The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Should AI help Georgia students write college admissions essays?
While some schools stay quiet, others allow it for tasks such as brainstorming, editing
By Vanessa McCray
Thousands of high school seniors applying to one of the state’s most selective universities are tackling the same admissions essay question: “Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech?” The best writers will respond with authenticity, personality, a solid grasp of grammar and maybe a dash of wit. Some even will consult ChatGPT for help. And that’s just fine with Georgia Tech, to a point. The highly ranked public research school in Atlanta is among the first to issue guidance about how to use artificial intelligence as they write their essays. ChatGPT upended classrooms when it launched last fall, forcing professors to contend with a new cheating threat and figure out how to incorporate it into courses. Now, the disruption is pounding at the admissions office door.
The City Menus
Honor, Integrity and Respect: UWG Graduates Inaugural Class of Law Enforcement Cadets
By Julie Lineback
A first-of-its-kind police academy led by the University of West Georgia’s University College in partnership with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC) honored its first cohort recently, as 13 graduates celebrated completion of the program in a ceremony at UWG’s Townsend Center of the Performing Arts. Members of the inaugural Academic Law Enforcement Training Exchange (ALETE) class included UWG students and cadets from the Villa Rica Police Department, the Carrollton Police Department and the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. Upon completion, participants are deemed Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified officers, which is the basic qualification for anyone seeking to work in the field.
WGAU Radio
UNG kicks off new fall semester
By Clark Leonard, UNG
University of North Georgia President Michael Shannon and other university leaders welcomed students to campus at Nighthawk Kick-off events during the first week of classes. In addition to the university’s administrators, Student Government Association officers and other student group leaders spoke at the events. A celebration of the start of the 2023-24 academic year, Nighthawk Kick-off was held at UNG’s Gainesville and Dahlonega campuses on Aug. 21 and the Oconee Campus on Aug. 23. The Cumming Campus event is at noon on Aug. 28, and the Blue Ridge Campus event is set for noon on Aug. 30.
Athens Banner-Herald
Loran Smith: The return of students to UGA for fall semester gets personal
Loran Smith Columnist
With the semester system in place at most colleges across the country, incoming freshmen have now settled in, beginning a journey which should be enhanced by their campus experience. A negative circumstance will befall some along the way. That, unfortunately is life. But for the most part, most of the 6,200 incoming freshmen will look back on their UGA experience in the ensuing years as the greatest time of their lives. This advanced group was chosen from more than 43,500 applicants, and according to UGA Today is one of the “largest and most academically qualified groups in university history.” They boast an average GPA of 4.13, an average 30 ACT, and an average 1339 on the SAT. These Dawgs are smart.
WGAU Radio
GradFIRST inaugural year gets high marks from UGA students
By UGA Today
GradFIRST, a one-credit seminar for incoming University of Georgia graduate students, has had a successful inaugural year. Launched in fall semester 2022, this new program helps students transition to graduate school and supports their professional development. The program ensures that regardless of background or academic discipline, students have access to the resources and information to support their success at UGA and beyond. More than 1,300 newly enrolled graduate students attended more than 125 GradFIRST seminar courses offered in fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters.
Thomasville Times- Enterprise
TCCHS’ Jones and Moore share GHP experiences
By Teresa Williams Special to The Thomasville Times- Enterprise
It was a magical and eventful summer for Thomas County Central High School students Grayson Jones and Allyson “Ally” Moore. The current seniors, both 17, spent part of their summer vacation immersed in the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program. Held at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro this year, GHP gathered some of the brightest and most innovative youth minds for a month-long educational experience that surpassed the traditional classroom. “I don’t think there’s another word that sums it up quite like ‘magical,’” Jones said. “It’s not just the classes or the dances, but the small moments with friends that really make this program what it is. Even walking to the dining hall felt so special because you were constantly surrounded by like-minded people who understand you and everything you love.” Eventful is how Moore describes GHP.
Grice Connect
GS faculty team receives $1.1 million from FEMA to help firefighters prevent injuries
The team has collaborated with the Statesboro Fire Department to create an industry-leading integrated health approach to firefighter wellness.
Bridget Melton, Ed.D., professor in the Department of Health Sciences and Kinesiology at Georgia Southern University, is part of a team awarded $1.1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist with a study aimed to promote wellness in firefighters and first responders. Melton is collaborating with researchers at the University of Kentucky as part of a three-year study that builds on a decade of foundational work by Melton and the Tactical Athlete Initiative team in the Waters College of Health Professions, College of Education and the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health. The grant will help the researchers assist firefighters with injury mitigation, better work outcomes and reduction in financial burdens.
