Marietta Daily Journal
University System of Georgia sets degree record in ’23
From staff reports
The overall number of degrees awarded by University System of Georgia institutions in FY 2023 increased by 1% over the previous fiscal year, reaching a new all-time high for the system of 75,228 degrees conferred. The number of degrees awarded has risen by 37.1% since USG joined the Complete College America program in 2011 and prioritized increasing degree completion in Georgia. Over the same period, system enrollment increased 5.2%, meaning the rate of awarding degrees continues to far outpace enrollment. “Our presidents, faculty and staff are focused not only on academics but student success, and that success is helping Georgia maintain its strong reputation as one of the best states in the nation to live and work in,” USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue said. “Coupled with recent data that show USG graduates will earn over $1 million more during their lifetimes than they would have without their college degree, we offer a good value to Georgians and will keep working to maintain that momentum.”
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The Augusta Chronicle
University System of Georgia looks to update core curriculum, puts forward budget proposal
Abraham Kenmore
The University System of Georgia is looking to streamline the core curriculum in hopes of making it more intuitive for students. Ashwani Monga, chief academic officer for USG, told a meeting of the Board of Regents on Friday that the system has core requirements that provide students with important baseline knowledge and allow for easy transfers between institutions. But the current core could use some improvements, he said. “(Students) just look at these areas as checkboxes, ‘I need to sign off, I’m done with A-1, I need to do A-2 as well,’ without ever thinking what this is doing for them,” Monga told the regents. The new system will include more intuitive names for the requirements and include information about the skills that students should be learning from core classes in the syllabus. It will also let some core classes count as pre-requisites for majors, allowing students to start on their chosen area of study earlier, and hopefully unify requirements to make transfers easier.
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The Augusta Chronicle
Augusta University President Brooks Keel to retire at the end of this academic year
Abraham Kenmore
Augusta University President Brooks Keel is retiring at the end of the current school year, the university announced on Friday. The announcement comes on the heels of major changes at Augusta University, including the finalization of the merger between AU Health and Wellstar, the expansion of the Medical College of Georgia with a four-year campus in Savannah and steady enrollment growth even as most of the University System of Georgia has seen declines. Keel also served as the acting CEO of AU Health.
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Marietta Daily Journal
KSU launches $62.3 million construction projects
By Joel Elliott
Two construction projects, costing a combined $62.3 million, will go forward at Kennesaw State University after the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia gave approval. Construction of a new, 600-bed residence hall on the Kennesaw campus will cost $50 million. Another $12.3 million will go toward renovating KSU’s Stillwell Stadium. As Kennesaw State’s enrollment has grown, so has the demand for on-campus housing. The new Summit II residence hall will be built adjacent to The Summit student housing, which opened in fall 2022. The addition of The Summit II will bring the university’s total number of residential communities to 11, with a total capacity of more than 6,500 beds across the Kennesaw and Marietta campuses.
Times-Georgian
UWG President, AD outline importance of D1 move
By Tucker Cole Sports
As the University of West Georgia announced next year’s transition to NCAA Division-I in the ASUN conference on Friday, University President Dr. Brendan Kelly and Athletic Director Jason Carmichael spoke to the Times-Georgian to clarify the financial advantages, the immediate need for the move, and the kinds of changes the community can expect to see. “In Division-II, we’ve maximized all of our revenue streams — corporate sponsorships, NCAA distributions, any of those things — so, we are about to greatly diversify and dramatically increase the revenue streams,” said President Kelly.
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13WMAZ
New partnership between UGA and FVSU could increase number of pharmacists in Central Georgia
This program allows Fort Valley State students to get a head start in the healthcare industry before transferring to UGA’s four-year pharmacy program.
Author: Simone Soublet
Fort Valley State University and the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy have partnered to help support students and future pharmacists with their 3+4 program. This program allows Fort Valley State students to get a head start in the healthcare industry before transferring to UGA’s four-year pharmacy program. Junior-year Fort Valley State students, in particular, who meet specific academic goals and successfully meet the admissions requirements get a guaranteed interview at UGA’s College of Pharmacy.
