University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: 33 more coronavirus deaths bring Georgia’s toll to 412; cases reach 10,885
By Chelsea Prince and Zachary Hansen 4/9/2020
UPDATE [7 p.m.]: Georgia’s coronavirus death toll has risen by 33 since noon, bringing the state’s total number of victims to 412, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health. The DPH also recorded 319 additional cases of COVID-19, increasing the number of cases since the coronavirus pandemic entered Georgia to 10,885. Of those, 2,298 patients have been hospitalized at some point, which is 21.1% of all cases. Of the 77 counties to report at least one death from COVID-19, Dougherty remained the hardest hit with 66, followed by Fulton with 48 and Cobb with 32. Dougherty and Sumter tied for the most new deaths since noon with four, followed by Fulton, Cobb and Bartow with three each.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Georgia confirms 10,566 cases, 9 more deaths related to coronavirus
By Chelsea Prince 4/9/2020 a.m.
Georgia has confirmed more than 350 cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of cases to 10,566 Thursday. The latest figures from the state Department of Public Health are an increase of about 3% from the 10,204 verified cases reported late Wednesday. Health officials also reported nine more deaths related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel virus. A total of 379 Georgians have died as a result of the virus since the outbreak began, and 2,159 have been hospitalized across the state.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
University System of Georgia will have no tuition increase for 2020-2021 academic year
The University System of Georgia’s board of regents announced Thursday that they will meet April 14 and be asked to approve a recommendation of no tuition increase for the 2020-2021 academic year. If approved, students will pay the same tuition rates at all 26 USG institutions for the 2020-2021 academic year as they do now for the current 2019-2020 academic year. “One of the University System of Georgia’s top priorities is affordability, and that has never been more important than now for our students and their families,” USG Chancellor Steve Wrigley said. in a news release. “We are all trying to navigate an extraordinary time. It is more critical than ever for our institutions to provide a quality education while maintaining the affordability and accessibility that helps more Georgians attain a college degree and find success in the workforce.” If approved, the University System would have limited tuition increases among USG institutions to an average 0.9% annually for the past five years, well below the rate of inflation. This would be the third time in five years there has been no tuition increase across the University System.
WSAV
Board considers no tuition increase for Georgia Southern, Savannah State, others next year
Students at Georgia’s public colleges likely won’t see a tuition increase for the 2020-2021 academic year. Like many schools across the nation, the University System of Georgia (USG) has had to alter operations due to COVID-19. Classes, with very limited exceptions, have moved online. As a result, the USG Board of Regents is expected to meet Tuesday, April 14, and will be asked to approve a recommendation of no tuition increase. If approved, USG students will pay the same tuition rates at all 26 institutions — including Georgia Southern University, East Georgia State College and Savannah State University — for the upcoming academic year as they do now for 2019-2020. USG would have limited tuition increases among institutions to an average 0.9% annually for the past five years, well below the rate of inflation.
See also:
Gwinnett Daily Post
No tuition increase likely for University System of Georgia students next year
Athens Banner-Herald
No tuition increase likely for University System of Georgia students next year
Marietta Daily Journal
No tuition increase likely for University System of Georgia students next year
The Brunswick News
No tuition increase likely for University System of Georgia students next year
The Augusta Chronicle
Tuition increase unlikely for University System of Georgia students next year
WRDW
University System of Georgia announces no tuition increase for 2020-2021 academic year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia colleges getting stimulus grants for students hurt by COVID-19
By Maureen Downey
The federal government Thursday announced more than $6.28 billion will flow to U.S. colleges and universities to distribute cash grants to low-income college students experiencing hardships as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The grants are coming out of the nearly $31 billion Congress allocated to the U.S. Department of Education for students, K-12 schools, and higher education institutions under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. More than $300 million is bound for public and private campuses and technical colleges throughout Georgia, half of which must go to emergency student aid. Students can use the grants to cover course materials and technology as well as food, housing, health care, and childcare. Colleges and universities will determine which students will receive the cash grants. Allocations to campuses were determined largely on the number of full-time students who qualify for Pell Grants, which are based on family income. While $300 million appears a significant sum, Jennifer Lee, higher education policy analyst for the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute, said, “That money is going to help, but it is going to go fast.” These new federal dollars are not enough to avoid the financial cliff that could be awaiting colleges from a possible recession and deep funding cuts. “Anyone in the University System is not looking at that pot of money as a big free-for-all to just spend,” said Lee. “They are going to be conservative in spending as there is going to be tough decision-making ahead as they anticipate the state budget.”
