University System News:
Digital Journal
EdRefomer Announces 2022 Best Online Universities Rankings
By GetNews
EdReformer latest edition includes new rankings of the best universities for online associates, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
Designed for students looking to complete or further their education, the rankings evaluate over 40,000 college tuitions. These online programs offer an alternative option for prospective students looking to fulfill their academic goals while pandemic restrictions remain in place in much of the country. The Best Online Universities rankings only include programs that are designed to be administered online. In other words, the rankings do not evaluate schools or programs that are temporarily virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic. In order to create the list of the best online universities, EdReformer has collected and verified annual tuitions of the top-ranked colleges offering online degrees. Affordability is only one factor in deciphering the value of a college degree. …
Full Rankings
Best Online Associate’s –
Georgia State University – Perimeter College
Albany State University
Best Online Bachelor’s –
Clayton State University
Kennesaw State University
Georgia Southern University
Valdosta State University
Best Online Master’s –
Georgia Institute of Technology
Augusta University
ZDNet
Best online master’s in economics 2021: Top picks
An online master’s degree in economics provides students a flexible way to prepare for careers as economics, analysts, or researchers.
By Genevieve Carlton
A master’s degree in economics prepares graduates for in-demand careers as economists, analysts, and researchers. The flexible learning format of an online economics master’s degree makes it easier for busy adults to advance their careers and increase their earning potential. During an online master’s program, economics graduate students take theoretical and practical courses. Many programs let degree-seekers specialize in areas like economic theory, data analytics, and economic forecasting. After completing a master’s degree, graduates pursue opportunities in the public and private sectors, including in finance, marketing, and government. We rank the best online master’s programs to help applicants make an informed choice. The best online master’s in economics degrees
1. Georgia Southern University
Cision PR Newswire
Bachelor’s Degree Center Releases National Rankings of Real Estate Degree Programs
Bachelor’s Degree Center (https://www.bachelorsdegreecenter.org/), a free guide to traditional and online bachelor’s degree programs in all disciplines, has released four rankings of the best Bachelor’s in Real Estate degree programs in the US: …Bachelor’s Degree Center has been providing advice, resources, and rankings on the best traditional and online bachelor’s degree programs since 2014. Completely independent and unbiased, BDC is working to be the ultimate resource for new high school graduates, working adults returning to school, and nontraditional students. All schools in the Bachelor’s Degree Center Real Estate Degree Rankings (in alphabetical order)
University of Georgia; University of West Georgia
The Tiger’s Roar
Founder’s Day 131 Years of Excellence
Justin Phillips
This past week saw a celebration for the anniversary of the creation of Georgia’s oldest public institution, Savannah State University. Savannah State was founded in 1890 as Georgia State Industrial College for Coloured Youth by Richard Wright Sr. Since then university has stood the test of time, helping to develop and produce notable alumni such as former NFL star Shannon Sharpe, and Donnie Cochran, the first Black aviator within the United States Navy selected to the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. The festivities to commemorate the university’s founder’s day lasted from November 8-13, with the annual scholarship gala ending the week of celebration. Another significant occurrence during that week was the official swearing-in ceremony for the current President of the university, Mrs. Kimberly Ballard-Washington. Washington now serves as Savannah State’s fourteenth president, as she was officially sworn on November 12, 2021, after holding the position on an interim basis. At her ceremony, present among the list of well-wishers were: Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, Acting USG Chancellor, Teresa MacCartney and visiting Presidents from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Albany State University. In her investiture address, President Washington ensured to highlight those who were instrumental in her achievement, none more so than members of her immediate family and the Savannah State family, which she said, “Made me feel welcome and part of the family since day one.”
The Oconee Enterprise
University of North Georgia opens Veterans Center
Rebecca Payne
The University of North Georgia Oconee Campus celebrated the grand opening of its new Veterans Center on Veterans Day. The Oconee Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting with UNG student veterans. Director of Nighthawk Engagement and Student Transitions Darcy Hayes described the center as “a space for them to come together and have a sense of community with one another.” Before the ribbon cutting, students and staff had the pleasure of hearing from Shannon Brock, police chief of Watkinsville and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He spoke about “how wonderful it is to see the spirit of patriotism growing in our country.”
Athens CEO
UGA Breaks Ground on New Poultry Science Complex
The University of Georgia broke ground Monday on the site of a new, technologically advanced Poultry Science Complex in Athens. The project will dramatically increase capacity for instruction, research and collaboration supporting Georgia’s multibillion-dollar poultry industry, the largest sector of the state’s No. 1 agriculture and agribusiness industry. “This is an exciting day for the University of Georgia and the thousands of Georgians who work in our state’s poultry industry,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “The construction of the new Poultry Science Complex embodies UGA’s land-grant mission to support our state’s economy through agricultural research, education and outreach. We are grateful to our state government leaders and the generous donors who are making this vital project possible.” Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) Dean and Director Nick T. Place and CAES undergraduate student Kylie Bruce also spoke to the crowd of about 150 people, which included members of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, and dozens of other government and industry leaders.
