University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Federal hearings seek to reverse Trump-era student loan rules
By Eric Stirgus
U.S. Department of Education officials are holding three days of virtual public hearings starting today that will focus on potential changes to Trump-era guidelines critics believe have made it more difficult to repay student loans. The revisions include strengthening protections for borrowers harmed by misleading practices by their college. The department last week announced the approval of 18,000 borrower defense claims for former students of ITT Technical Institute, which exaggerated its job-placement numbers among other things. These borrowers will receive 100% loan discharges, resulting in approximately $500 million in relief… Many Georgians are paying close attention. The average federal loan debt among Georgians is nearly $42,000, according to a federal database.
The Brunswick News
CCGA launches grant to support students impacted financially by pandemic
By Lauren McDonald
College of Coastal Georgia recently launched a new Ballast Grant program to help students who are struggling financially because of the COVID-19 pandemic continue their education at the college. The program was established through institutional funds received from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II, authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. HEERF II provides funding for CCGA to distribute to enrolled students who experienced financial hardships due to the pandemic to cover student fees, costs associated with living on campus, commuting to campus or other expenses related to the cost of attendance. In order to receive the Ballast Grant, students must be able to demonstrate their needs through an application and/or document review process.
Clayton News Daily
UGA names Manpreet Singh head of Food Science department
By Claire Sanders
Manpreet Singh has been named head of the Department of Food Science and Technology in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences after serving as interim department head since September. Singh, who joined the research faculty at the CAES Department of Poultry Science as a UGA Cooperative Extension food safety specialist, welcomed the opportunity to work with former Purdue University colleague Todd Applegate, head of the Department of Poultry Science. Additionally, UGA’s reputation in food microbiology and food safety provided an opportunity for long-term career growth and a landing place for his family, Singh said. “Athens is one of the best college towns in America, so I’d say I was in the right place at the right time,” Singh said of his move to UGA.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Who is Miss Georgia 2021 Karson Pennington? Q&A with winner crowned in Columbus
By Mark Rice
Doctoral student. E-book author. Literacy advocate. Research scholar. Honor graduate. Dancer. Teaching assistant. And now Miss Georgia 2021. The day after Miss University of Georgia Karson Pennington, 23, of Augusta, won the state title Saturday night at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, she sat down with the Ledger-Enquirer to discuss how she reached this milestone, what it means to her and what she has learned along the way… You are fixing to become a quadruple Dawg, already with three degrees from the University of Georgia, and now pursuing a doctorate in political science and international affairs. What is it about UGA that keeps you coming back? “The University of Georgia has given me endless opportunities to continue my education and has provided so much support to me as Miss University of Georgia when I was preparing for Miss Georgia. … The quality of education there, I’ve met a lot of professors that I really click with. They want to see their students succeed.”
This story also appeared in WGAU.
WSAV
St. Joseph’s/Candler outage continues after ransomware attack
By Alex Bozarjian, Molly Curley
One of Savannah’s largest hospital systems is recovering from a ransomware attack Thursday morning. Computers are still down across St. Joseph’s/Candler (SJ/C), leaving doctors with no way to track patient information electronically. And it’s still unclear if personal or health information was impacted… Dr. Frank Katz, director of the Center for Applied Cyber Education at Georgia Southern University, says hospitals are often easy targets. Having so many employees, he says user IDs and passwords can be easy to figure out. Plus, they’re dealing with emergency medical care. “They are more likely to pay than another type of business because it’s a life and death situation,” Katz said. “It really has become a situation of money, pure and simple,” he said. “These are thieves that know they can extort the money and often get it.”
The Albany Herald
Addressing Georgia’s labor crisis
By Chris Clark
Over the last 40 years, Georgia has experienced substantial economic growth. We went from being the 17th-largest state economy in the U.S. to being the 9th-largest economy. Critical to that growth has been the focus to improve Georgia’s world-class talent pipeline. Economic developers learned in the last 20 years that companies take for granted traditional infrastructure like water and sewer and, today, focus on quality of life that is attractive to their employees… Georgia’s elected leaders have equally been committed to helping solve these issues with businesses. Gov. Brian Kemp, Labor Commissioner Mark Butler, state Schools Superintendent Richard Woods, University System Chancellor Steve Wrigley, state Technical Commissioner Greg Dozier, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE), and other state leaders are engaged and focused on real-world, free-enterprise solutions.
The Atlanta Jewish Times
Georgia’s Anti-BDS Law Imperiled
By Dave Schechter
The viability of the Georgia law designed to thwart anti-Israel boycotts is in doubt after a federal judge declared the measure to be unconstitutional. That finding came in a May 21 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, as he rejected a request to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the law… The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the CAIR Legal Defense Fund, and the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund filed suit Jan. 10, 2020, alleging that Martin’s rights under the First and Fourteenth amendments of the Constitution had been violated. Named as defendants were Steve Wrigley, chancellor of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia; Kyle Marrero, the president of GS, and three GS staff employees.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated June 20)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is keeping track of reported coronavirus deaths and cases across Georgia according to the Department of Public Health. See details in the map below. See the DPH’s guide to their data for more information about definitions.
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 18,403 | Deaths have been confirmed in every county. 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: 901,068 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Associated Press
High court sides with former athletes in dispute with NCAA
By Jessica Gresko
In a ruling that could help push changes in college athletics, the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously sided with a group of former college athletes in a dispute with the NCAA over rules limiting certain compensation. The high court ruled that NCAA limits on the education-related benefits that colleges can offer athletes who play Division I basketball and football can’t be enforced. Under current NCAA rules, students cannot be paid, and the scholarship money colleges can offer is capped at the cost of attending the school. The NCAA had defended its rules as necessary to preserve the amateur nature of college sports. But the former athletes who brought the case, including former West Virginia football player Shawne Alston, argued that the NCAA’s rules on education-related compensation were unfair and violate federal antitrust law designed to promote competition.
Inside Higher Ed
In Admissions Season Until Late August
By Scott Jaschik
The State University of New York at Oneonta was closed to visitors until January of this year. Normally, those who visit in the fall are likely applicants in the spring (or the next spring). Karen Brown, executive director of admissions, said Oneonta tried to do remote tours and to interact online with applicants, but it wasn’t the same. And so Oneonta — located in a small city (population 13,901) — is experiencing a severe drop in freshmen expected for the fall. This year, Oneonta dropped its target for freshmen for the year from 1,500 (around where the college was before the pandemic) to 1,200. As of last week, the university has 1,000 freshmen who have committed. The university is still accepting applicants. Brown expects enrollment will stay where it is — with the university gaining a few more and losing some to summer melt. “We’re a work in progress,” said Brown. “We’re not doing as well as we did in the past.”
Inside Higher Ed
How the For the People Act Would Impact Higher Ed
By Alexis Gravely
Sweeping changes to voting and federal election processes are on the agenda in the Senate, and if Congress is able to pass the Democratic-led voting rights package, it’s almost certain to have an impact on college students and campuses across the country. The Senate plans to vote Tuesday to move forward with the For the People Act, also known as HR 1, which passed the House on March 3. Its future looks bleak — there are no Republicans who support the legislation, meaning it won’t meet the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster in the Senate. Democratic senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has also said he would vote against the bill but has since offered up a compromise. The 886-page bill has 10 titles centered around voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and government ethics. It seeks to set national standards for modernizing voter registration and improving voter access in elections, which could be especially consequential for college students and young voters.