University System News
The Tifton Gazette
Next Chapter: 200 students graduate ABAC
By Davis Cobb
More than 200 students said farewell to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, but in doing so, paved the way to the next chapter of their story. Students of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Stafford School of Business celebrated their graduation from ABAC Dec. 15, marking the finale to their college education and the beginning of a new era for each of them.
Reporter Newspapers and Atlanta Intown
Achieve Atlanta and partners increase college persistence and completion
By Clare S. Richie
Research by Georgia State University’s Georgia Policy Labs shows Achieve Atlanta Scholars who receive scholarships and support services persist in college at much higher rates than similar peers without those resources. The scholars are 11 percentage points more likely to continue from freshman fall to spring semester with similar results in subsequent semesters. The findings were most concentrated among scholars with 80-90 high school GPAs, many of whom were not eligible for Georgia’s merit-based HOPE and Zell Miller Scholarships.
WGAU
UNG gets grant for Upward Bound program
By Tim Bryant
There is grant money for the University of North Georgia, $1.4 million for UNG’s Upward Bound program. Money from the US Department of Education will help fund the program that partners with high schools in Gilmer and Hall counties, paying for students to visit various colleges and universities around the country.
The New York Times
Marion Smith, the World’s Most Prolific Cave Explorer, Dies at 80
By Clay Risen
Marion Smith, a relentless, irascible subterranean explorer who was believed to have visited more caves than anyone else in human history, died on Nov. 30 at his home in Rock Island, Tenn. He was 80. … It was also home to Mr. Smith, who grew up outside Atlanta and studied history at West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia). … Marion Otis Smith was born on Sept. 24, 1942, in Fairburn, Ga., the only child of Otis Smith, a farmer, and Bernice (Stephens) Smith, a homemaker. His parents later divorced, and he was mostly raised by his grandparents. After receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from West Georgia College, he entered the Army and served two years in South Korea. He was discharged in 1969.
WABE
Three Black women fought to desegregate Georgia State. Six decades later, the school honors them
By Jim Burress
More than a third of the 34,000 students enrolled at Georgia State University today are African American. Six decades ago, that figure was zero. The catalyst for that change came in 1959 when the NAACP won a federal lawsuit forcing Georgia State College of Business Administration, as GSU was known then, to admit Myra Payne Elliot, Barbara Pace Hunt and Iris Mae Welch–three African American women. More than a half-century later–after the publishing of a new book and mini-documentary about their pioneering efforts–Georgia State University will honor the 90-year-old Elliott this weekend with an honorary degree and confer posthumous degrees to the late Hunt and Welch.
Other News
WFDD
From states to federal agencies, TikTok faces bans on government-issued devices
TikTok is being targeted by governors and U.S. lawmakers who say the Chinese-owned company is a cybersecurity risk. On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill that would ban the wildly popular social media app from devices issued by federal agencies. And several governors have ordered their agencies not to use the app on state-issued devices. This week, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho and Utah joined four other states — Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska — in issuing such bans.
Higher Education News
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Staffing Woes Continue at Community Colleges, Stalling Their Pandemic Recovery
By Megan Zahneis
Community colleges are still struggling to recover from the “Great Resignation” that hit higher ed during the pandemic — with persistent staffing shortages directly affecting students’ experiences. The troubled state of community colleges’ work forces could compound enrollment challenges that are already wreaking havoc on institutional bottom lines, experts said. Two-year institutions saw a 13-percent reduction in total employee headcount between January 2020 and April 2022, EAB’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data found. Much of that dip occurred in the spring of 2021, at the same time four-year institutions began to slowly regain employees.
Diverse: Issues In Higher Education
HACU and FBI Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Increase Collaboration and Promote FBI Careers
By Arrman Kyaw
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the FBI have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), agreeing to encourage more collaboration. Per the agreement, the FBI will inform HACU about FBI internships, programs, and hiring opportunities open to college students and recent graduates.
Higher Ed Dive
Why one Ivy League university joined the move to ditch enrollment deposits
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Over the summer, Whitney Soule, a University of Pennsylvania vice provost and dean of admissions, began discussing with colleagues how the Ivy League institution manages students’ enrollment deposits. A mainstay of the college-selection ritual, enrollment deposits require admitted students to put down a few hundred dollars or less to signify their intent to enroll and lock in their seats for the coming term. … Mandated deposits help colleges map out their incoming classes — and thus their budgets — as students theoretically are less likely to renege on attending if they already contributed some cash. Students do back out, though, sometimes because they have pledged multiple deposits.… Soule said she remembers her summer conversations evolving into questions: Why are deposits still happening at Penn? Do we need them? The answer to the second question is apparently no. Penn will not ask for a deposit starting with students enrolling in fall 2023. Instead of fronting a $400 deposit, students will not pay anything toward tuition until their first-term bill arrives. Students also do not pay housing deposits. The move puts Penn’s practices in line with several of its Ivy League peers.
Higher Ed Dive
Is the era of college nonprofit conversions over?
By Natalie Schwartz
Earlier this month, Grand Canyon University, a Christian institution headquartered in Arizona with a large online footprint, lost a legal battle it was waging against the U.S. Department of Education. A few years earlier, the Education Department determined that it would consider the university a for-profit college for federal financial aid purposes — even though it had nonprofit standing with the IRS. … Because of the department’s move, Grand Canyon University must follow a stricter set of regulations than nonprofits do. Grand Canyon University asked the courts to reverse the Education Department’s decision, but a judge ruled that the agency has the power to determine whether a college is a nonprofit or for-profit. The case has major implications for the higher education sector, as Grand Canyon University is one of many for-profit colleges that have sought to convert to nonprofit status in recent years.
Inside Higher Ed
Remaining UC Strikers Reach Tentative Deal but Some Dissent
By Colleen Flaherty
The University of California system reached tentative contract agreements with two groups of workers who remain on strike, academic student employees and student researchers. The university previously reached agreements with postdoctoral scholars and academic researchers, ending their part in a major strike that began Nov. 14.
Inside Higher Ed
Faculty Groups Seek Ouster of Purdue NW Chancellor
By Scott Jaschik
Faculty groups are calling for the removal of Chancellor Thomas L. Keon of Purdue University Northwest for mocking Asian languages during a commencement speech. Keon has apologized for the “confusion, pain, and anger” caused by his remarks. But the executive committee of the Faculty Senate and the campus branch of the American Association of University Professor said the apology wasn’t enough.