WGAU
COVID pandemic leads to UGA, USG tuition freeze
By: Tim Bryant
With college and university campuses closed for the rest of the spring semester because of coronavirus, the state Board of Regents is indicating that there will likely be no tuition increases for fall semester at the University of Georgia or at other schools around the state.
From Maureen Downey, AJC…
The chief of the state’s university system is recommending a tuition freeze for the upcoming academic year at Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities.
Athens Banner-Herald
$23.7 million in stimulus funds slated for UGA
By Lee Shearer
The University of Georgia will get $23.7 million from the federal COVID-19 stimulus package, according to a database posted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. About $11.9 million of that is a minimum allocation for emergency financial aid grants to students. Athens Technical College will get about $2.9 million, including $1.5 million for emergency student aid. The news comes just as University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley announced that he will recommend no tuition increase for Georgia students next year. The Regents, the appointed body that oversees Georgia’s 26 public colleges and universities, met in cyberspace Thursday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
College student: Enlist faculty in fight for fairer grading during pandemic
By Maureen Downey
Georgia State University student wants peers across campuses to reach out to professors to modify grades
Dispirited public college students are losing faith the University System of Georgia will listen to their pleas for a pass/fail option as many struggle with the migration of 40,000 classes online. Students are still pressing for pass/fail through letters or petitions, including at Kennesaw State, the University of Georgia, Georgia Southern, Valdosta State, Georgia Tech, and the University of Georgia and Georgia State University law schools. While thousands have signed petitions and contacted the USG and their own colleges, Georgia continues to ignore the example of hundreds of campuses, including MIT, Duke, Harvard, Emory, Agnes Scott, Stanford and Princeton, that have created a pass/fail option. Except for a press statement insisting Georgia students will rise to the occasion, the USG, along with college presidents and faculty, are mostly avoiding public comment. The tack seems to be to wait out the student fervor.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rural students without Wi-Fi: We’re doing school work in Chick-fil-A parking lot
By Maureen Downey
College students struggling with internet access say Georgia needs a pass/fail option
Three University of Georgia students, Bryson Henriott, a freshman from the Vidalia area studying political science, Peyton Lee, a junior from Zebulon studying agribusiness, and Briana Hayes, a junior from Baxley studying health promotion, urge the University System of Georgia to embrace a pass/fail option. They say the lack of connectivity in the rural communities hampers their efforts and those of other rural students to keep up with online classes. The 2019 Miss University of Georgia, Hayes is president of RISE, Rural Students Igniting Success and Education. AJC reporter Arlinda Broady wrote this week about how students are stymied by the lack of reliable internet in rural areas. I am always delighted to share the views of rural students as their voices are often missing from higher education discussions in Georgia.
The Augusta Chronicle
75-year-old Augusta University student thankful for helping hand
By Will Cheney
Distant learning has been the standard for nearly a month in Georgia. It’s no different for Augusta University student Barb Card. Card, 75, is set to graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Studies. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned her and many others’ final semester upside down. Once the University System of Georgia announced on-campus learning would cease in March, she needed to complete her coursework at home. Enter Dr. Scott Wallace, the university’s dean for student life. Wallace said after the university closed campus operations, the school knew some students would need assistance completing their assignments through the end of the semester. Wallace gives credit to the university’s IT department, who located 50 extra laptops that students would be able to use during the remote learning period.
WGAU
UGA researchers study COVID impact on relationships
By: Tyler Wilkins
The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting the daily lives of people all around the world. But what about the ways they stay connected with loved ones? Richard Slatcher, the Gail M. Williamson Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, is working with two international colleagues to determine the psychological effects of a decrease in face-to-face communication with their “Love in the Time of COVID” project. (The name of the project is respectfully borrowed from the classic novel “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel García Márquez.)
CBS46
Georgia Tech creates makeshift ventilators to service two patients at once
Brittany Miller
Georgia Tech associate professor Shannon Yee is answering the desperate call for more medical equipment with a makeshift ventilator. The inexpensive ventilator relies on the resuscitation bags used for CPR. “We compress a bag periodically, however we do it in such a way that we could do two bags simultaneously, so each ventilator that we build can actually service two people,” said Yee. He told CBS46 the design is simple. “It really only has four main parts. It has a front plate, a back plate, center rack and then a motor and wiring harness that goes with that,” said Yee. “There’s an on/off switch, there’s a knob to control the respiration rate and then there’s a slider to control the title volume.” According to Yee, the ventilators won’t cost much to make.
