The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
5 things to know about a new website that compares Georgia colleges
By Vanessa McCray
Students trying to decide where to go to college in Georgia and what to study now have one more place to look for guidance. The University System of Georgia on Tuesday launched a website that allows college-bound students to compare the cost to attend its 26 colleges and universities. The site also provides salary data for graduates by school and by major, plus graduation and loan default rates and the percent of students who keep their HOPE Scholarship after the first year. Here are five things to know about the website:
See also:
WFXL
University System of Georgia launches statewide career planning website
AllOnGeorgia
Savannah CEO
USG Launches New One-stop Website to Help Students Make Decisions on College Affordability & Value
Tifton CEO
New Faculty Members Prepare for ABAC Fall Semester, Classes Begin on August 15
Staff Report
Eight new faculty members will begin their first fall semester at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College when classes begin on Aug. 15. The new faculty members include C. Adam Anderson, lecturer of mathematics; Dr. Andrew S. Peal, assistant professor of jazz and music theory; Marti B. Schert, lecturer of choral and applied voice; Dr. Jeb. E. Sharp, assistant professor of English; Madison M. Thornhill, lecturer of business; Dr. Wally H. Woods, III, assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management; J. Ridge Harper, lecturer of education; and Michael C. Bowen, a parttime business instructor. Three other ABAC faculty members began their ABAC careers earlier this year. They include Dr. John H. Cable, assistant professor of history; Dr. Amber C. Howard, assistant professor of biology; and Sarah Yawn, instructional service librarian. New ABAC President Tracy Brundage greeted the new faculty members in an orientation session on Monday. She joined the administration of ABAC on Aug. 1.
Statesboro Herald
East Georgia State College names police chief
Law enforcement veteran Tray Drawdy sworn in
From staff reports
A long-time veteran of law enforcement and an expert in training was sworn in Monday as chief of police for East Georgia State College. Trey Drawdy was administered the oath of office by Mike Coverson, the chief of Safety and Security for the University System of Georgia. “I am excited to join the East Georgia State College family and to be a part of an environment which is truly student focused,” Drawdy said. “The college experience is about helping students explore and blaze their own pathways to a fulfilling and prosperous future. I’m eager to do my part in helping, supporting and encouraging our students through various public safety initiatives and services.”
Marietta Daily Journal
Students take lead on mosquito surveillance
A group of Valdosta State University student researchers have spent the past five months working to create new knowledge and potentially save lives. Their efforts will continue throughout the fall as they seek to support public health initiatives to protect area residents from mosquito-borne diseases, university officials said in a statement. More than two decades ago, VSU, the City of Valdosta, Lowndes County and the Georgia Department of Public Health’s South Health District established a collaborative mosquito surveillance program. It works by providing data on vector and virus activity to local, state, national and international health agencies and researchers so precautions can be taken to help prevent disease transmission from mosquitoes to humans and animals. Working under the guidance of Dr. Mark Blackmore, a professor in VSU’s Department of Biology, the student researchers collect mosquitoes using traps placed in strategically located, permanent sampling areas throughout Valdosta and Lowndes County.
Flagpole
From Health to Hunger, Here Are Some Resources Available for UGA Students
College comes with its own set of unique obstacles and experiences, but it’s not always easy to know where to turn. Whether you’re a returning upperclassman or incoming freshman, here are some of the best Athens and University of Georgia resources to check out during your time in the Classic City. Welcome to UGA: UGA Student Affairs will host the Welcome UGA Initiative to welcome incoming and returning students to campus. The kickoff event will be the First Night @ the First event in Tate Plaza on Aug. 13 at 8 p.m., featuring 300-person bingo, desserts, movies, prizes and more. The initiative also includes the traditional Freshman Welcome event on Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. where the class of 2026 can form the “Super G” on Dooley Field. Two engagement fairs are also included, on Aug. 30 in the Tate Student Center and Sept. 1 in the Ramsey Student Center, as a part of the Ramsey Palooza event. Both fairs will provide students the chance to connect with more than 150 student organizations, while the Ramsey Palooza fair will feature laser tag and other athletic events as well. The final event is BeWellUGA Fest on Sept. 7, introducing students to both student organizations and resources devoted to wellbeing.
