AP News
Tuition and fees will rise at Georgia public universities in fall 2024
By Jeff Amy
Students will pay more to attend Georgia’s public universities and colleges in the 2024-2025 academic year, with officials saying schools face rising costs and must charge more to maintain a quality education. …The typical student will still be paying less than in 2022, though. After that year, regents eliminated a fee that was charged on top of tuition, lowering costs at almost all institutions. University System Chief Fiscal Officer Tracey Cook told regents that universities are paying higher costs for items including technology, software, food, utilities and insurance, while they are also having to spend more on employee salaries. While state appropriations fund pay raises for most academic employees, universities must fund pay raises for most support employees out of their own funds.
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WSB-TV
All but 3 Georgia universities to continue waiver of test scores for enrollment, officials say
By WSBTV.com News Staff
With the exception of three institutions, the University System of Georgia announced it will continue to waive requirements for standardized testing scores to enroll in public colleges and universities. According to USG, 23 of the state’s 26 public colleges and universities will continue to waive requirements that students take the SAT or ACT, with the exceptions of the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Georgia and Georgia College & State University. The waiver will continue through the fall 2025, spring 2026 and summer 2026 semesters, according to state officials.
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James Magazine
Valdosta State wins inaugural debate series
by JMO Staff
The Valdosta State University debate team emerged victorious as the inaugural winner of the University System of Georgia’s (USG) Regents Cup Debate Series. The tournament was started with the idea of showing how students from different backgrounds can communicate and articulate from different perspectives in a persuasive, respectful way, with students from six USG institutions competing in front of judges that included former Gov. Nathan Deal. VSU took home the handcrafted wood trophy but the entire university system is a winner for promoting diverse and free speech. RISING…
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WSB Radio
ROI, to use a business term, means return on investments [about] kids’ college degrees … Bloomberg reporters Francesca Maglione and Paulina Cachero seriously crunched some numbers over the last few weeks … Paulina, what do you find? “So, the biggest finding that we had is when students are applying to college, I think any high school senior wants to enroll at the most prestigious schools…a lot of kids dream of going to the Ivy League, but most don’t get in. So, they’re left looking at a group of elite private colleges…when you look at the ROI calculations when you look at the data…and when you consider that you know, these elite private schools have tuition stretching past 90K a year, while public institutions are a fraction of the cost? You’re better off going to that public flagship school which actually gives you a better ROI than these really brand name institutions. … when you look at our data, the University of Georgia actually performed really well. The 10-year return on investment is $170,000…that’s significantly higher than the elite private institutions which offer a ROI of about $135,000.”
Savannah CEO
Leadership Southeast Georgia 2024 Continues In McIntosh, Liberty and Long Counties
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Leadership Southeast Georgia, the premier leadership development program for the 10-county coastal region, wrapped up a successful session focusing on rural health and public safety in McIntosh, Liberty, and Long Counties. The 29 dynamic leaders of the 2024 cohort – representing diverse sectors, civic groups, and communities – delved into critical issues facing the region. “Addressing rural health and public safety is crucial for our communities,” said Program Manager Kate Karwacki. “Through in-depth discussions and frontline presentations, participants identified opportunities for positive change.” …The Leadership Southeast Georgia 2024 overall program sponsors include Evans General Contractors, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Georgia Power, Georgia Southern University,…
Middle Georgia CEO
FVSU Classroom Named in Honor of Ronald K. Abe
Staff Report From Georgia CEO
Classroom 112, in the Alva Tabor Agriculture Building , has been named after Ronald K. Abe, Ph.D. Ronald K. Abe, Ph.D., was born into a lineage rich in tradition and honor. As the grandson of a samurai warrior, a deep sense of integrity and compassion was instilled in him from an early age. Raised in the vibrant community of Hilo, Hawaii, he was the youngest of six children, surrounded by love, laughter, and the cherished bonds of family. …Upon completing his studies, Cozy Ellison, Ph.D., a fellow KSU alum, offered Abe a teaching position at Fort Valley State College (FVSC). Abe’s visit to the campus and interview filled him with excitement and optimism. He joined as an associate professor of Animal Science, imparting knowledge in biology and ecology to eager students.
