University System News:
Albany Herald
Winners named in Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College STEPS symposium
From staff reports
Daniel Stout from Suwanee and Lawrence Langston III, from Beech Island, S.C., have been selected as the overall winners among students participating in the 2021 Student Engagement Programs (STEPS) Symposium representing undergraduate research at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. … Viewership of the virtual symposium increased from 300 views in the pandemic year of 2020 to 1,847 unique presentation views in 2021. Stout and Langston are pursuing a bachelor of science degree in Natural Resource Management, Wildlife. They also won first place in the Biological, Life, and Chemical Sciences category.
Savannah CEO
Georgia Southern Partnering with SALT to Give Students Professional Experience, Job Opportunities
Georgia Southern University alumnus Stacey Roach knows the struggle students face when looking to gain professional experience while in college. As Chief Operating Officer of IT company InventureIT, he also knows the difficulty of bringing innovative technology and ideas to the professional world. In an effort to combat both of these problems, Roach helped create Southern Automated Logistics & Technology (SALT), an innovative, technology-focused organization based in Savannah that partners with industry and academia to bring bleeding-edge technology ideas to market. To create a link to academia, SALT started an apprenticeship program that offers college computer science and IT students access to mentors and the ability to learn about and solve real-world software development problems for clients.
GPB
Facing ‘Worst Ever’ Demand For Nurses, Some Hospitals Offering Unprecedented Bonuses
By: Andy Miller
One sign of the severity of Georgia’s nurse shortage can be seen in the bonuses offered to experienced RNs to join a hospital workforce. Some health systems in the state are paying bonuses of more than $10,000 to attract nurses. And Piedmont Healthcare, which is rapidly becoming Georgia’s biggest health system, said it has offered bonuses of up to $30,000, a figure that has startled local health industry officials. Nurses are not the only personnel in short supply. Respiratory therapists are also in high demand. Meanwhile, some nursing homes have offered up to $10,000 sign-on bonuses for certified nursing assistants but have received “no results,’’ said Devon Barill of the Georgia Health Care Association, an industry group. “This is unprecedented.’’ …University Health in Augusta said that currently there are smaller class sizes in nursing schools and a shortage of nursing instructors locally. The system also cited “the inability of students to complete their in-person clinical training because of COVID-19 that is slowing our ability to backfill those positions.’’
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated May 27)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 18,021 | 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: 894,892 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
How Federal Stimulus Spending Plays Out for State Higher Ed
Without federal stimulus money, states would have cut tax appropriations for higher education by 2.3 percent. But how states are spending the billions in stimulus varies.
By Emma Whitford
Congress has authorized $6.4 trillion in economic relief over the past 14 months, billions of which was earmarked for or available to spend on colleges, universities and other state higher education programs, according to a new report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many states experienced a decline in state tax revenue between the 2020 and 2021 fiscal years. Without enough money to fund their previously approved budgets, several states passed midyear cuts to higher education spending.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
To Improve Student Retention, IEBC’s Initiative Aims to Create More Caring Campuses
by Sarah Wood
Research indicates that students who lack a connection with their institution are less likely to return for the next semester. However, faculty members can play a role in retainment as they serve as the “biggest advocates” for students’ success, according to Dr. Rosemary A. Costigan, vice president for academic affairs at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI.. …Seeing how collegiate relationships impact students, the Institute for Evidence-Based Change (IEBC) developed the Caring Campus Initiative. Using funding from the Ascendium Education Group, the program works to build a culture of connectedness at institutions to increase student retention rates.
Inside Higher Ed
College Athletes Would Gain Right to Unionize Under New Bill
By Alexis Gravely
Democrats in Congress are looking to change the college sports landscape with new legislation that would classify college athletes as employees of their institutions and give them the power to bargain collectively. Senators Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Bernie Sanders, the Independent from Vermont, introduced the College Athlete Right to Organize Act in the Senate, and Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat from New York, is taking the lead on companion legislation in the House. …The legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act to define athletes as employees of their colleges if they receive compensation for their participation in intercollegiate sports, whether that compensation is in the form of grant-in-aid or any other form. Both public and private colleges would be defined as employers within the context of intercollegiate sports. Athletes would be allowed to unionize, and the National Labor Relations Board would facilitate multiemployer bargaining units for each athletic conference.
GPB
Colorado Becomes 1st State To Ban Legacy College Admissions
By: Elissa Nadworny
When someone applies to college, there’s often a box or a section on the application that asks about any relatives who attended the university — perhaps a parent or a cousin. This is called “legacy,” and for decades it’s given U.S. college applicants a leg up in admissions. But no longer in Colorado’s public colleges. On Tuesday, Colorado became the first state to do away with that admissions boost when Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed a ban on the practice into law. The governor also signed a bill that removes a requirement that public colleges consider SAT or ACT scores for freshmen, though the new law still allows students to submit test scores if they wish. Both moves are aimed at making higher education access more equitable.