GPB
How researchers are getting farmers to talk about mental health
By: Riley Bunch
Christina Proctor spent many hours during her childhood on the front porches of neighborhood farms in Madison County. She had a rough upbringing, she said, and lived in a house scarred by substance abuse. “But we lived on this road that was surrounded by farmers,” Proctor recalled. “So if anything was going on in my house, I would walk across the street and sit on my neighbor’s front porch, who was a farmer, just to get away from it all.” Now a clinical assistant professor at the University of Georgia studying rural substance abuse and mental health, she’s revisiting Georgia’s agriculture community for a different reason: to get the farmers she relied on for support to talk about their own mental health challenges. Proctor and her team spent time conducting in-depth interviews with 15 farmers across 10 counties. It’s a task that, initially, some questioned whether it could be done.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Benefit planned for family of slain teen who was to start college this week
By Alexis Stevens
Anna Jones, 18, was shot to death July 30 in Carrollton
Anna Lynn Jones was scheduled to start classes Wednesday at the University of West Georgia. Instead, supporters are planning a fundraiser to benefit her family after the 18-year-old shot to death. A since-fired instructor at the university she would have attended faces murder and other charges.
WRDW
Competition from other states increasing pressure on Georgia’s film industry
New Jersey, Louisiana, New Mexico among states vying for Georgia’s productions | First in our series on Georgia’s film industry
By Rachel Polansky and Tim Darnell
A number of states have Georgia on their minds when it comes to attracting film companies operating in the Peach State – away from us and over to them. But those on the Atlanta film scene say Georgia is and will continue to be a top filming destination. “I don’t want to diss on other southern states but I think as an overall package, we really have everything and our incentives are a huge part of that,” Atlanta Film Society’s Linda Burns told CBS46. Georgia has been working to entice TV and movie producers since 2005 – when former Governor Sonny Perdue signed a generous tax incentive program. Since then, the tax credit for production companies has only increased – now up to 20% with an extra 10% if the film includes the “Made in Georgia” logo in their credits. …As Hollywood film costs began soaring in the 1990s, other nations began passing tax credits to lure film companies outside the U.S. Hollywood and the Motion Picture Association began lobbying Congress to provide financial incentives to spur domestic film production. In 2004, as part of the American Jobs Creation Act, Congress included an addendum that provided immediate tax write-offs for domestic film production. That spurred states such as Georgia to provide their own tax incentive programs. The Georgia Entertainment Industry Investment Act was passed by the General Assembly in 2005 and signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue. It provided a 10% tax credit for production companies that spent money in the state. Three years later, that tax credit was increased to 20%, and an additional 10% was tacked on for any film that included the “Made in Georgia” logo in its end credits.
Higher Education News:
Bloomberg
College Endowments Post Biggest Losses Since Financial Crisis
Results contrast sharply with last year’s gain of 27%
Larger funds showed increases of 0.9% for year ended in June
ByJanet Lorin
Investments in US college endowments declined the most since the global financial crisis, owing in part to double-digit losses in US equity markets. Endowments lost a median 10.2% before fees for the 12 months through June, according to data to be published Tuesday by Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service. The largest funds — those with assets of more than $500 million — fared substantially better, with a slight gain of 0.9%. Larger endowments tend to invest more in alternatives such as private equity funds, which offered a buffer against the equity-market losses, while smaller ones rely more heavily on US stocks. The S&P 500 declined by 12% for the period. That left smaller endowments in particular with nowhere to hide, although commodities and private equity offered some relief, said Mike Rush, a senior vice president at Wilshire.
Inside Higher Ed
The Status of Federal Student Aid Programs
A National Association of Financial Aid Administrators report shows the most recent data available on major federal student aid programs.
By Meghan Brink
The National Association of Financial Aid Administrators compiles an annual report of the latest data on major federal student aid programs. The new National Student Aid Profile provides an overview of how federal student aid programs are being allocated, how much the federal government is spending on these programs, and how much each student is receiving depending on their income level. The federal government currently offers seven main student aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. This includes direct aid programs such as the Pell Grant, the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, and Federal Work-Study as well as student loan programs like the Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Graduate PLUS Loans, and Parent PLUS Loans. The report is based on the most recent data from the Education Department.
AP News
‘I didn’t really learn anything’: COVID grads face college
By Collin Binkley
…Across the country, there are countless others like him. Hundreds of thousands of recent graduates are heading to college this fall after spending more than half their high school careers dealing with the upheaval of a pandemic. They endured a jarring transition to online learning, the strains from teacher shortages and profound disruptions to their home lives. And many are believed to be significantly behind academically. Colleges could see a surge in students unprepared for the demands of college-level work, education experts say. Starting a step behind can raise the risk of dropping out. And that can hurt everything from a person’s long-term earnings to the health of the country’s workforce. The extent of the problem became apparent to Allison Wagner as she reviewed applications for All-In Milwaukee, a scholarship program that provides financial aid and college counseling to low-income students, including Hope.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
‘An Assassination of Our Careers’
How faculty layoffs have forever changed the University of Akron.
