University System News

Gwinnett Daily Post
Traditions return at Georgia Gwinnett College to start school year
From Staff Reports
After a year of canceled events, Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) welcomed students back this week. As part of the college’s “Return to Community” celebration, GGC brought back its annual Green Scene and March Through the Arch traditions, which drew crowds of students to the campus lawn on Wednesday. The Green Scene event offers students information about student clubs, campus resources and wellness tips. Included during the event was the student-favorite International Hot Dog Festival which offered up hot dogs, bratwurst and Italian sausages with toppings from around the world.

The George-Anne
Georgia Southern Delivers Top-Tier Mental Health During the Pandemic
By Rebecca Munday
Georgia Southern University counseling centers experienced three times the crisis calls due to suicidal intent or ideation in the 2020-21 academic year. The Counseling Center responded to this increase by redesigning how they deliver services to students, increasing students’ ability to access those services by 26% and distributing H.E.R.O Folders.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC On Campus: UGA’s vaccine gift cards; the C.T. Vivian course
By Eric Stirgus
Classes began this week at several colleges and universities in the Atlanta region. Students and faculty return amid a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Many on campus are demanding the state’s University System issue a mask mandate, a vaccination mandate or both. Here’s a look at the latest on this, the University of Georgia’s new approach to get students vaccinated, courses based on the teaching of a civil rights legend and other issues in this edition of AJC On Campus.

WSB-TV
Georgia college students and staff are mixed about masks on campuses
Reporter: Elizabeth Rawlins
Many colleges and universities around the state of Georgia are preparing to kick of their fall 2021 semester. Some private schools are requiring students to be vaccinated but all 26 schools under the University System of Georgia are not.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What UGA got for $175 million in football facilities spending
By Tim Tucker
The University of Georgia Athletic Association has spent $175 million on more than 350,000 square feet of football facilities projects since Kirby Smart was hired as head coach in December 2015. The need for a full-scale indoor practice facility for use by the football team in inclement weather was long discussed and debated at Georgia.

Other News

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated August 13)
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: 18,987| 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: 982,589 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.

The Albany Herald
Census data finds nation, Georgia more urban and racially diverse
By Dave Williams, Capitol Beat News Service
The United States, including Georgia, became more urban and more diverse during the last decade, according to U.S. Census results released last week. The first detailed data from the 2020 Census covering cities, counties and census blocks showed the concentration of Americans in the nation’s metropolitan areas increased from 84.3% in 2010 to 86.3% by 2020. Population growth in Georgia during the decade was limited primarily to the counties in metro Atlanta and along the coast.

The Washington Post
CDC backs third vaccine dose for immunocompromised people
By Lena H. Sun, Laurie McGinley and Frances Stead Sellers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday recommended a third dose of coronavirus vaccines for some immunocompromised individuals following the plan’s unanimous endorsement by an expert advisory panel. The CDC’s backing paves the way for millions of moderately or severely immunocompromised people to get a third shot of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines as soon as this weekend. That means those 12 and older who are immunocompromised would be eligible for Pfizer-BioNTech; the Moderna vaccine is for those 18 and older.

Newsweek
County in Georgia Closes All 11 Schools After COVID Spreads to Students and Faculty
By Andre J. Ellington
A Southeast Georgia school district has halted the entire school year due to a rise in COVID-19 Delta variant cases. On Friday, Ware County reached out to parents and faculty, informing them that all 11 schools in the district will be closed through August 27. All 11 schools will reopen on September 7. Ware County stated that although schools are closed, other extracurricular activities and competitions will still take place

The Albany Herald
Parents outraged after Atlanta college leaves students in “housing chaos”
By WGCL
It’s a disappointing start to the school year for many Clark Atlanta parents and students who are learning the dorms they had already paid for weren’t available due to lagging renovations. “I don’t know if it’s a hotel or apartment complex… whatever it is, it looks like it’s been abandoned,” said Clark Atlanta Parent Tewana Nelson. Parents are outraged over what they’re calling “housing chaos”.

Higher Education News

Inside Higher Ed
Collaborating to Fix Student Loans
By Alexis Gravely
The Department of Education is planning to continue addressing reforms to the administration of the student loan program — based partly on the input of two Democratic senators, according to a letter sent by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona earlier this month. Cardona told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, that in the upcoming months, the department will be working to improve targeted debt relief, address student loan servicing and debt collection and strengthen oversight and enforcement of both institutions and accrediting agencies.

The Conversation
Colleges are using federal stimulus money to clear students’ past-due debts – an economist answers five questions
By William Chittenden
Editor’s note: A growing number of colleges and universities across the country are using money from the American Rescue Plan to clear their current and graduating students’ debt. The American Rescue Plan was signed into law in March 2021 and allocated nearly $40 billion to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III. Colleges and universities may use a portion of these funds to cover lost revenue, including unpaid student account debts. Here William Chittenden, an expert on debt in higher education, explains what this means for college students’ futures.

Inside Higher Ed
Delta Variant Raises Questions as Campuses Start Semester
By Scott Jaschik
The start of the academic year is normally a time for convocations to welcome new students to college, and to welcome faculty back. This year is starting with more uncertainty even than last year. The arrival of the Delta variant has changed plans for some colleges, and prompted many to impose mask requirements or vaccine requirements. But because the Delta variant can be spread even to those who have been vaccinated, there are no guarantees of a COVID-19-free semester for anyone. Some faculty members are pushing for the right to teach online. And a few Texas institutions are going entirely online — for the first weeks of the semester.