New one-stop website helps students make decisions on college affordability, value
by Cindy Morley
Georgia students facing decisions about their future after high school now have a tool they can turn to. University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue this week unveiled ‘Georgia Degrees Pay’ – a new online portal that is designed to help students and their parents make decisions on college affordability and value. “As one of the best public university systems in the nation, the University System of Georgia is leading the nation in giving students, families and stakeholders in-depth access to data in a centralized, easy to use and transparent fashion,” Perdue said during this week’s Board of Regents meeting. “Georgia Degrees Pay puts helpful data about degree attainment, student success, costs and affordability at their fingertips, making it easier for them to decide how college can help them obtain greater prosperity and career growth.” The website has many unique features including a ‘future earnings tool’ which allows users to see the average earnings of USG graduates in Georgia after they receive their degree, as well as earnings for different majors, earnings by alumni from different institutions and a range of earnings by academic area for one, five and 10 years after graduation.
See also:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mailchimp giving Clayton State University $1 million in three-year deal
By Leon Stafford
Atlanta-based email marketing company Mailchimp is giving Clayton State University $1 million for a school program that gives students hands-on training in tech. The funding supports Launchpad, a program in the university’s College of Information & Mathematical Sciences. It increases Mailchimp’s prior partnership with Clayton State, which received $300,000 from the company for Launchpad in 2018. “Mailchimp has been engaged with Clayton State basically for a long time,” said Sheldon Cummings, the company’s COO and former chief diversity and inclusion officer of Intuit, which bought Mailchimp earlier this year. “And now with the Intuit acquisition of Mailchimp, this allows us to literally triple down onto our commitment.”
Statesboro Herald
Donors help GS reach record fundraising year
From staff reports
For the second year in a row, Georgia Southern University set a record for private fundraising, according to figures from the last fiscal year. Total cash, pledges and in-kind gifts to Georgia Southern amounted to $22,363,915 during Fiscal Year ‘22, which ended on June 30, 2022. That surpasses the total from the previous year, which was also a record at $17.8 million. The previous record was $16.2 million raised in fiscal year 2019. The Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation, in conjunction with the Department of Athletics, significantly helped the university’s overall total with its own record-setting fundraising numbers for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation raised a record $10.6 million in new pledges and gifts.
Tifton CEO
Dr. Tracy Brundage Begins Duties as President at ABAC
Staff Report
After moving 1,000 miles from Pennsylvania to Georgia and emerging from a week-long bout with Covid, Dr. Tracy Brundage is ready to settle into her role as president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. “ABAC is a special place,” Brundage said in a Wednesday morning press conference. “For me, I thought it was a perfect fit. I looked at ABAC’s situation and thought, here’s a train that’s moving. I want to get on board.” Brundage was scheduled to begin her duties as the ABAC president on Aug. 1, but Covid changed that plan. Her first full day at ABAC was on Monday. She brings to ABAC 30 years of experience in academic and operational leadership, strategic planning, and organizational development in both higher education and in the private sector. “We want to prepare these students who walk on our campus to be successful in relevant jobs,” Brundage said. “A quality education at an affordable price. That’s who we are.”
The Moultrie Observer
Regents approve two new bachelor’s degrees for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
Staff Reports
Building on some of its existing strengths, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will soon offer two new bachelor’s degree programs in Agricultural Technology Management and Criminal Justice. The programs were approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents during its meeting on Tuesday. The Agricultural Technology Management degree will prepare students for technical careers focused on problem solving, systems analysis, and management in the production, processing, or manufacturing of agricultural materials, according to a press release from the college. Students will combine an understanding of the agricultural, biological, and physical sciences with business, managerial, and technical skills. The Criminal Justice degree will be offered as a part of the USG’s eMajor initiative, and students will have the opportunity to complete the online Criminal Justice B.S. degree while selecting from one of three tracks: General track, Law Enforcement track, or Social Justice track. When the new degree programs begin, ABAC will have 14 bachelor’s degree programs across its four schools of study.
Americus Times-Recorder
Raphael Bostic, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will meet with students and faculty for a conversation on financial inclusion August 31 during a visit to Georgia State University arranged by the Georgia Fintech Academy of the University System of Georgia. “We’re honored to host President Bostic for a forum that not only discusses one of the most pressing topics in the fintech industry, but also the important role of the Federal Reserve,” said Tommy Marshall, executive director of the Georgia Fintech Academy. The event is open to the public and will include remarks by Bostic as well as a moderated discussion on the role of fintech in helping create racial equity and financial inclusion. Attendees will include in-person and virtual members of the Georgia Fintech Academy and Georgia State’s fintech communities, including researchers, students, and leaders from the university and the J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
WTOC
Savannah State University welcomes students for upcoming school year
By Sean Evans
Savannah State University’s Week of Welcome is underway. Over the course of the week, hundreds of new and transfer students come to campus for orientation, and to get their first taste of student life on campus. The director of student life on the campus of Savannah State University says this year will be a little different than the past couple years through the pandemic, where they had to do more virtual events. He says this year, welcoming back students, they’ll have more in-person. Still social distant, but he says that in-person experience makes all the difference.