WJCL
Georgia Southern ROTC Cadets participate in 9/11 memorial stair climb
The stair climb on Monday morning was in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Emma Hamilton, Anchor/Reporter
Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Cadets took part in a 9/11 memorial stair climb Monday morning. It was in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The Cadets’ route through Paulson Stadium to replicate the 110 flights of stairs in the Twin Towers.
Albany Herald
GSW community gathers to remember fallen student
From staff reports
Hundreds of people from the Georgia Southwestern State University community whose lives had been touched by Jamal Floyd gathered in the Presidential Plaza to remember the GSW student who passed away last week. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, community and family members filled GSW’s Front Lawn to share their favorite memories of Floyd, enjoy a few laughs in between the tears and hug their neighbors. Floyd, a senior art major from Americus, was fondly remembered for his campus involvement and dedication to student and Greek Life.
Savannah Morning News
Higher Education: Common App makes applying to college less stressful, streamlines process
Joseph Schwartzburt
Data from the Social Security administration shows that attaining a college degree still increases one’s median lifetime earnings. Income is one thing. Debt is another. …College may not be the answer for every person coming out of high school. Some choose to enlist in the military. Others may pursue employment opportunities …For those high schoolers considering college, however, exploring the Common App can be an effective starting place. … Douglas Simmons, school counselor at Savannah Early College High School…said that he has been invited to many counselor-only events for colleges. He cited Georgia Tech University specifically. “They provided sample essays and we [counselors] were able to read them and to see if they were sound or not.” He also was able to share some of those essays with his students. …Also, events such as the Peach State Tour allow students to engage with college representatives. Peach State features Augusta University, Georgia State University, Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia.
Grice Connect
Georgia Southern’s Biodynamics and Human Performance Center aims to find out through a recent study of 75 ultramarathon runners if there is a such thing as “too much exercise.”
Is too much of a good thing actually a bad thing? That’s what researchers in Georgia Southern’s Biodynamics and Human Performance Center aim to find out through a recent study of 75 ultramarathon runners during the 50th anniversary of the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run (WSER) in California. The study focuses on the benefits of physical activity beyond the typical recommended amount by examining the cardiovascular effects of extreme exercise in the WSER, a 100-mile trail race through the Sierra Nevada mountains that climbs more than 18,000 feet and descends nearly 23,000 feet before runners reach the finish.
Times-Herald
Seventh Annual Georgia Film Festival brings independent cinema to Gainesville starting September 15
Jonathan Hickman
“We seek to showcase the best independent films made by filmmakers in Georgia and the Southeast, and this year’s lineup is our strongest eve,” Dr. Jeff Marker, CFT director and GFF co-executive director, said. …The Schools of Communications, Film & Theatre at the University of North Georgia presents the festival. And one of the most popular movie blocks programmed is the Nighthawk Shorts. That segment features several films produced by UNG students, many of whom are seeking a bachelor’s degree in film and digital media from the university.
Griffin Daily News
UGA Griffin’s ‘Scarecrows in the Garden’ returns in October
By Ashley Biles UGA Griffin
“Scarecrows in the Garden,” a local fall favorite community event, will return to the UGA Research and Education Garden on Oct. 2. The scarecrows will be placed throughout the picturesque setting of the garden, giving visitors a chance to stroll through the grounds to see the creations. The garden, located at 129 W. Ellis Road, will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with a special scarecrow celebration taking place Saturday, Oct. 21. Events are free and open to the public. The scarecrows on display are created each year by local businesses, organizations, groups and individuals and UGA Griffin is actively looking for more groups to be involved.