Medical Xpress
Filtration engineers offer advice on do-it-yourself face masks
by John Toon
The continuing shortage of face masks and new recommendations on their use by the general public have led many individuals and organizations to make their own masks using available materials. While homemade protection as simple as scarves and bandanas can be helpful, there are ways to optimize the benefit of do-it-yourself personal protective equipment (PPE). “Our expectation is that frontline healthcare workers interacting with COVID-19 patients will use certified PPE,” said Ryan Lively, an associate professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “But for situations that don’t involve intimate and prolonged interactions with COVID-19 infected individuals, we believe that DIY cloth face masks combined with proper social distancing etiquette will help slow the spread of this virus.” While the underlying physics of filtration are complicated, Lively and colleagues believe that two or more layers of a tightly woven, knitted, or nonwoven fabric can provide at least a partial barrier to virus-containing droplets, which combined with social distancing, can reduce the likelihood of virus transmission.
Travel and Leisure
Delta Donates Over 200,000 Pounds of Leftover Food Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (Video)
“Efforts to identify and support organizations globally will be ongoing as we maneuver through these unprecedented times.”
By Alison Fox
Delta Air Lines has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of leftover food after the airline cut back on in-flight offerings due to the coronavirus. The more than 200,000 pounds of perishable and non-perishable food, which will be given to organizations including hospitals and food banks, comes from both items offered on board as well as in the Delta Sky Clubs. Last month, the airline limited service to just “essential food and beverage offerings,” in a way to reduce contact. …As part of this effort, the Atlanta-based airline said it was producing face shields for healthcare workers in conjunction with a non-profit affiliate of the Georgia Institute of Technology. The company said it would produce 2,000 shields for New York and an additional 4,000 for Atlanta-area hospitals.
WJHL
‘Faith Not Fear:’ Georgia couple makes and delivers crosses
By: Ashley Osborne
A Columbia County, Georgia couple is making and delivering crosses all over town. “Over the weekend, we did like everybody, we did yard work,” says Travis Rimmer who lives in Martinez. Travis and his wife Katrina Rimmer added more than just fresh mulch and new flowers to their yard last weekend. “We put a cross up, a pretty big one. She had posed it on Facebook,” Travis says while pointing to his wife. “I got to noticing comments from people needing crosses.” So Travis started building crosses with scraps of wood he already had at their house. …With the donations from Mulherin Lumber and Duckworth Development, the Rimmer’s made 270 crosses in 4 days. Many of the crosses, the Rimmer’s delivered themselves. …They delivered almost a dozen crosses to Irene Niven who is a nurse at Augusta University. Niven brought the crosses to other nurses she works with so they could put crosses in their yards as well.
WRDW
How local COVID-19 survivors can help save others’ lives
By Staff
If you’ve suffered with COVID-19 and recovered from it, a blood donation from you could save some lives, an Augusta plasma collection group says. The nonprofit Shepeard Community Blood Center is in need of plasma from donors who have fully recovered from a coronavirus infection. The antibodies in their plasma that can be used to treat extremely ill patients.
Melinda Woodell at Shepeard has seen two donors so far, but is in need of more. One of those donors was Steve Perry, a medical student at the Medical College of Georgia. “I just hope this treatment is effective for COVID-19 patients in critical condition like some of the initial studies describe,” he said. “Several students and MCG faculty got me reading more about convalescent plasma, and Shepeard should really be proud for participating with AUMC to make it happen here.”
MSN
I-TEAM: For some, COVID-19 isn’t the killer. An AU doctor says THEIR OWN BODY is.
Meredith Anderson
Some coronavirus patients crash — and crash hard — just when they appear to be on the mend. It could be the reason COVID-19 is killing some young people with no underlying health conditions. The good news is that Augusta University Health infectious disease expert Dr. Jose Vazquez says this only happens in about 5% of patients. The bad news? It’s catching those patients off guard because it hits seemingly out of nowhere and when the patient has already started to recover. You could call the coronavirus a perfect storm in how it’s been able to sweep the globe. Doctors at AU are about to study another storm, thought. It’s one that’s been silently brewing in some coronavirus patients.