Emanuel County Live
Faculty, Staff get first look at EGSC-Statesboro’s new home
East Georgia State College’s Statesboro faculty and staff got a first look inside what will be their new home in January 2022. EGSC-Statesboro is moving into the Nessmith-Lane Continuing Education Building on Georgia Southern’s campus. Currently, the Nessmith-Lane Building is being renovated. EGSC faculty and staff were able to walk through the area and look at the progress being made at the site. EGSC-Statesboro Director Jessica Williamson led the group through the building beginning at the front entrance. The group then made their way through the faculty office area and the classroom spaces. Renovations at the new site are expected to wrap up in December. EGSC will begin the moving process to the new building over the winter break and be fully operational for the 2022 Spring semester beginning in January.
WGAU Radio
State of Technology Address today at UGA
Virtual event this afternoon
By Tim Bryant
It is, appropriately, a virtual event that takes place today at UGA: Dr. Timothy Chester, the vice president for information technology at the University of Georgia, delivers the University’s State of Technology Address, a speech that will stream live at 3 o’clock this afternoon.
From the UGA master calendar…
Information Technology has proven to be critical to the university’s ability to continue its teaching, research, and service missions during the past 18 months. As a part of EITS’ continued efforts to evolve and improve services, the annual State of Technology at UGA presentation will be given, and all students, faculty, staff, and campus technical personnel are welcome to attend.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Selects 16 Students for Ambassadors’ Program
Sixteen students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College have been selected to participate in one of the most prestigious organizations on campus, the ABAC Ambassadors. …Through a process involving application, letters of recommendation, and interviews, college administrators choose students whom they believe to be motivated and who show leadership potential to serve as Ambassadors. The Ambassadors assist the offices of the president, marketing and communications, and admissions by representing and promoting the college at a variety of community and college events. They work to maintain positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community. To continue in the organization, students must maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale and commit at least 35 hours per semester to their service as Ambassadors.
Albany Herald
PHOTOS: Albany State University Freshman Major Fair
Photos contributed by Reginald Christian
First year students at Albany State University got a little help selecting a major at the Freshman Major Fair held on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.
RocketNews
Augusta University senior Lukas Coker always knew what he wanted to do. While baseball may be his passion, the path he’s been long planning for is being a special education teacher. “I always wanted to do special education. I grew up around it — my mom’s a special ed teacher and I loved being in her classroom,” said Coker. …Coker’s interest goes beyond the classroom. His family adopted his sister Jayda, a student in one of his mom’s classes, when she was 7 years old. Welcoming her to their family further opened his eyes to the unique needs and experiences of students in special education classes. …Coker ended up at Augusta University from a community college near his home in Michigan. He wanted to come south to play baseball, but getting a special education degree from the College of Education was a high priority. The rigors of getting the degree aren’t easy.
Patch
Georgia Southern University: New Savannah Museum Tells The Storied History Of Gretsch Instruments
Public ribbon-cutting event on Thursday, Nov. 18, 12-2 p.m.
Drums, guitars, history, business and education have come together in a spectacular new interactive museum and exhibit in downtown Savannah that will pique the interest of any music lover. That Great Gretsch Sound! museum is a new destination where Georgia Southern University helps tell the story of a family-owned company that is still regarded as one of the music industry’s most influential and innovative instrument manufacturers. The permanent display of music memorabilia, highlighting more than 135 years of Gretsch instruments, is featured in District Live’s new lobby and performance space on the banks of the Savannah River. The museum is the latest addition to the Plant Riverside District.
Inside Higher Ed
Campuses Battle Severe Flu Outbreaks
The University of Michigan is among the many college campuses experiencing early outbreaks of influenza, with nearly 530 students diagnosed since the beginning of October.
By Emma Whitford
Thousands of students have already come down with influenza this fall as the virus tears through college and university campuses, even as health centers are working to keep COVID-19 cases at bay. After a nearly nonexistent flu season last winter, the familiar virus has returned, said William Schaffner, a professor of infectious disease at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. …Colleges and university health teams have been on high alert due to the enduring possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak this fall. Now, they’re also working to prevent the spread of influenza as students prepare to return home for Thanksgiving. Experts say flu vaccines are essential to stopping the spread of the virus on campuses. … Officials at the University of Georgia are also urging students to get their flu shots as the university works to prevent a widespread outbreak. The Athens Banner-Herald reported Monday that several Georgia football players and coaches are battling the flu. About 80 to 85 percent of the football team received the flu vaccine this year, but some still contracted the disease, Coach Kirby Smart told the Banner-Herald.
Athens Banner-Herald
Do you need a COVID-19 booster shot? UGA study looks at vaccine protection
Leigh Beeson, University of Georgia
If you got the COVID-19 shots back in early spring, your antibodies are likely waning. But it’s not something you need to be worried about, according to a new study from the University of Georgia. “Overall, antibody levels are decreasing, but their ability to protect against infection isn’t,” said Ted Ross, lead author and the director of UGA’s Center for Vaccines and Immunology. “The quality is still there even if the total quantity has gone down.” Published in Frontiers in Immunology’s Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics, the study found that vaccination results in a significantly more robust immune response than seen in people who contracted the coronavirus naturally. Vaccinated participants showed higher levels of neutralizing antibodies, which serve as lookouts for viruses and alert the body’s immune system when it’s been infected.