CBS44 South Georgia
Business expo held for Albany State University students
by Matthew Crumley
Albany Community, Incorporated and ACE Company for Entrepreneurs united to form a business expo for the students of Albany State University. “We want them to understand the resources that are available to small businesses, how to start a small business, how to create, how to scale,” said Thelma Johnson, CEO of ACE. A lot of small business owners are unaware of the opportunities and aid available to them in their own city.
The Augusta Chronicle
Saving your food: Cutting back on food waste can save you money and help the environment
Erica Van Buren
Whether you prefer to shop day by day or for the week, there are a number of different ways to cut back on food waste. Research shows that 119 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States each year. That equates to 130 billion meals and more than $408 billion in food thrown away each year. “It’s a very large percentage and it’s detrimental to the producers and, of course, for the consumer,” said Angelos Deltsidis, assistant professor in the postharvest physiology department of horticulture with the University of Georgia. “Very often people buy products that are perfectly good to be consumed and they end up throwing them out for various reasons.”
U.S. News & World Report
Shelter Dogs Vulnerable to Diseases Spread by Ticks, Mosquitoes
By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
Warming temperatures may be bringing a new risk for shelter dogs: the spread of tick- and mosquito-borne disease in a broader geographic area, according to a new study. …“This study shows us how important those preventive medications are,” said lead author Corinna Hazelrig, a current doctoral student at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. “Preventatives can be expensive, and some pet owners may not want to or be able to invest in them. However, these pathogens are common throughout the eastern United States, and the best management strategy for your pet’s health is to use preventive medications on a regular basis,” she said in a university news release. Researchers analyzed blood samples from 3,750 dogs from animal shelters in 19 states across the eastern United States to determine the prevalence of heartworm and three types of tick-borne bacteria.
Augusta CEO
Watch: ‘In the Wild’ Podcast Season 5 Premiere Explores Opioid Dangers
The fifth season of In the Wild, Augusta University’s official podcast, delves into the unsettling world of addiction and its extensive ramifications. Hosted by Augusta University alumnus Raysean Ricks, this podcast aims to engage listeners with insightful discussions on a range of topics. The season premiere episode features Marshall Bedder, MD, an associate professor and director of the Addiction Medicine Fellowship program at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Drawing from his wealth of expertise and direct involvement in the field, Bedder initiates an unreserved dialogue concerning the hazards of partying, drug use and the escalating opioid crisis that has gripped the state of Georgia.
Albany Herald
PHOTOS: State of the Community held at Albany State University West Campus
Alan Mauldin
The Albany Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the annual State of the Community event on Wednesday at Albany State University West Campus. The event gave an update on the economy, medical issues and government activities, particularly the transportation special purpose local option sales tax that voters will weigh on in the fall.
Current
The Author’s Corner with Drew Swanson
Rachel Petroziello
Drew Swanson is Jack N. and Addie D. Averitt Distinguished Professor of Southern History at Georgia Southern University. This interview is based on his new book, A Man of Bad Reputation: The Murder of John Stephens and the Contested Landscape of North Carolina Reconstruction (University of North Carolina Press, 2023).
Higher Education News:
Higher Ed Dive
Results from a NACAC poll also show young adults support diverse campus bodies.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Applying to college can often be overwhelming for students, who must untangle varying admissions policies and wade through heaps of paperwork. The National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, shed light on some of that anxiety in a new survey it commissioned from The Harris Poll, released Thursday. The findings confirm students are deeply apprehensive about the process — more than half of the roughly 1,000 students polled said applying to college was their most stressful academic experience to date. And about three-quarters reported fearing that one small application error could lessen their admission chances.
Inside Higher Ed
Majority of Faculty Prefers In-Person Teaching, but Just Barely
An Educause survey finds that faculty members also want more help and time when it comes to working with technology and remote learning.
By Lauren Coffey
Faculty preference for in-person teaching has eroded considerably in the years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosive growth in remote learning, a new survey finds. Educause’s “Faculty and Technology” report found that 53 percent of faculty prefer teaching courses in person. In the 2019 survey, 73 percent of faculty surveyed said they preferred teaching mostly or completely on-site. The survey of 982 faculty, conducted in spring 2023, is the first since 2019 for Educause, a nonprofit focused on higher education and the industry’s intersection with information technology.