Youth Villages
LIFESET HELPS ZEPHANIAH OVERCOME HOMELESSNESS BY ENROLLING IN COLLEGE
For many college students, the campus becomes like home. For LifeSet participant Zephaniah, college is literally providing him a home. Like thousands of college students across the country, Zephaniah recently started fall semester classes. Zephaniah, though, walked a different path to his college choice—Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) in Lawrenceville, Georgia—and he got there with a major boost from Youth Villages and LifeSet. Zephaniah joined LifeSet when he was 18 years old, joining his twin brother, Zachariah, in the program. Zachariah soon left LifeSet and joined the military, but Zephaniah needed the structure the program offered as he finished up high school and transitioned to college.
Savannah Business Journal
Savannah Business Journal Staff Report
Savannah State University (SSU) has named Yolanda W. Page, Ph.D., the new Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, effective Sept. 6. In this role, Page will serve as the chief academic officer for the university and will provide academic leadership, guidance, and resources between the academic and other units on campus to create an integrated student experience. As a strategic leader, Page will guide the academic direction of the university and foster a cohesive leadership team across all academic and administrative support units that reflect the university’s mission as an integral part of its overall intellectual commitment to teaching excellence and research.
Valdosta CEO
VSU Professor Describes Teaching Fellowship as Transformative Experience
Staff Report
Dr. Linda de la Garza returns to her classroom in Valdosta State University’s Hugh C. Bailey Science Center this fall with a renewed passion for teaching and a few new skills. The associate professor of chemistry says her transformation is due, in large part, to her recent participation in the annual Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program offered through the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program provides higher education faculty members from accredited public and private colleges and universities across Georgia with expanded opportunities for developing important teaching skills. It was established in 1995 by former Georgia Governor Zell Miller.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College men’s soccer earns preseason national ranking
From Staff Reports
The Georgia Gwinnett College men’s soccer team once again is ranked among the nation’s top NAIA teams, opening the 2022 season No. 23 in the Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced Wednesday, August 10, by the NAIA national office. This marks the 56th consecutive poll for GGC’s ranking in the national Top 25 list. That streak reaches back to November 1, 2016. The NAIA poll is conducted by a nationwide panel of coaches. The Grizzlies had a 9-6-1 record during a challenging 2021 schedule. They advanced to the NAIA Opening Round for the eighth time in program history. The team will play another tough schedule this fall with six teams featured in the NAIA Preseason Poll. GGC will host No. 2 University of Mobile (Ala.) on September 21 before travelling to defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Keiser University (Fla.) on September 28. A neutral-site match against No. 12 Bellevue University (Neb.) highlights the October schedule.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College women’s soccer picks up national poll votes
From Staff Reports
The Georgia Gwinnett College women’s soccer team is receiving votes from a nationwide panel of coaches compiling the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Poll. Results were announced Wednesday, August 10, by the NAIA national office. GGC is coming off a 2021 season which had a 11-7-1 record, a conference championship and an appearance in the NAIA Opening Round. This year’s Grizzlies, led by Head Coach Dr. Mike Giuliano, will get challenging tests in their first three matches against Top 25 opponents: The August 24 season opener at home against No. 18 SCAD Savannah; at No. 19 Truett-McConnell University on August 27; and No. 14 Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) on August 30. Four other matches will have GGC facing opponents listed in the NAIA preseason poll.
yahoo!life
Bond Denied For University Of West Georgia Professor Accused Of Murdering Student
Megan Ambers
A University of West Georgia professor has been charged with murder after shooting and killing a student following a heated argument. According to CNN, Richard Sigman was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and murder. An argument between Sigman and an unnamed man led to the fatal shooting of UWG student Anna Jones at an Italian restaurant. …Sigman has been denied bond and is currently held at Carroll County jail, awaiting his next court appearance on Sept. 2.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Following ACLU complaint, Fulton to host voting on college campuses
By Ben Brasch
Tens of thousands of college students in Fulton County — often tight on time, money and modes of transportation — will have an opportunity to vote on their campuses ahead of the November election. The Fulton County elections board on Thursday approved 36 early voting locations and times for college campus voting, following a call from students and a civil rights organization. The ACLU of Georgia earlier this month asked Fulton to provide on-campus early voting opportunities to college students after hearing from concerned students and administrators. Higher education institutions hosted early voting sites during in Fulton’s 2018 and 2020 elections. Alex Ames, a junior at Georgia Tech, is registered to vote at Ocee Elementary School because she’s originally from Johns Creek. The 20-year-old explained to board members during public comment that she doesn’t have a car and so would need to use “a chunk of her paycheck” for the hourlong Uber each way just to vote. That’s why having on-campus voting, she said, would expand access to voters. Those in opposition said the existing early voting locations are already empty most of the time.