News Medical Life Sciences
Scientists identify new gene that contributes to type 1 diabetes progression
Reviewed by Emily Henderson
When the pro-inflammatory pair, a receptor called CCR2 and its ligand CCL-2, get together, it increases the risk of developing type 1 diabetes, scientists report. In this autoimmune disease that typically surfaces in childhood, the interaction of this natural lock and key recruits immune cells to the pancreas, which attack the insulin-producing islet cells, resulting in a lifelong course of insulin therapy and a lifelong increased risk of other health problems like heart and kidney disease, says Dr. Sharad Purohit, biochemist in the Center for Biotechnology and Genomic Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia.
Athens Banner-Herald
Lights, camera, Athens: $60 million sound-stage development breaks ground
Andrew Shearer
While watching the credits of Disney’s “Jungle Cruise” one night, Athens-based real estate developer Joel Harber noticed the movie was made on location in Hawaii and on sound stages in Atlanta. With a desire to put his hometown on the map for Georgia film production, Harber began his own quest to make that a reality. Cut to Tuesday, when Athena Studios broke ground on a $60 million, 45-acre sound-stage development at 900 Athena Drive, which will feature more than 350,000 square feet of space for film and television production providing multiple sound stages, support buildings, production offices and a state-of-the-art educational facility. Athena Studios is a partnership between Athens-based commercial real estate development and brokerage firm Reynolds Capital and local developer Tim Burgess. Harber, a UGA graduate and president of Reynolds, will serve as CEO of the studio, which expects to be operating at full capacity in two years.
Athens Banner-Herald
Banner-Herald files complaint against UGA Athletic Association alleging open records violation
Fletcher Page
The Athens-Banner Herald filed a complaint this week, alleging the University of Georgia Athletic Association has violated the Georgia Open Records Act by failing to provide documents requested by the outlet. The requested documents pertain to the name, image, likeness policy adopted by the NCAA in July. The Banner-Herald has requested the UGA Athletic Association to provide copies of UGA athletes’ NIL disclosure documents in its possession, pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act. UGAA has declined those requests, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Attorney David Hudson, working for the Banner-Herald on behalf of the Georgia Press Association, shared with the Athletic Association reasons why FERPA does not exempt the requested NIL documents from disclosure, stating that NIL documents are not academic records and apparently are not maintained by the University’s Registrar.
The Business Journals
With $18M, Sora Schools is expanding its online, project-based high school
By Erin Schilling – Technology Reporter/ Atlanta Inno
Sora Schools Inc. students were doing virtual school long before the coronavirus pandemic forced public schools to close. The project-based high school, founded by three Georgia Institute of Technology graduates, is an alternative online option to traditional schooling. It allows students to explore their individual interests in a college-like environment. Its first class in 2019 was seven students. Now, almost 150 students are in Sora Schools. Three graduated last year and are now in college. The founders feel they’ve proved their learning model works. Now, they’ve raised $18 million to expand the schools and its software, eventually hoping to scale globally.
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Nov. 16)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED CASES: 1,275,238
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 25,368 | 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.
Savannah Morning News
Georgia joins second COVID vaccine mandate lawsuit against Biden administration
Tim Darnell Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia filed another lawsuit Tuesday over President Joe Biden’s controversial COVID vaccine mandates, this time for health care workers. Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are seeking to prevent the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from enforcing the mandate on workers at Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities. Like previous court challenges filed by Kemp and Camp, the new lawsuit asserts the vaccine mandate is unlawful and unconstitutional.
See also:
The Augusta Press
Kemp, Carr Sue Biden White House Over Health Care Workers’ Vaccine Mandate
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Survey: 50% of Students Attend Colleges With Vaccine Mandate
By Elizabeth Redden
Almost three-quarters (74 percent) of college and university students have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about half of all students attend colleges with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, according to a new national survey conducted by researchers at Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern and Rutgers Universities as part of the COVID States Project: A 50-State COVID-19 Survey. Students attending colleges in states with Democratic governors, those who attend private institutions and those who attend medium-size to larger institutions were more likely to report having vaccine mandates at their universities. Mask mandates appeared to be more common than vaccine mandates on college campuses: 67 percent of students at public universities, and 70 percent of students at private universities, said there was a mask mandate for in-person classes at their institution. The survey found that only about half of students surveyed were able to accurately describe their own university’s COVID-19 vaccination policies.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
HBCU Community Awaits Next Executive Director of White House Initiative on HBCUs
Rebecca Kelliher
A year after President Biden’s election, the administration has not yet appointed an executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) despite these colleges garnering more attention. Advocates say they await the next director and outline why the position matters, what could be at stake the longer the job goes vacant, and how to make sense of the delay. “The HBCU community is eagerly anticipating the selection of the executive director for the White House Initiative on HBCUs, and time is of the essence,” said Lezli Baskerville, president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), an advocacy organization for HBCUs and Predominantly Black Institutions. The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), a nonprofit organization that supports publicly-funded HBCUs, reiterated Baskerville’s point.