Albany Herald
UGA retention, completion rates remain strong
By Mike Wooten UGA Today
The University of Georgia’s first-year retention rate rose to nearly 95% last year, reflecting several ongoing efforts to improve the academic environment and support students. Newly released data show the percentage of first-time freshmen who continue at UGA their second year rose to 94.6%, compared to 94.3% the year before. The university’s six-year completion rate held steady at 88%, matching the record high set last year. In addition, the four-year completion rate shows nearly three-quarters of UGA students graduate within four years.
Americus Times-Recorder
Georgia Southwestern named #1 Best RN to BSN Program in Georgia
By Chris Lewis
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) was ranked the #1 Best RN to BSN Program in Georgia by RNcareers.org, a leading nursing education resource. More than 1,700 nursing schools were evaluated to compile these merit-based rankings based on critical factors such as NCLEX passing rates, accreditation, program offerings, tuition and fees and school reputation. RN to BSN programs allow registered nurses (RNs) to advance their career, earn a higher salary, and assume more leadership and responsibility in the workplace by earning a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
41NBC
Middle Georgia State University receives recognition from Arbor Day Foundation
Middle Georgia State University (MGA) in Macon has once again received recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for its exceptional efforts in managing trees and educating students on environmental issues.
Fiona King
Middle Georgia State University (MGA) in Macon has once again received recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for its exceptional efforts in managing trees and educating students on environmental issues. This marks the 15th consecutive year MGA has been named a Tree Campus USA, making the school one of only two University System of Georgia institutions to achieve this distinction for at least 15 straight years. The Tree Campus USA program was founded by the Arbor Day Foundation to acknowledge colleges and universities that prioritize the management of trees and engage their students in beautification and environmental education.
WGAU Radio
UNG club allows students to invest
By Tim Bryant
University of North Georgia students are gaining real-world investment experience thanks to an infusion of $50,000 from the UNG Foundation. The Foundation receives and manages all charitable gifts and grants on behalf of and for the benefit of UNG. Most members of the Student Investment Club are in the Mike Cottrell College of Business, but the group welcomes students pursuing any degree.
Higher Ed Dive
7 higher education trends to watch in 2024
Colleges will likely grapple with continued consolidation, the rise of artificial intelligence and more attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion.
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Colleges haven’t had it easy as of late.
The year kicked off with the messy rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. The FAFSA came about three months later than usual, meaning institutions will be making financial aid offers on a truncated timeline. In statehouses and Congress, policymakers have been vocal about colleges’ costs, their diversity programming and their response to the latest Israel-Hamas war. …Pandemic-era federal relief money has also dried up, contributing to cost cutting at colleges nationwide. As Higher Ed Dive looks ahead on the economic and partisan forces shaping higher education, we anticipate these seven storylines will be worth watching in 2024. …Artificial Intelligence picks up pace…One big-name college, the Georgia Institute of Technology, posted a statement to its website describing AI as “powerful and valuable tolls” in undergraduate admissions.
The Georgia Virtue
Across the Southern border: How U.S. immigration policies affect agriculture
By Emily Cabrera (Emily Cabrera is a writer and public relations coordinator for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia)
For decades, economists have studied the impact of immigration on domestic labor markets. As a shortage of domestic farm labor has led to increased participation in the H-2A visa program, a brief look back at past immigration policies helps frame why migrants from Central and South America have largely been associated with filling necessary agricultural jobs in the U.S. Past immigration policies enacted to support U.S. agriculture Federal oversight of immigration began in the U.S. in 1891 when Congress established the Office of Immigration, according to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website. … Fast forward four decades, when the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1996. Often referred to simply as 287(g)s, the provision authorized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight, explained Genti Kostandini, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).
Savannah Morning News
Savannah metro saw “subdued growth” in Q3 of last year, recent GSU analysis shows.
Evan Lasseter
The Savannah metro economy finished quarter three with modest growth, a slight rebound from the previous quarter, according to the most recent Coastal Empire Economic Monitor by Georgia Southern University. The “subdued growth” last quarter was led by gains in regional employment, sustained port activity and electricity sales that reflect activity from the area’s residential, commercial and industrial sectors. The regional business index logged .1% growth in quarter three. “This represents a modest uptick as compared to the 1.3% rate of decline in the second quarter,” the monitor states.
