University System News:
Augusta Chronicle
Wellstar agrees to spending nearly $800 million over next decade in AU Health merger
By Abraham Kenmore
The agreement on the merger between Augusta University Health System and Wellstar Health System into Wellstar MCG Health is finally public. The office of Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr received the notice on Friday, kicking off a legal review followed by a public hearing. This also means that the agreement is finalized and can be released to the public for the first time. The 89 documents included in the notice to the attorney general’s office offers in detail what the transfer will mean, including a cover letter outlining the highlights of the agreement.
Yahoo!Regent Cade Joiner set as featured speaker during May commencement at GHC
Well-known entrepreneur Cade Joiner is set to speak during the 11 a.m. commencement ceremony at Georgia Highlands College on May 11. Regent Joiner is also a member of the Board of Regents for the University System of Georgia. As a Georgia native, the highlight of Joiner’s career has been founding, growing and advising on more than a dozen different businesses in his home state. One year after earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Georgia in 2001, Joiner founded Shred-X Secure Document Destruction, now the largest independent shredding company in the Southeast. He is also a strategic partner at Brookwell Capital.
Jagwire
By Heather Henley
Augusta University announced today $1 million in federal funding secured by U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter to help support the recently established Medical College of Georgia Center for Telehealth. The funding will support Augusta University’s mission to improve health care access and outcomes for all Georgians, particularly those in rural and underserved areas of the state. The center will also train future physicians and prepare them to provide telehealth-related patient care.
WTOC11Medical College of Georgia could be expanding reach to Savannah
By Dal Cannady
Savannah and Georgia Southern could soon have a hand in training some of Georgia’s next medical doctors. It’s all about a partnership with the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta that would bring classes and programs to the Coastal Empire. Leaders from Augusta University and the Medical College of Georgia say an expanded presence in Savannah not only helps them but the region as well.
The Tifton Gazette
ABAC awarded $434K nursing grant
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has been awarded a $434,000 nursing grant from the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce, according to the Office of Sponsored Programs. ABAC is one of 16 schools awarded grants from the GBHCW. The end goal of the grants is to help combat the nursing and health care shortage by increasing the number of nurses graduating from qualified institutions, college officials said in a statement.
11Alive
Atlanta Metropolitan State College president and SGA president-elect on Atlanta & Company (video)
WUGA
Hunter-Gault named to American Academy of Arts & Sciences
University of Georgia alumna and award-winning journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault has been named to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist was one of eight members inducted into the Journalism, Media and Communications section of the honorary society.
TechXplore
Applying blockchain to digital advertising
The same technology that secures cryptocurrency systems could also protect users from invasive and predatory advertising, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Georgia. Many consumers don’t understand how their data is used in digital advertising. Which devices gather what information, how companies use that information and how to block certain ads can be a mystery. And on the other side of the coin, advertisers and publishers can face the negative impacts of ad fraud, ranging from unauthorized ads to bots that overtake ad traffic and divert profits. Blockchain can combat both of these challenges, researchers said.
Marietta Daily Journal
Kennesaw State University will host commencement ceremonies May 9-12 to recognize its nearly 4,000 graduates this spring. Undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students will be awarded degrees from Kennesaw State during eight ceremonies at the Convocation Center on the Kennesaw campus.
Other News:
GPB
Georgia to take over health insurance market under new law
Georgia’s state government will for the first time run its own marketplace for individual health insurance under a law that Gov. Brian Kemp signed Tuesday. The Republican governor said during a ceremony at the state Capitol that the law would create a better way of people “knowing and comparing their health care insurance options” and bring “further competition to the field.” “Georgians know their needs and those of their families best,” he said. The law is one of three big changes that could affect hundreds of thousands of Georgians who get subsidized health insurance through the state and federal government.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed DiveCollege students still struggling to stay enrolled, Gallup research finds
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
More than 2 in 5 college students said they considered stopping out of their academic programs within a six-month period, according to a survey released Wednesday from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup. The organizations polled more than 6,000 students seeking a credential, as well as thousands of adults who either stopped out of college or never enrolled in the first place. Not only did 41% of students mull stopping out, but also those shares were higher for Black and Hispanic students — 43% and 52%, respectively.
Associated Press
‘Waste of time’: Community college transfers derail students
By Collin Binkley
First came the good news. After taking classes at a community college, Ricki Korba was admitted to California State University, Bakersfield, as a transfer student. But when she logged on to her student account, she got a gut punch: Most of her previous classes wouldn’t count. The university rejected most of her science classes, she was told, because they were deemed less rigorous than those at Bakersfield — even though some used the same textbooks. Several other courses were rejected because Korba exceeded a cap on how many credits can be transferred. Now Korba, a chemistry and music major, is retaking classes she already passed once. It will add a year to her studies, plus at least $20,000 in tuition and fees.
Higher Ed DiveHigher ed can help more young adults get good jobs by age 30, report finds
By Laura Spitalniak
If all eligible workers entered a bachelor’s degree program by the age of 22, roughly 765,000 more young adults would hold good jobs by age 30, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Georgetown researchers developed a policy simulation model that identified turning points in young adults’ lives that can elevate them to good jobs. Several of those focus on educational attainment, like starting a certificate or associate degree by age 22 or earning a bachelor’s degree by age 26 after previously working toward a certificate or associate degree.
Inside Higher Ed
By Liam Knox
At his semiannual State of the University address in March, West Virginia University president E. Gordon Gee gave a blunt assessment to a crowd of faculty, administrators, students and staff: WVU is too big—and its student body shrinking too fast—to operate sustainably. With enrollment rates eroding and costs skyrocketing, the university had to shed weight, he said. Programs and positions that served the most students effectively would be prioritized; the rest were up in the air.
The Chronicle of Higher EducationA professor at New College of Florida quits in dramatic fashion. Here’s why he felt he had to go.
By Tom Bartlett
Matthew Lepinski decided he’d had enough. At the very end of New College of Florida’s contentious Board of Trustees meeting last week, Lepinski, who is a board member, faculty chairman and an associate professor of computer science, announced that he was “very concerned about the direction that this board is going,” wished everyone luck, and resigned. Then he exited the room.