Campus Reform
Georgia public universities eliminate DEI requirements from hiring
Haika Mrema ’24 | Texas Campus Correspondent
The state of Georgia’s public university system eliminated its use of mandatory DEI statements in its hiring process in July. Georgia’s university system now prohibits all 26 of its schools from requiring applicants to submit any “political litmus tests or ideological oaths,” such as diversity-related personal statements, an “employee recruitment” policy states. A “general criteria for employment” document states that required employee training must not include diversity statements. The Board of Trustees found that ideological oaths clashed with its principles. This led to Chancellor Sonny Perdue updating the board policies in May to uphold principles of “academic freedom” and “freedom of expression,” the University System of Georgia told Campus Reform in an email.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
War on drugs tainted how schools treat Black kids, former UGA prof says
Get Schooled with Maureen Downey
A recruited athlete at a Southern college from an inner-city high school in New York state, Bettina Love discovered her teammates from middle-class families were not enrolled in any of her classes. While they studied biology, physics and journalism and dreamed of becoming doctors and broadcasters, Love was registered for outdoor recreation and first aid classes as part of a degree in recreation and leisure. When Love consulted her adviser about switching to an education major, his advice was succinct and brutal: “You are here to play basketball.” Love recoiled at this cynical assessment of her potential and followed the advice of her equally outraged athletic director from her high school and transferred. That decision ultimately led Love, now 44, to a doctorate in education from Georgia State University and a career as a scholar at the University of Georgia and now at Teachers College, Columbia University.
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Inside Higher Ed
University of Tennessee Guarantees Admission to Eligible Students
By Susan H. Greenberg
The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees voted Friday to guarantee admission to the flagship Knoxville campus for high school seniors who rank in the top 10 percent of their class or maintain a minimum 4.0 core grade point average, according to a system statement. UT regional campuses in Martin, Pulaski and Chattanooga go even further, ensuring admission to high school students who maintain a 3.2 GPA and score a minimum of 23 on the ACT or 1130 on the SAT.
Inside Higher Ed
New Academic Freedom Principles Open Door to Outside Intervention
The Princeton Principles—endorsed by a program and some professors at the university, but not Princeton itself—say off-campus actors “should become involved” in some instances.
By Ryan Quinn
It’s been nearly a decade since the development of the Chicago principles on campus free expression. In 2014, the University of Chicago’s then president and provost appointed the Committee on Freedom of Expression, a group of professors, to draft the document. Since then, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says more than 100 other higher education institutions and/or their faculties, starting with Princeton University in 2015, have endorsed either the Chicago principles or something substantially similar.
Inside Higher Ed
Florida AG Asked to Weigh In on Presidential Search
By Josh Moody
The Florida Board of Governors voted Friday to ask the state attorney general to weigh in on the Florida Atlantic University presidential search, which has been suspended for alleged anomalies. The board voted to seek a legal opinion on the use of a survey that sought demographic information about applicants, including questions on sexual orientation and gender identity. The voluntary survey was conducted by AGB Search, the firm hired to find FAU’s next president. Specifically, the board is asking the attorney general to weigh in on whether the use of the survey—which was not factored into the selection of finalists—failed to comply with state public records laws, according to a description of the agenda item in board documents.
Inside Higher Ed
For Selective Institutions, Progress and Backsliding on Socioeconomic Diversity
New York Times database shows some colleges have gained in socioeconomic diversity, but many have declined.
By Jessica Blake
Ten years ago, Washington University in St. Louis was among the least economically diverse selective colleges in the U.S. Only about 6 percent of first-year students were recipients of the Pell Grant, a federal, income-based form of financial aid. “I mean, we were the worst in the country,” Andrew D. Martin, current chancellor of the university, told Inside Higher Ed. So university leaders decided they needed to make a change. “My predecessor and his leadership team, along with the Board of Trustees, decided that this was something that we were going to work on very intentionally,” said Martin. “A university’s budget, in many respects, is a statement of its values and priorities, and so we began investing significant amounts of our own resources into financial aid.” The investment has paid off. Today, the proportion of low- and moderate-income first-year students at the midsize private research institution is up 10 percentage points, to 16 percent, according to The New York Times’ College Access Index, which the newspaper released Thursday.