Commencements have concluded and most campuses are closed.
Yet, there’s been some news since the fall semester ended, such as the departure of a top University System of Georgia official and early admissions numbers from some of the state’s top universities.
Meanwhile, some faculty members are making spring semester COVID-19 classroom preparations as new cases rise among students at some of Georgia’s largest universities.
Here are some more details in this edition of AJC On Campus:
Top Georgia schools accepting more students through early admissions
Georgia’s three most academically rigorous schools — Emory University, Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia — have accepted more students through early admissions for the next school year.
The biggest increase occurred at the University of Georgia. UGA accepted about 8,900 students for early admissions out of a record pool of about 21,500 applicants. Last year, UGA accepted 8,086 of its approximately 20,870 applicants. UGA said it accepted more applicants this year because this year’s class was so strong. It’s become increasingly tougher to get into UGA in recent years. Fewer than 50% of all applicants have been admitted in 2018, 2019 and 2020. UGA has about 40,000 students.
Georgia Tech accepted 2,399 of its 6,100 Early Action I applicants. It accepted 2,330 of its 6,000 Early Action I applicants last year. Officials there reported a 44% increase in Black students accepted. Georgia Tech has nearly 44,000 students.
Emory accepted 804 of its 2,205 Early Decision I applicants. Last year, Emory accepted 769 of its 1,975 Early Decision I applicants. The deadline for Early Decision II submissions is Jan. 1. Emory, the state’s largest private university, has about 15,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
The early admissions acceptance rate at all three schools is around 40%.
COVID-19 cases up at Emory, Georgia Tech
Two of Georgia’s largest schools are seeing a rise in new COVID-19 cases.
More than 60 Emory University students reported positive test results between Monday and Wednesday last week. Nearly 60 Georgia Tech students reported testing positive the same three days.
Nearly all of the students were living off campus. Emory and Georgia Tech are among the few large schools in Georgia to post COVID-19 updates daily.
The positive test results are the highest since the start of the fall semester. It reflects the rise in positive COVID-19 tests nationwide, largely due to the omicron variant.
Emory announced on Dec. 16 that all students, faculty and employees must get a booster shot before returning to campus in January. Georgia Tech is part of the University System of Georgia, which has encouraged, but not required vaccinations.
UGA professor plans to continue classroom mask requirement
Many faculty members at Georgia’s public universities were frustrated during the fall semester because the state’s Board of Regents did not issue a mask mandate in all classrooms.
A few, like University of Georgia math professor Joseph Fu, required students to wear masks in his classes without their school’s approval. Fu said he plans to continue the requirement when the spring semester begins in a few weeks although the school does not require masks in most classrooms. He’ll also broadcast his lectures via Zoom.
The longtime math professor said he’s doing this in part because the size of his classes makes social distancing difficult. Fu said he had no serious problems with students during the mandate during the fall semester.
“I wish all this weren’t necessary, but I don’t see a counter-argument other than fatigue,” Fu wrote last week to a large group of UGA faculty and reporters.
Moody’s 2022 financial outlook
Moody’s Investors Service has been paying close attention to how the nation’s colleges are managing through the coronavirus pandemic.
At times, Moody’s has been quite worried. It believes the schools’ finances next year will be “stable as emergence from remote learning supports revenue growth.”
Several private universities in Georgia, such as Morehouse and Spelman colleges, have expanded their online learning courses since the pandemic. Georgia Tech, which has been involved for years in offering more online degrees, saw its graduate enrollment increase from 23,210 last fall to 26,398 this fall.
University System curriculum leader headed to the Bayou
Tristan Denley, who has been at the forefront of several critical changes at the University System of Georgia in recent years, is leaving for a top leadership position in Louisiana’s education system.
Denley, the Georgia system’s chief academic officer since May 2017, will become the Louisiana Board of Regents’ Deputy Commissioner for Academic Affairs and Innovation. The Louisiana system made the announcement Dec. 15. Its board chair, Blake David, described Denley as a “rock star innovator.”
During his time in Georgia, Denley helped create a “Nexus” degree program where schools worked with business leaders to create curriculum in high-demand fields such as cybertechnology and fintech. He also helped launch ongoing efforts to get students to take more credits and graduate with less student loan debt. Denley was involved in the recent controversial effort to change the University System’s post-tenure review process.
Robot helps UWG celebrate commencement remotely
University of West Georgia student Samantha Conerly wanted to attend her commencement ceremony a few weeks ago to receive her master’s degree, but she couldn’t because she’s pregnant and her doctor put her on bed rest.
Conerly and the university came up with a solution that allowed her to be on stage, virtually.
The school grabbed a robot from its Innovation Lab. It had an iPad that allowed people to see Conerly from her home. It had a camera that allowed her to see the audience and the stage. Conerly was able to direct the robot where she wanted it to go, including on stage when her name was called during the ceremony.
University officials said it was the first time it used such technology.
“Despite the simplicity of using the technology, it was extremely innovative,” Conerly said on the university’s website. “The video quality and movements of the robot were impeccable. It really felt like I was there in person. I could approach others and communicate with them in real-time.”
Students overlook gift in syllabus
We rarely include items involving colleges and universities outside of Georgia, but we couldn’t resist this one.
University of Tennessee Chattanooga music professor Kenyon Wilson had a surprise in his syllabus. He hid a $50 bill on campus and included instructions on how to find it in the syllabus.
The money went unclaimed.
Credit: Custom
Credit: Custom
Wilson, who’s taught at Valdosta State University in South Georgia, knew students rarely read the entire syllabus and wanted to see if anyone in his class would do so.
“It was simply in the middle of a paragraph, middle of the sentence actually, I just open parenthesis said ‘free to the first who claims; locker one hundred forty-seven; combination fifteen, twenty-five, thirty-five’ close parenthesis and then continued with the sentence,” Wilson told a local television station.
We suspect Wilson’s students will read each page of his syllabus next semester.
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