Gwinnett Daily Post
Georgia Gwinnett College helps students with FAFSA completion
From staff reports
One of the first things college-bound students need to do is complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. This helps students know how much federal aid eligibility they will have for their education. Georgia Gwinnett College has a team of financial aid professionals on campus to assist continuing and new students complete the newly revised form.
SeedQuest
Using University of Georgia robotics to help sort onions on Georgia farms
During the pandemic, labor problems became acute on many farms in Georgia and across the country. Farms once staffed by humans to bring produce from the field to stores for purchase were suddenly short-staffed, and the global supply chain was severely impacted. A team of researchers led by School of Computing Professor Prashant Doshi is designing collaborative robots to mitigate some of these potential challenges. Working with UGA’s Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center, a unit of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and A&M Farms in Lyons, Georgia, they have tested a robotic arm in the task of sorting fresh Vidalia onions from those suffering blemishes. Combining a robotic arm with cameras and an AI trained to recognize the good and bad produce, the system can pick up onions, view it, and sort the good from the bad.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How the cicada lifecycle works:
And how to tell the 13- or 17-year cicadas from the annual summer variety
Depending on the species, wingless nymph forms of cicadas can live underground feeding on the sap of tree roots for a year, 13 years or 17 years. When they emerge above ground they shed their exoskeletons, which are often found stuck on the sides of tree trunks, and insects take flight to the tops of trees. Males make courting sounds to attract females. After mating, the males soon die. The females lay their eggs under the bark of twigs on trees, then the moms die, too. Within a few days, tiny nymphs, each smaller than a grain of rice, emerge and fall to the ground. They burrow underground to begin a new cycle. If a cicada is above ground before June in Georgia, odds are it is a periodical cicada, according to Nancy Hicks, a professor of entomology with the University of Georgia.
Griffin Daily News
UWG hosts inaugural state agency Career Fair
By Julie Lineback UWG
The University of West Georgia recently hosted an inaugural event that brought together students and prospective employers from across the state and fostered a promising avenue for career growth. Organized by UWG’s Office of Career Services in partnership with the Department of Civic Engagement and Political Science, the university’s first-ever State Agency Career Fair represented a significant milestone in the institution’s commitment to empowering students with tangible pathways to success.
The Columbus Site
Written by Blake Blackmon
Carson McCullers’ literary stature continues to endure, and now with the new biography “Carson McCullers: a Life” by author Mary V. Dearborn we are offered a fuller perspective of the acclaimed author whose journey was cut short. The public is cordially invited to join the Georgia Center for the Book, in partnership with the Carson McCullers Center for Writers and Musicians at Columbus State University and the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries, for a very special evening with biographer Mary V. Dearborn as she discusses her latest triumph Carson McCullers – A Life.
Savannah CEO
HuxleyAnn Huefner
The Youth Ocean Conservation Summit (YOCS) has been a driving force in educating students of all ages about environmental conservation. The main goal of YOCS is simple: to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed to protect our oceans. …In 2014, Sean Russell, the founder of YOCS, spent a year at the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium in Savannah, Georgia, as part of UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s Marine Education Fellowship. During this time, Russell, with other Marine Education Fellows, laid the groundwork for Georgia’s first summit. Since then, the UGA Marine Education Center and Aquarium has been hosting the annual event, bringing new themes and workshops each year, tailored by the current cohort of Marine Education Fellows.