Albany Herald
Albany State University unveils Golden RAM Guarantee
From Staff Reports
Albany State University is waiving the SAT and ACT scores and the application fee for first-year students applying for the summer and fall 2020 semesters. This adaption of the admissions process follows the cancellation of testing services by the College Board due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is authorized by the University System of Georgia. Students will still have to meet other established requirements for admissions. “Our promise to you is we will ensure continuity of instruction while ASU participates in online and remote instruction,” Albany State President Marion Ross said in a news release. “Campus leadership, faculty and staff are committed to each student’s academic success. That’s the Golden Ram Guarantee.”
WGXA
College students reveal why they’re still living on campus amid COVID-19 pandemic
by Nick Gibson
Colleges and universities have been closed for quite some time but some students at Middle Georgia State University are still at the school. Shalique Brown a senior biology major said she decided to stay on campus because of her job as a certified nursing assistant. “Being that my major is hands-on it’s been a little bit more difficult to figure out what’s going on,” said Brown.” I don’t get to be in a lab working with chemicals or working with experiments anymore.” She says working virtually for her major has been a huge transition. For Mariam Atombiloye a senior majoring in nursing from Nigeria, the option of going home is simply not there. …According to officials from MGSU there are approximately 50 students left on all three of their campuses for the remainder of the semester.
The Tifton Gazette
Abraham Baldwin Ag College to continue remote instruction
Instruction will continue to be delivered remotely at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the other 25 institutions in the University System of Georgia (USG) during the remainder of the spring semester and the summer term, with only limited exceptions, according to a press release. USG institutions, including ABAC, are tentatively planning to return to normal on-campus operations for the fall semester should guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Department of Public Health allow it, the release states. At this time, fall semester classes are scheduled to begin on Aug. 12 at ABAC.
Clayton News-Daily
Clayton State University waives GRE and GMAT admissions exams for 2020 applicants
From Staff Reports
Clayton State University waiving GRE and GMAT admissions exams for students applying to the summer and fall 2020 graduate programs. School officials said the university’s School of Graduate Studies made the decision to accommodate applicants affected by nationwide stay-at-home orders due to the spread of COVID-19. “Even as we navigate these unusual circumstances, the School of Graduate Studies is committed to helping our prospective graduate students continue their educational journeys,” said Dr. J. Celeste Walley-Jean, dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
Griffin Daily News
Students net college credits at Gordon with dual enrollment
By Katheryne Fields
In an accelerated three-year format, Hampton High School senior Kaylie Hatfield is on track to earn her high school diploma in addition to an Associate of Arts degree from Gordon State College this spring. Hatfield is one of nearly 500 dual enrollment students Gordon currently serves this spring semester, which includes courses at the McDonough Center, Griffin College and Career Academy and three private schools. Hatfield completed a majority of her coursework online and attended a few classes in Barnesville and at Gordon’s site in McDonough.
Times-Georgian
Stressed by the virus? Resources are available
BY Stephanie Allen
With stress and anxiety increasing due to the ongoing pandemic, medical professionals across Carroll County are offering resources for coping — including a new COVID-19 stress line. “When you don’t know what you’re facing, you don’t necessarily know how to prepare. The sense of helplessness is often the trigger for being overwhelmed,” said Dr. Kenneth Genova. Genova works at Tanner Health System in its Willowbrooke facilities and is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology. Genova said that when something is unfamiliar or unknown, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can trigger fear and anxiety. …For students attending the University of West Georgia, there is a phone and computer application available for free mental health services in a partnership with Sharpen, a mental health content, and technology company.