By Wyatt Myskow
Angela Bilia made $18,000 last year as an adjunct at the University of Akron. She once made more — triple, in fact — doing nearly the exact same job. In the early months of the pandemic, the Ohio university laid off close to 100 faculty members, including Bilia. But the service Bilia had provided to the university — teaching “the bread and butter courses” of the English department for over 15 years — was still needed. So the university hired her back as an adjunct. “For people like me,” she said, “it was like an assassination of our careers.” Before the layoffs, Akron had been struggling. From 2011 to 2020, undergraduate enrollment dropped nearly 40 percent. “The sky has been falling,” one professor said. Discussion of faculty cuts over time was already underway. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, in the spring of 2020, everything changed. And layoffs were needed sooner. When the university announced the cuts, the then president of the faculty union called it a “bloodbath.” Since then, similar cutbacks have followed elsewhere. Henderson State University, in Arkadelphia, Ark., laid off 67 faculty members after it declared a state of financial exigency; Ithaca College, in upstate New York, cut the full-time equivalent of 116 faculty positions. Akron’s leaders say the layoffs were necessary to protect the institution.
Higher Ed Dive
Here’s what colleges should know to prepare for monkeypox
Health experts say institutions should work with groups that support gay and bisexual men, who are disproportionately contracting the virus.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Colleges have spent more than two years grappling with a public health crisis, the coronavirus, which disrupted the fabric of their operations and stretched their finances. Now they face another: the spread of monkeypox. The virus will almost assuredly not reach the same infection levels as COVID-19, as it’s not as transmissible. But the public is exhausted and disease-wary amid the lingering effects of the pandemic, and some campuses have already confirmed monkeypox diagnoses. Institutions will need to prepare for more potential cases as the fall term gets underway. We spoke with health experts about how colleges should plan for the coming academic year, message around monkeypox and understand the risk factors for their campuses.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
We Asked College Health Centers How They’ll Deal With Abortion Restrictions. They Aren’t Saying.
By Kelly Field
Ask a college health center how it’s planning to support students’ reproductive health this fall, and at most you’ll get a generic statement like this one, from the University of Oklahoma: “Our top focus is supporting the needs, aspirations and well-being of our students. While the university must and will comply with all applicable laws, we remain unwavering in our commitment to serve our students to the fullest extent possible.” Six weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, opening the door for states to ban abortion, and days before the start of the fall semester, most colleges in states with restrictive abortion laws aren’t making their plans public. From mid- to late July, The Chronicle called and emailed 50 campus health centers in states with strict limits on abortion to ask whether the ruling is reshaping their policies on contraception, abortion, leaves of absence, and prenatal care. Just over a dozen institutions responded, most with vague statements from the public-relations office. One referred a reporter to a list of services on the campus website; another said the health center was awaiting direction from legal counsel and senior administration. Only three agreed to interviews.
Inside Higher Ed
Removing Hurdles for Religious College Athletes
New state laws are ensuring college and school athletes are allowed to wear clothing with religious significance along with their team uniforms.
By Sara Weissman
A new law went into effect in Maryland this summer permitting college and school athletes to wear articles of clothing with religious significance while playing, or to make changes to their uniforms in line with their religious ideals. The Inclusive Athletic Attire Act, requires the governing bodies of public colleges and universities, community college boards of trustees and the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association to allow athletes to “modify an athletic or team uniform to make the attire more modest to conform to the requirements or preferences of the student athlete’s religion or culture.” This means athletes can now wear head coverings, such as a kippah, hijab or turban, or wear additional clothing such as undershirts or leggings for religious reasons.
CNBC
Jessica Dickler
KEY POINTS
President Joe Biden is expected to make a decision on federal student loan forgiveness this month. Meanwhile, tuition keeps going up, due, in part, to inflation and other pressures. We need to make colleges more affordable, says Temple University President Jason Wingard. Otherwise, “students are going to stop considering higher education as a viable choice, as a valuable choice.”
Higher Ed Dive
Bill to rework Veterans Affairs 85-15 rule reporting passes Senate
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
A bipartisan bill that would rework parts of the 85-15 rule, a federal law meant to ensure veterans enroll in quality college programs, passed the U.S. Senate last week. The 85-15 rule forbids students from using Department of Veterans Affairs benefits to pay for programs in which more than 85% of students enrolled receive GI Bill benefits or other VA aid. The statute exempts colleges with low shares of veterans enrolled. But proving institutions qualify for the exemption has become tricky, and the new bill means to streamline the process.