Lanier County News
GA Department of Juvenile Justice announces new Deputy Superintendent of School System
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is pleased to announce that Dr. Letunya Walker has been named Deputy Superintendent of the DJJ School System. …Dr. Walker is a 33-year veteran educator. She began her career with DJJ in 2003 as a teacher at the Milledgeville Youth Development Campus and most recently served as the assistant deputy superintendent. …Dr. Walker holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Middle Grades Education from Fort Valley State University…
Grice Connect
Join Shuman Farms and GS Athletics at Food Lion Statesboro to kick off Vidalia® Onion Season
Be the first in the country to purchase this spring’s Vidalia onions! To celebrate the start of the season, Shuman Farms will host an event at the Statesboro Food Lion on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 1pm in partnership with Georgia Southern University Athletics. The event will feature GSU cheerleaders and mascot to kick off the season in style. Customer giveaways will also take place.
The Augusta Chronicle
How many millions it cost to fix Stegeman Coliseum’s ceiling in time for basketball season
Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald
Fixing the ceiling of Stegeman Coliseum in time for the Georgia basketball season didn’t come cheap. The school shut down the venue in 2023 from March to October and cancelled scheduled events there to ensure the safety of those inside the now 60-year old arena after pieces of the ceiling fell in recent years. The Athens Banner-Herald received through an open records request from Georgia athletics how much it cost to repair the coliseum ceiling so it could be used this school year for men’s and women’s basketball games, volleyball matches, gymnastics meets and university events. Georgia produced seven invoices signed off by the University of Georgia’s Facilities Management and UGA athletics for work performed through Aug. 21 totaling $6,151,851.56, but the final figures will be substantially higher.
WSAV
Statesboro officer shot, airlifted after Copper Beech shooting
by: Eden Hodges, Emily Dietrich
A Statesboro Police officer was airlifted to the hospital after being shot in the line of duty Tuesday night. According to police chief Mike Broadhead, the officer, now identified as Joey DeLoach, was responding to a report of car break-ins at Copper Beech. When DeLoach confronted the suspect, Broadhead says the suspect started shooting at the officer. …DeLoach was wounded in his leg and had fragment wounds in his shoulder. An officer was able to rush in to put a tourniquet on the officer to control the bleeding. DeLoach’s doctor says the tourniquet likely saved his life. “Really, all and all for a horrible situation, great work done by our officers, by the Georgia Southern University Police Department and by the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office,” the chief said.
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Sticker prices increasingly fail to capture college costs, research finds
The current system for listing college costs hampers student decisions about where to attend, a Brookings Institution report contends.
Laura Spitalniak, Staff Reporter
Dive Brief:
Sticker prices are an “increasingly poor” indicator of how much students actually pay for college, according to recent research from The Brookings Institution. Those prices are an easy metric to track but they’re only paid by a small share of students — and even that share has been declining. In 2019-20, 26% of in-state public college students paid the full sticker price, down from 53% in 1995-96, the analysis found. At private nonprofits, the portion dropped from 29% to 16% during the same period. These sticker costs obscure the true cost of higher education and hinder researchers’ grasp of what students pay. “Understanding how much lower- and middle-income students pay is particularly important if we are seeking to improve college access,” said Phillip Levine, nonresident senior fellow at Brookings who conducted the analysis.
Higher Ed Dive
Education Department eyes widespread student debt relief in draft rules
The Biden administration hopes to finalize the proposals in time to start canceling debt this fall.
Natalie Schwartz, Senior Editor
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday released the first set of draft regulations aiming to provide widespread debt relief to certain groups of student loan borrowers, including those who owe more than their initial balance due to ballooning interest. The proposals would also offer relief to borrowers who have been making payments for over two decades and those who would be eligible for loan forgiveness under other agency programs but haven’t enrolled in them. And it would clear debts for borrowers who attended colleges that didn’t provide them with “sufficient financial value,” according to the department. The public will have 30 days to comment on the draft rules once they are published in the Federal Register, which is expected on Wednesday. The Education Department also plans to release a separate regulatory proposal in the coming months to provide debt relief to borrowers facing financial hardship.