Tribune Ledger News
Parents, teachers adapt to online learning for special needs students
By Ross Williams Georgia Recorder
Brenda Page said she was thankful in mid-March when she learned Cherokee County Schools would shift from classrooms to online instruction. Her 16-year-old son, Christopher Yancy, has a heart murmur, making him more vulnerable to COVID-19. “I was very, very grateful to them, and then I started thinking, ‘Oh God, now I have to do it, I have to teach him,’” she said. “But he has a wonderful teacher, and he’s given us work, and Christopher is actually pretty excited about doing the work.” Christopher’s work looks a little different from most Georgia students’ assignments because he has Down syndrome. Christopher is in the special education program at River Ridge High School in Woodstock. His homework includes life skills, tasks like folding laundry, writing a resume and following a recipe. …Children with special needs often learn important lessons about socializing in school – how to make friends and get along with new people, said Sarah Hansen, a Georgia State University assistant professor who trains new special education teachers. Those are things you can’t learn from mom and dad, she said. …Page also said her son’s special education teacher, Derek Woodburn, has made studying from home easier with plenty of fun assignments and words of encouragement. Other Georgia parents said their kids are not getting that kind of support. Peyton Sowers is a happy, fun-loving kindergartner at North Columbus Elementary. She loves coloring, painting and building obstacle courses for her mom, University of West Georgia assistant professor Kelly Williams. Peyton was diagnosed with severe ADHD last summer. Until a few weeks ago, she stayed in the regular education classroom for most of the day, but worked with a special education teacher in a small group for language arts and math. Then came the coronavirus and the school shutdowns. “I try to homeschool her and teach my three college courses,” Williams said. “But we take a lot of breaks. Mostly because I know kids need breaks, also she specifically needs breaks because she doesn’t really sit still.” Williams said Peyton’s regular education teacher is sending frequent messages, and they’re working hard to complete all the assignments.
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Georgia Tech to name chair for late astronaut, graduate who walked on Moon
By David Allison – Editor
Georgia Tech is proposing to name a chair for a late graduate who became a famous Apollo astronaut and walked on the Moon. At today’s meeting of the University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents, regents are scheduled to hear a request from Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera to establish the John W. Young Chair, effective April 14. Tech says it has received a $2 million donation from anonymous donors to establish the chair in honor and memory of Young, who passed away in 2018. Young was a 1952 graduate of Tech’s Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, and went on to become a pioneering astronaut.
The Independent
Grand Island Public Schools announces GEAR UP director hire
By Austin Koeller
Grand Island Public Schools has announced the hiring of Allison Bailey as its new GEAR UP director. Bailey is currently an associate professor at the Institute for Environmental & Spatial Analysis within the University of North Georgia. She is also a University System of Georgia eCore faculty member. Bailey said she has been an educator for many years and has worked to secure additional funding to bring more opportunities to students.
Bryan County News
RHMS students win national agriculture honor
Richmond Hill Middle School’s global sustainable agriculture project, led by teachers Shelly Henry, Robert Hodgedon, Brandi Miller and Hilary Diebold Taft, recently won a $2,500 award from Corteva and the National Science Teaching Association. The award, “open to any K-12 science teacher who incorporates innovate agricultural science into their existing science curriculum,” according to a press release. …Community partners include the Richmond Hill Rotary Club, Preferred Materials, Inc., Rayonier, the Richmond Hill Garden Club, representatives from the Department of Natural Resources, representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services, Coastal Electric Cooperative, Coastal Wildscapes, Savannah Quarters Country Club, Lowes, Georgia Southern University
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
Emergency Money for Students Arriving Soon
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is making billions available for emergency grants to help students affected by campus closures. But colleges are still waiting for their help.
By Kery Murakami
The Education Department is beginning to disperse the $14 billion set aside for higher education in the stimulus package passed by Congress two weeks ago, beginning with $6 billion in funds for institutions to give students through emergency grants. In addition, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told reporters the department is working on releasing billions more in stimulus funds to help defray the costs to institutions of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The department on Thursday also released how much each institution will get based on a complex formula set by Congress that is weighted toward institutions that enroll the greatest number of low-income Pell Grant recipients. Arizona State University, for example, will get $63 million. However, DeVos didn’t answer a key question colleges have been asking: How exactly will they be allowed to use their share of the money?
The Chronicle of Higher Education
How Much Coronavirus Stimulus Money Will Your College Get? Take a Look
By Dan Bauman
The federal stimulus package enacted last month will send about $14 billion in grants directly to institutions of higher education. The law was passed as college leaders continued to grapple with the financial consequences of moving instruction online as well as the broader economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday the U.S. Department of Education released new information about how a majority of that money, or $12.5 billion, would be distributed across the sector. (The remaining share of the stimulus money will be directed to minority-serving institutions and smaller colleges.) Below is a sortable table showing how much of the $12.5 billion each college is in line to receive.
Inside Higher Ed
How Much Stimulus Will Your College Receive?
A searchable chart of how much each college can expect to receive.
