South Georgia String Project. He said he wants them to understand they are ready to be violinists. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it a difficult as he’s been teaching in an online setting. He hopes by next year to be teaching again in person.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OPINION: Universities need to call a lie a lie
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
University of North Georgia professor says, ‘Democracy needs truth as much as it needs law.’
In a guest column today, Matthew Boedy, an assistant professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, calls on universities to provide “the moral clarity” that education fosters. Boedy is conference president of the Georgia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a national organization that represents the interests of college and university faculty members.
By Matthew Boedy
In the aftermath of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol college leaders in Georgia issued milquetoast statements about the role of higher education in (re)building our democracy. For example, outgoing president of Georgia State University Mark Becker wrote that the day’s events “tested” our democracy like “it has never been tested before…” I use milquetoast because Becker and University of Georgia president Jere Morehead couldn’t bring themselves to use the word “insurrection” or any noun or for that matter any adjectives to describe that event. But they did praise the role of universities in forming the link between education and democracy. How are universities to judge their effectiveness in educating students about the “fundamental tenets” of our democracy, to quote Morehead?
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Jan. 19)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 11,265 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 689,676 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
WJBF
Local hospitals moving along with vaccinations despite slow rollout
by: Renetta DuBose
The CDC vaccine tracker shows Georgia and South Carolina have distributed and administered fewer doses compared to other states. But here in the CSRA, local health officials told NewsChannel 6 they are moving right along. “We have received all the vaccines we have ordered in a very timely fashion. There have been no delays receiving any of the vaccines from the state,” Doctors Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Farr said. While you may be wondering when your time will come to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Georgia, health officials report employees from Augusta University, Doctors Hospital and University Hospital have been receiving doses in their arms for the past month and many have both doses.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
College Board Kills Subject Tests and SAT Essay
Reaction is mixed. Most experts say College Board had little choice.
By Scott Jaschik
The College Board on Tuesday announced that it is killing the SAT Subject Tests and the SAT essay. Most experts said the College Board had little choice but to make the changes. The board also announced plans to create “a more flexible SAT — a streamlined, digitally delivered test that meets the evolving needs of students and higher education.” But the board did not release additional details on the new SAT.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Covid-19 Is Accelerating Changes in Standardized Testing. Expect to See More.
By Eric Hoover
Forget the hype, never mind the mystique. Whether you see standardized testing as useful or harmful, remember this: Even the most influential exams are mere products, made and marketed by human beings. And when the market changes, products once billed as essential can become obsolete. The College Board announced on Tuesday that it would discontinue two of its offerings: SAT Subject Tests and the optional essay section of the SAT. Most admissions officers and college counselors will miss them as much as thirsty consumers miss Crystal Pepsi. Not. At. All. For years, demand for the soon-to-be-scrapped tests has been dwindling. Then Covid-19 upended the admissions realm, limiting students’ access to exams and prompting most colleges to at least temporarily suspend their testing requirements. The pandemic, College Board officials wrote in a blog post, “accelerated a process already underway at the College Board to simplify our work and reduce demands on students.” …In the future, we might well see further expansion of the organization’s Advanced Placement program, a curriculum-and-testing juggernaut.
Inside Higher Ed
Alternatives to Placement Tests
Research brief looks at how the pandemic spurred states to accelerate efforts to consider measures other than standardized test scores in determining placement into first-year English and math.
By Elizabeth Redden
The pandemic has spurred more community colleges to experiment with additional measures for determining placement into college-level math and English courses other than a single standardized placement test score, according to a new brief from researchers at the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR), a joint research center operated by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, and MDRC, an education and social policy research organization. The brief looks at how four states — Indiana, Texas, Virginia and Washington — developed alternative measures for determining student placement into first-year math and English courses after the pandemic made in-person, proctored exams harder to administer.
Inside Higher Ed
GAO: Education Department Should Ensure Data on TRIO’s Effectiveness Are Accurate
By Kery Murakami
The Education Department should examine if it is getting accurate information from those receiving TRIO funds to see if the money is leading to results, the Government Accounting Office said in a report Monday. The department relies on data provided by those receiving the grants, which are aimed at increasing the graduation rate of low-income, first-generation college students. But it does not check to see if the information from the grantees, 92 percent of which are colleges and universities, is accurate.