The August Chronicle
Mold found: Days away from move in, Augusta University changes housing plan for students
Alexandra Koch
Over two dozen Augusta University students were told mold was found in their dorm rooms before move-in day. The buildings’ manager, Corvias Campus Living, has been criticized in the past for its inadequate maintenance and cleaning. Around 30 students who were assigned to move into Oak and Elm halls were “given the option to remain at their current residence or to stay at the Augusta Marriott at no charge to them until a delayed residence hall move-in on (Aug. 13),” according to a statement from Augusta University. Oak Hall houses freshmen and Elm Hall serves as a residence for graduate and medical students. “Over the past few weeks, the Augusta area has experienced high heat and humidity,” according to the statement. “Those conditions, along with an impaired HVAC system, created an environment in which common mold growth was detected in some rooms in Oak and Elm halls.”
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CDC drops quarantine, screening, 6 feet spacing recommendations for COVID
By Mike Stobbe and Collin Binkley, Associated Press
Nation’s top public health agency relaxing coronavirus rules, dropping guideline for Americans to quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person
The nation’s top public health agency relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines Thursday, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others. The changes, which come more than 2½ years after the start of the pandemic, are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said. …The CDC recommendations apply to everyone in the U.S., but the changes could be particularly important for schools, which resume classes this month in many parts of the country.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Colleges increase staff for event planning, tutoring as in-person focus returns, report finds
Laura Spitalniak, Associate Editor
Dive Brief:
Colleges dramatically increased the number of event-planning and tutoring staff positions in 2021-22 as higher education recovers from the pandemic, according to a new report from the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, CUPA-HR. The role of “event planning assistant” saw the most growth among professional and staff positions, a 193% increase from the previous year. Tutoring roles also more than doubled, up 114% from the previous year. Tenure-track faculty saw a calmer year by comparison, with less position fluctuation. The number of jobs in library science went up 8.4%, and positions in the liberal arts and sciences grew 7%. On the flip side, the fields of communications technologies and agriculture lost positions, down 22% and 9% respectively.
Inside Higher Ed
Gen Z’s Distrust in Higher Ed a ‘Red Flag’
A new survey report concludes that younger generations are less likely to trust higher education and that college and university administrators will have to work harder to earn their trust.
By Katherine Knott
Trust in U.S. colleges and universities by young adults needs to be earned and not taken for granted, according to a recent survey that measured public trust in higher education. About 35 percent of adult members of Generation Z surveyed said they tended not to trust higher education while 41 percent said they tended to trust colleges and universities. Among the four generation groups surveyed by Morning Consult, a research technology company, those ages 18-25 who are among the Generation Z cohort were the least likely to trust higher education. “This clearly signals a red flag for higher education,” said Rahul Choudaha, author of the report and managing director of higher education research at Morning Consult. “They cannot be resting on their laurels, … but they have to work more purposefully and intentionally to see why there are trust concerns among Gen Z and how they can overcome that.”
Inside Higher Ed
NACUBO President and CEO to Retire
Josh Moody
Susan Whealler Johnston, president and CEO of the National Association of College and University Business Officers since 2018, is retiring after four years at the helm. NACUBO made the announcement on Monday, citing a string of successes during Johnston’s time in the role. Under her leadership, NACUBO increased membership, established a consulting group, won a $3.8 million grant last year to help support underserved students and created the Emerging Leaders Program, which focuses on professional development and training.
Inside Higher Ed
Cardona’s Vision for Higher Ed
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is calling on colleges to change how they approach student success. He unveiled a new grant program for minority-serving institutions and flamed elite universities.
By Meghan Brink
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has a demand: “We need a culture change in higher education now.” In a speech made at a conference attended by university and college presidents and other leaders in higher education on Thursday, Cardona said that elite rankings are a “joke” and that more attention needs to be focused on the institutions that serve the nation’s less-affluent students. “It’s a cruel irony that institutions that serve the most students with the most to gain from a college degree have the fewest resources to invest in student success,” he said. Of elite universities, Cardona said, “You compete for the most affluent students by luring them in with generous aid because the most well-prepared students have the best SAT scores and graduate on time. You seek favor from your peers from other elite schools with expensive dinners and lavish events because their opinions carry clout in surveys. And you invest in the best campus experiences that money can buy because the more graduates that become donors, the more points you score.” In order to change this, he said that leaders in higher education need to “embrace a new vision of college excellence,” which involves creating spaces and resources that are inclusive and meet the needs of underrepresented students.