Higher Ed Dive
Education Department settles with 5 law schools that it said improperly distributed financial aid
Institutions including New England Law Boston and New York Law School were accused of expending Title IV money on students in unaccredited programs.
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Senior Reporter
Dive Brief:
The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday it struck settlement agreements with five law schools that the agency said improperly disbursed federal financial aid to students in unaccredited programs. Albany Law School, in New York, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Brooklyn Law School, New England Law Boston, and New York Law School improperly distributed almost $2.9 million in Title IV money between July 2017 and June 2022, the Education Department said. Under the settlements, the five institutions will reimburse the Education Department’s “expected loss” for the allegedly misused funds, and three of them will pay fines, the highest being $120,000. An Education Department spokesperson said Thursday the colleges are not reimbursing the agency for the full $2.9 million but did not provide a precise figure.
See also:
Higher Ed Dive
Can the farm bill help fix underfunding for HBCUs?
Lawmakers have until the end of September to reauthorize the spending package, which is a significant source of funding for land-grant universities.
By Lilah Burke
Every five years, Congress is meant to reauthorize what is colloquially called the farm bill — a colossal spending package dealing with food and agriculture. In addition to provisions related to federal nutrition benefits, crop insurance and wool production, the bill is a significant source of funding for land-grant universities. “What people don’t realize is that while the farm bill is really heavily focused on providing support for feeding this nation, it is also critically providing funding for some of the largest universities across the country,” said Denise Smith, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, a left-leaning think tank. That includes a group of 19 historically Black colleges and universities, often called the 1890 institutions after the law that led to their creation.
Cybersecurity Dive
For security to benefit from AI, companies need to shore up their data
CISOs need to address the structure, management and curation of data as they pursue benefits from generative AI, according to an IDC report.
Matt Kapko, Reporter
Artificial intelligence is showing up in new ways across almost every security tool enterprises rely on, but the industry’s lopsided focus on the technology, instead of the underlying data, is misguided, according to IDC analysts. AI can and will deliver positive results for defense, but those outcomes depend on the structure and integrity of the underlying data that feeds it, the research firm concluded in a guide for CISOs weighing the benefits of AI. Data is the enabling infrastructure for security AI, and the framework structures, management and curation of that data will determine its success, according to Frank Dickson, group VP for IDC’s security and trust practice.
Cybersecurity Dive
AiFi adds frictionless checkout to University of San Diego c-store
Fast-paced campus life is turning schools into an attractive market for autonomous retailers.
Jessica Loder, Editor
Dive Brief:
A retrofitted, AiFi-powered frictionless c-store has opened at the University of San Diego, according to a Tuesday press release from the autonomous shopping technology company. This is AiFi’s second campus convenience store. Its first, at the University of Denver, opened in April 2022. Campus convenience stores are heating up not only as a place for autonomous retail to find its niche, but also for traditional convenience retailers to find new customers.
Cybersecurity Dive
Barracuda ESG zero-day exploit still under way after patches fail
The FBI said users need to isolate and replace affected appliances as threat actors continue to target the remote command injection vulnerability.
David Jones, Reporter
Dive Brief:
Hackers affiliated with the People’s Republic of China are still attempting to exploit a zero-day vulnerability in Barracuda Network’s Email Security Gateway appliances, the FBI said in an alert issued Wednesday. Hackers can still exploit the patches for the vulnerability, CVE-2023-2868, which are ineffective, the FBI said. All affected appliances should be disconnected from the internet and replaced. The PRC-linked hackers have exploited the vulnerability to insert malicious payloads onto ESG devices and conduct multiple types of attacks, obtaining persistent access, scanning email, harvesting credentials and exfiltrating stored data.
Cybersecurity Dive
OPINION
Government investigation puts spotlight on password insecurity
A team working for the Department of Interior’s inspector general successfully cracked 1 in 5 active user passwords, a ratio that highlights traps in cybersecurity standards.
By Michael Kosak
When the U.S. Department of the Interior recently conducted an internal investigation into password security, the findings described a situation ripe for exploitation by enterprising cybercriminals:
No consistent implementation of multifactor authentication. Outdated and ineffective password complexity requirements. Weak passwords – and yes, half of the most reused passwords at this organization included a variation of the word “password.” It gets worse. A team working for the department’s inspector general successfully cracked 18,174 of the agency’s 85,944 active user passwords. That included 288 accounts with elevated privileges as well as 362 accounts belonging to senior U.S. government employees.