The City Menus
UWG welcomes Dan Stephens as new CFO of University Foundations
The University of West Georgia has named a seasoned professional with 35 years of experience as the chief financial officer of the UWG Foundations and assistant vice president for university advancement. Dan Stephens began as the foundations’ CFO on Jan. 2, bringing a wealth of experience in financial leadership, particularly in the higher education sector, to the university. Stephens joins UWG from Illinois State University, where he most recently served as vice president for finance and planning.
Times-Georgian
UWG announces Kimberly Miller as Associate AD for Compliance
On Friday, the University of West Georgia Department of Athletics announced the addition of Dr. Kimberly Miller as UWG’s Associate Athletics Director for Compliance.
Grice Connect
Rent a Ride: Semesterly bike rentals begin for students on Monday
Ainslie Smith
Georgia Southern students have the opportunity to rent a bike for the semester at the Campus Cycle Release on Monday, January 8. For $30 students get a bike, a U-lock and regular maintenance for the entire semester. As part of Southern Adventures of Georgia Southern University, the Campus Cycle program provides students with an affordable, environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
Statesboro Herald
A Georgia Southern band not just for students
All in community invited to audition for the University Band
Ashlee Hooks Corbin
The Georgia Southern University Band is being re-imagined for the Spring 2024 semester by interim Director of Bands Dr. John Franklin to include members of the Statesboro and Bulloch County community. In fact, Franklin is inviting community members to placement auditions for the band on Monday to be held 7-8 p.m. in the Foy Annex on the Georgia Southern campus.
Grice Connect
Bulloch NAACP announces Martin Luther King Jr. weekend events
The theme for this year’s celebration is “THRIVE: In Movement. In Culture. In Community.”
The Bulloch County chapter of the NAACP has announced events for Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend, January 13-15, 2024. The theme for this year’s celebration is “THRIVE: In Movement. In Culture. In Community.”
Prayer Breakfast
The annual Bulloch NAACP Prayer Breakfast is Saturday, January, 13th, at 8:30 a.m. The breakfast will be held at The Williams Center on the campus of Georgia Southern University, and tickets are $25.00 per person.
Higher Education News:
The New York Times
Colleges have fled standardized tests, on the theory that they hurt diversity. That’s not what the research shows.
By David Leonhardt
After the Covid pandemic made it difficult for high school students to take the SAT and ACT, dozens of selective colleges dropped their requirement that applicants do so. Colleges described the move as temporary, but nearly all have since stuck to a test-optional policy. It reflects a backlash against standardized tests that began long before the pandemic, and many people have hailed the change as a victory for equity in higher education. Now, though, a growing number of experts and university administrators wonder whether the switch has been a mistake. Research has increasingly shown that standardized test scores contain real information, helping to predict college grades, chances of graduation and post-college success. Test scores are more reliable than high school grades, partly because of grade inflation in recent years. Without test scores, admissions officers sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between applicants who are likely to do well at elite colleges and those who are likely to struggle. …Applicants to the United States Military Academy, at West Point, must take one of the tests. So must applicants to top public universities in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
Inside Higher Ed
University of Utah Ends Diversity Statements in Hiring
By Susan H. Greenberg
The University of Utah will no longer use diversity statements in hiring, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The paper shared a screenshot of the email President Taylor Randall sent announcing the move to all university leaders involved in hiring new employees. “In light of recent statements made by elected leaders and directives from the Utah Board of Higher Education to eliminate diversity questions or statements used in hiring at Utah’s higher education institutions, all hiring units at the university should discontinue the use of any type of diversity statements or similar practices,” Randall’s message read.
Inside Higher Ed
Report Details Student Loan Servicing Errors
By Katherine Knott
Student loan borrowers have experienced billing errors and long waits to get hold of the companies managing their loans since payments restarted in October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a new report released Friday. “The resumption of student loan payments means that borrowers are making billions of dollars of payments each month,” CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “If student loan companies are cutting corners or sidestepping the law, this can pose serious risks to individuals and the economy.”
Higher Ed Dive
Fewer individuals donate to colleges following tax changes, research finds
Peer-reviewed research found private research universities saw the biggest decline in donor numbers.
By Lilah Burke
Dive Brief:
Trump-era changes to the U.S. tax code reduced the number of individuals donating to colleges, as well as the size of those individual donations, according to peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled the standard deduction, meaning that middle income taxpayers are less likely to see tax benefits from charitable giving. The change is likely to put pressure on institutions to raise tuition, said Jin Lee, co-author of the research and professor of educational foundations and leadership at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.