See also:
The Chronicle of Higher Education
College Rankings Are ‘a Joke,’ Education Secretary Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education
What It Takes to Transform a Hotel Into a College Dorm
By Marcela Rodrigues-Sherley
This fall, 200 Florida Atlantic University students will be living in hotel rooms. The arrangement isn’t new — the Boca Raton campus has for several years put up students in hotels when it ran out of on-campus housing — but this year’s number is a record high. Rent prices in Palm Beach County, where Florida Atlantic is located, have gone up by 32.3 percent, since 2019, pricing the average off-campus apartment at more than $2,100 per month. That’s driven up demand for on-campus housing, which costs $8,410 for the academic year. But with first-year students also enrolling in record-high numbers, the campus housing shortage has only worsened. Florida Atlantic’s predicament has become increasingly common this year, and so has the solution: turning to hotels for additional beds. Other universities that will house students in hotels this fall include North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and Tennessee State University. But assigning students to hotel rooms is logistically complicated and can be expensive. Colleges often absorb the cost of leasing the rooms, providing transportation to campus, and sometimes even equipping the rooms with dorm furniture.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Opinion – A New Vision for College Excellence
Upward mobility should be the rule, not the exception.
By Miguel Cardona (Miguel Cardona is the U.S. secretary of education)
A college degree can change the trajectory of a student’s life. I should know. I grew up in a working-class community. I was the first in my family to attend college, thanks in large part to financial aid and access to a public university. While in college, a voice in my head sometimes questioned if I really belonged, but I had mentors and family members who encouraged me. And on graduation day, my diploma felt weightier than a rolled-up piece of paper. It was as if all the sacrifices of my parents and grandparents were wrapped inside it — especially my grandfather, who moved with my grandmother to Connecticut from Puerto Rico, where he had cut sugar cane, to seek better opportunities for future generations of Cardonas. Ultimately, even though I never would have envisioned it during college, my degree prepared me to be the leader I am today, serving in President Biden’s cabinet.
Inside Higher Ed
Rethinking the Role of Student Adviser
While not in a position to offer the therapeutic counseling traditionally used to mitigate student stress and anxiety, they can still implement various strategies to help, writes James R. Wickes.
By James R. Wickes
Today’s college students are experiencing increasing and nearly debilitating levels of stress and anxiety, at least according to an Ohio State University survey. The survey asked students about their levels of anxiety, depression and burnout, all of which increased since August of 2020. It also asked them about their coping mechanisms, which included eating unhealthy foods, use of alcohol, use of tobacco or vaping, and seeking help from a mental health counselor — each of which also increased over the same period. Students also reported that their physical activity had declined as a way to deal with stress. That is alarming, particularly because we see few signs, if any, that things are going to improve for students in the coming years. College (and everything else, for that matter) is getting more expensive, not less. Jobs are requiring more education, not less. Supporting oneself while pursuing a degree requires more hours of work, not less. And all that has been occurring in the context of a global pandemic and looming geopolitical and military conflict. These factors weigh heavily on students as they shoulder the already tremendous pressure of day-to-day hardships. What’s worse, students who attribute academic struggles to stress do considerably worse than students who do not, according to research by Patricia Frazier and her colleagues. Students are, unsurprisingly, thinking about how stressed they are, and it’s creating a feedback loop of anxiety and academic despair.
Higher Ed Dive
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Education will distribute $5 million in grants to colleges that enroll students from underserved communities to help improve their retention and completion rates. Eligible colleges, which include historically Black and minority-serving institutions, “are specifically invited” to use the money to support students close to graduating and to reengage those who may have dropped out temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Education Department said Thursday. Grantees will be eligible for up to $1 million in funding. The department also said it is prioritizing community colleges where enrollment declines during the health crisis have been the most severe.
WSAV
Bipartisan bill paves way for increased funding towards science programs at HBCUs
by: Brian Rea
Funding from the federal government will soon be on the way for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to bolster scientific programs. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, passed by the U.S. Senate and House, includes a piece of legislation introduced by Sen. Jon Ossoff to provide more funding for cybersecurity training at HBCUs and other minority-serving schools. “Cybersecurity is a key and growing field with a shortage of qualified workers,” Ossoff told News 3. “By some estimates, one of 20 unfilled jobs in the country are in cybersecurity. These are threats to our privacy as individuals and as families, these are threats to our economy especially the small businesses and critical infrastructure and these are threats to our national security.”