By Rick Seltzer
The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday released how much each college and university will receive under the $14 billion set aside for higher education in the stimulus package Congress passed recently. Funding levels are based on a complex formula weighted toward institutions enrolling large numbers of students who qualify for Pell Grants. The chart below reflects data the department released. It can be searched to find how much any individual college or university is expected to receive. Or click on the headings to sort the data. Please note that the department excluded from this data institutions with no calculated allocation.
Inside Higher Ed
Using Stimulus Funds to Improve Credit Transfer
By Paul Fain
A new paper calls for the next federal stimulus to fund programs aimed at industry-valued skills, effectively creating a parallel higher education system with seamless credit transfer, the ability to pay for student learning outcomes and a competency-based system untethered from the credit hour. First-time college students who transfer to another institution lose 43 percent of their credits on average, which increases their time to degree, tuition costs, debt load and opportunity costs, write Michael B. Horn, co-founder and distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute and currently a principal consultant for Entangled Solutions, and Richard Price, a research fellow at the Christensen Institute. To create a parallel system with credit interoperability, Horn and Price said third-party organizations must take on the role of certifying learning. These third-party credentialing organizations would need to be able to offer standards that are specifiable, verifiable and predictable.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
by Katti Gray
In response to the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, more than 72% of college presidents expect to lay off employees, almost 55% project across-the-board budget cuts and almost 40% will likely cut research-and-development spending, according to a recent survey of higher education leaders’ priorities amid campus shutdowns. The survey, conducted by ABC Insights, along with the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the rpk Group, drew responses from 142 presidents from 77 private universities, 38 public ones and 27 community colleges. Researchers had sought responses from 285 college leaders. College presidents “are clearly planning to weather a storm,” wrote researchers.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Canceled and Altered Summer Programs Will Cost Colleges Hundreds of Millions
By Alexander C. Kafka
Last year, 427 students and 116 faculty and staff members, musicians, and interns from 38 states and 28 countries participated in the American Dance Festival at Duke University. Twenty-four dance companies and choreographers presented 66 performances. This year, the studios will be empty, the stages dark, as the storied summer festival, which dates to the 1930s, joins hundreds of other college summer programs canceled, or in some cases moved online, by the Covid-19 pandemic. Even with the online alternatives, the lost summer will cost colleges hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, industry experts say, before what’s shaping up to be an even more financially devastating fall. Most colleges run or host summer programs to supplement their budgets. The off-season revenue can account for up to 10 percent of annual income, said William G. Tierney, a professor emeritus of higher education at the University of Southern California. That money is all the more crucial in light of major budget shocks, drastic cuts in state support, battered endowment values, and a shaky fall-enrollment outlook from the pandemic and the recession it has all but certainly triggered. Add to that additional losses from canceled summer programs abroad.
Inside Higher Ed
Pandemic Forces Summer Classes to Move Online
Colleges announce shifts to their summer sessions and consider tuition discounts or fee waivers in some cases.
By Elizabeth Redden
A flurry of colleges has made the formal, if inevitable, announcements in the last 10 days that summer sessions — or at least the first scheduled sessions for those that have multiple summer start dates — will be online-only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For colleges that already had extensive online summer course offerings, the transition may be relatively smooth, but those that didn’t may face questions about quality and tuition pricing from skeptical students. Lucie Lapovsky, principal at Lapovsky Consulting and a former college president, said private college leaders she talks with are discussing incentives such as two-for-one course pricing or reduced tuition.
Inside Higher Ed
Sharp reductions in revenue and potential increases in expenses are spurring colleges to furlough or lay off employees while they wait for the coronavirus outbreak and the uncertainty it brings to subside.