Inside Higher Ed
Biden’s Latest Debt Relief Plan Now Open for Public Comment
By Katherine Knott
A week after previewing its plans to provide debt relief for 26 million Americans, the Biden administration is taking the next step this week to making it a reality. Today, the Education Department published the proposed regulations that will enable the debt relief on the Federal Register. The rules are open to public comment for the next 30 days. After that, Department staff must review and respond to every comment before issuing a final rule. Officials say they hope to finalize the rule—and start forgiving debts—this fall. The Biden plan has been in the works since the summer, when the Supreme Court struck down his first attempt at mass loan forgiveness for 43 million Americans. The new relief plan, which the administration believes will hold up against court challenges, will cost $147 billion over 10 years, according to the proposed regulations.
Inside Higher Ed
New Arizona Law Allows Students to Opt Out of Funding Certain Clubs
By Johanna Alonso
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a bill that will allow students at the state’s three public universities to opt not to have their student activity fees go toward certain student organizations, the Arizona Mirror reported. The bill was introduced by Republican representative Alexander Kolodin, who wanted Jewish students to have the option to keep their fees from supporting pro-Palestinian student organizations. Arizona State University students pay $35 for student organizations every semester, while Northern Arizona University students pay $23. At the University of Arizona, the new law will have no impact, as club funding is derived not from student fees but rather from the institution’s bookstore. Rowan Imran, a Palestinian-American activist who works with pro-Palestinian student groups in Arizona, argued that the law could have unintended consequences.
Inside Higher Ed
Settlement Shuts Down Bias Response Team at Oklahoma State University
The university has settled with a conservative advocacy group that claimed OSU’s harassment and anti-bias policies chilled the free speech rights of “politically conservative” students.
By Kathryn Palmer
Oklahoma State University must disband its Bias Incidents Response Team and rewrite its harassment policy, according to a settlement the university reached Monday with Speech First, a conservative free expression advocacy group that sued OSU in January 2023. The suit was part of Speech First’s ongoing campaign to challenge university bias reporting systems, which the organization’s website claims “favors students who easily take offense,” and therefore makes “political speech and satire” particularly vulnerable. “This is a major victory for OSU students, and we won’t stop until ALL students across the nation are able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to free speech,” Cherise Trump, executive director of Speech First, said in a press release Tuesday. “We have won a number of battles against colleges who knowingly violate students’ speech rights and will continue to do so.”
Inside Higher Ed
Long-Stalled Florida Atlantic Presidential Search Restarts
The institution’s initial hunt for a new leader was suspended in July over alleged anomalies. Now it’s back on, more than a year after it officially began.
By Josh Moody
Roughly 14 months after Florida Atlantic University began a presidential search—and nine months after it ended in failure—the effort to find a new leader is starting anew. At a meeting Tuesday, FAU’s Board of Trustees laid out plans for rebooting the search, which launched in January 2023 only to be derailed by alleged board missteps. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody determined that a straw poll used by search committee members to rank candidates anonymously to shrink the applicant pool violated the state Sunshine Law. Critics, however, have raised concerns that politics were at play; they argue that the search was called off largely because the board did not select GOP lawmaker Randy Fine as one of three finalists, despite Republican Governor Ron DeSantis allegedly telling Fine he was a lock for the job. Due to these alleged anomalies, the search has been suspended since July.
Higher Ed Dive
Tutor.com’s ownership by Chinese firm raises student data privacy concerns
Some officials are scrutinizing the online tutoring service’s ability to safeguard student data, but Tutor.com says there’s no threat to privacy.
Anna Merod, Reporter
State and federal officials are beginning to raise concerns over the use of Tutor.com in schools due to its ownership by China-based investment firm Primavera Capital Group. The pushback against the 24/7 on-demand tutoring and homework services provider has been particularly strong among Republican leaders. The Florida Department of Education, for instance, recently sent a letter to public K-12 and higher education leaders in the state flagging “potential issues” with Tutor.com given its Chinese ownership. The letter from Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said school districts, charters and state colleges “should not contract with companies that have ties to foreign countries of concern.” Diaz added that education leaders must guarantee their contracts are in line with state laws and regulations on student data protections.