By Emma Whitford
First came the hiring freezes. Now come the furloughs. Several colleges announced furloughs and layoffs this week and warned of potential additional staff reductions in the weeks to come. As colleges field unexpected expenses and lost revenue due to the coronavirus outbreak, paying employees — especially those who are unable to do their jobs remotely — is becoming more difficult. MaryAnn Baenninger, president of Drew University, announced via video message on Sunday that a group of about 70 employees would be furloughed through at least the end of May. A smaller group will be laid off permanently. Furloughed staff members were notified Monday. “I can’t guarantee that some of these furloughs won’t transition to permanent layoffs in the future,” Baenninger said in the video. According to the Drew website, furloughed employees will be updated by May 26 on the status of their furlough.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Faculty Members Fear Pandemic Will Weaken Their Ranks
By Megan Zahneis
The scenarios Christopher A. Makaroff was asking department chairs to consider were stark. Makaroff, dean of Miami University’s College of Arts and Science, recently sent a memo asking the college’s department chairs to revise their course schedules for the fall, as part of “contingency planning” to account for the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Among the possibilities Makaroff’s memo raised were a 20-percent drop in enrollment and teaching-load increases for faculty members. He also asked the chairs to create two schedules: one that included half as many visiting assistant professors as the department currently held, and one with no visiting assistant professors at all.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
6 Steps to Prepare for an Online Fall Semester
By John Villasenor
The profound changes to American higher education in recent weeks will pale in comparison to what will occur if the Covid-19 pandemic makes it impossible for colleges to resume campus-based education in the fall. Yet there has been little public discussion about what that might mean for students, their families, and colleges. That needs to change. Colleges need to lead an open and honest dialogue with their communities to plan for the possibility that it will not yet be safe by late August or early September for students to once again crowd dormitories and classrooms. Here are some steps colleges should take to help prepare for fall 2020 and beyond
Albany Herald
Big 12 commissioner has doubts about full college football season
Field Level Media
One day after Alabama head coach Nick Saban called for contingency plans for a late-starting college football season, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby shared deep concerns about the likelihood of a full season being played during the coronavirus pandemic. “We don’t know when somebody is going to tell us it’s going to be OK to go back to close contact,” Bowlsby told ESPN. “I suspect that medical experts and scientists are going to be slow to give the green light on that. The magic start date is probably a mirage. It may be different in some high-density populations and areas than it is in more remote areas. It could be certain parts of the country and not other parts of the country. I don’t think there’s just going to be a day when we turn it all on again. There has to be a reacclimation period because athletes aren’t training at the same level they had been accustomed to.” The Big 12 has closed facilities, and meetings are limited to teleconference and video conference between coaches and players.
Other News:
accessWDUN
Senators block new virus aid, Pelosi decries ‘stunt’
By The Associated Press
The Senate has twisted itself into knots over President Donald Trump’s new coronavirus aid request, as Democrats refused to rubber stamp his proposal for $250 billion more to boost small businesses, demanding modifications along with an additional $250 billion for health care providers and states. Republicans wouldn’t go along. The standoff Thursday doesn’t end the pursuit of more rescue funds, but it came as the government reported that 6.6 million more people filed for unemployment benefits last week, increasing worries that the economy is sliding toward a severe recession. The small business program at issue is off to a rocky rollout.
WABE
CDC Director: ‘Very Aggressive’ Contact Tracing Needed For U.S. To Return To Normal
Selena Simmons-Duffin, Rob Stein
It’s the question on everyone’s minds: What will it take for us to come out of this period of extreme social distancing and return to some semblance of normal life? It turns out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been working on a plan to allow the U.S. to safely begin to scale back those policies. CDC Director Robert Redfield spoke with NPR on Thursday, saying that the plan relies on not only ramped-up testing but “very aggressive” contact tracing of those who do test positive for the coronavirus, and a major scale-up of personnel to do the necessary work. Contact tracing is the process of finding and reaching out to the contacts of someone who tests positive for an infectious pathogen. Those contacts are then quarantined or monitored, and if any of them are also positive, the process is repeated with their contacts, and on and on, until the chain of transmission is halted. It’s a labor-intensive, time-consuming practice that for decades has been a fundamental public health tool for containing infectious diseases.
The Washington Post
Opinions
The ventilator shortage is here. The medication shortage is next.
By Joshua Resnick
Joshua Resnick is an emergency medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and a managing director at RA Capital Management, a Boston-based biotech investment fund. Picture this: You’re struggling to breathe. There’s a plastic tube down your throat, and it feels like you’re choking. Your body is in panic mode; your lungs are screaming that you aren’t getting enough air, that you’re dying right now, in agony. Alarm bells shriek as you fight against the ventilator and flail against the masked people trying to pin you down. Even though oxygen is flowing, you are suffocating because your fighting makes the ventilator ineffective. Then a nurse adjusts your medication and you dissolve back into relief. Now imagine if the medication pump were empty and the hospital were out of critical medications to refill it. This is the next nightmare we face in the covid-19 war.