Shorter College Establishes Online Program, Names Director

A Shorter College education is becoming more accessible thanks to the addition of online programs. College President Dr. Harold E. Newman today announced Shorter’s plans to offer classes through an online format beginning this summer.

Initial course offerings are for students enrolled in traditional college programs who wish to complete core curriculum requirements. This summer’s courses include COM 1010 Oral Communication, ENG 1020 Freshman English II, HIS 2010 Development of Civilization to 1648, MAT 1110 College Algebra, BUS 3990 Personal Leadership and SPS 3990 Sports Leadership.

Also planned for this summer are professional development courses for practicing teachers to assist them in their license renewal requirements.

“The addition of online programs was highlighted as a priority in our strategic plan,” Dr. Newman said. “We recognize that we live in a technological world and that people are turning more frequently to the Internet for educational services. We also recognize that not everyone can go to a campus and attend classes. By utilizing an online format for the delivery of our programs, we allow that segment of the population to have the educational experiences that they need.”

Rome resident Sean Butcher has been tapped to serve as director of online programs at the college. Mr. Butcher has more than 10 years’ experience in the marketing and development of Internet services. He has served as director of product development and product management at several California, Bay-area Internet service companies. Before that he worked as a commercial litigation lawyer at Lovell White Durrant in England, one of London’s most prestigious law firms.

Mr. Butcher has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business with concentrations in management information systems (MIS) and entrepreneurship. He was a Sord Scholar Honors Graduate. Butcher also holds a law degree with honors from the University of Birmingham, England.

Mr. Butcher lives in Rome with his wife and two children.

For additional information on Shorter’s online programs visit www.shorter.edu/online or call 706-291-2121.

The online program, Dr. Newman added, fits into Shorter’s continuing commitment to serving students. Building on its respected traditional programs, in 1992, Shorter College became one of the first institutions in Georgia to offer non-traditional degree programs for working adults.

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Due to Shortages, Veterinary Students Get a Free Ride

(ARA) – First, the bad news: there is a growing shortage of veterinarians, particularly in the fields of public health and food safety. The good news: as a result, young veterinarians can get expensive school loans comped.

It’s long been acknowledged that there is a shortage of food animal veterinarians in rural areas. Now, a new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office shows that there are also shortages of veterinarians who are employed by the federal government. The Food Safety and Inspection Services, which is responsible for inspecting all meats we eat or export, has a 15 percent shortage. A GAO report says "a lack of veterinarians has impaired the agency’s ability to meet its food safety responsibilities." Furthermore, the Agricultural Research Service, which conducts research on diseases such as avian influenza, has a 12 percent veterinary shortage.

"The shortage of food safety and public health veterinarians has become a national crisis and it’s really put food safety in America in jeopardy," explains Dr. James Cook, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association. "The good news is that many states, the federal government, and even the AVMA have begun college-loan repayment programs to entice young veterinarians into this field. So if you’re interested in working with farm animals or in public health, this could be a very good time to go to veterinary school."

The federal government has $4.8 million available in funding for its school loan repayment program, called the National Veterinary Medical Services Act, also known as NVMSA, which should start offering loan repayments this fall.

"The grants will be spread over a number of years," explains Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, head of the Washington, DC offices of the AVMA. "The finer points of NVMSA haven’t been determined yet, but it is our hope that veterinarians could earn as much as $25,000 a year for the first two years and then $35,000 for the third and fourth years if they agree to serve an underserved area like rural food supply veterinary medicine."

Dr. Jennifer McKee, a young veterinarian working on farms around Hendersonville, N.C., says that she’s witnessed the shortage firsthand. In her area some farmers have had to kill livestock that may have been saved because of the scarcity of veterinarians.

"I’ve had to drive up to two hours one way to serve a client because of the shortage," she explains. She believes that NVMSA is needed and plans on applying when it starts.

"It’s what I love to do, to work with large animals, but my veterinary school loans are over $140,000," McKee says. "This would really help support me while I continue to work in an area that I love."

Many states, including Ohio, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Washington, Wyoming and Kansas, have created state school loan repayment incentives for young veterinarians, and more are being passed by state legislatures every year.

Garrett Stewart, a second year veterinary student at Kansas State University veterinary school, is currently enrolled in Kansas’ incentive program, which offers students $20,000 a year for each year they practice in an area of need in the state

Stewart said the program should help fight a serious “brain drain” in Kansas. Last year, only 13 KSU veterinary school graduates out of a class of 118 stayed in Kansas.

“There is a pretty good chance that I would have left Kansas without the help I received from this program,” says Stewart, who grew up on a ranch in Washington, Kan. “This will help me to stay in Kansas and work with large animal medicine, which is what I love.”

There are also generous, privately funded incentive programs that are being developed for veterinary students. The AVMA and its charitable arm, the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, are currently developing an ambitious plan to offer their own veterinary school loan repayment program offering $20,000 to $30,000 a year over four years to young veterinarians willing to practice in rural areas.

"We are seeing a serious shortage in the number of new graduates going into food animal practice, particularly into rural areas. This program is intended to identify up to 50 new graduates a year and make it more economically feasible for them to go into rural agricultural practice," explains Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief executive officer of the AVMA. "It is an exciting program, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response we’ve received from our corporate sponsors."

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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New Report: Obama Budget Proposes Direct College Aid for 8,722 More Students in Georgia

/PRNewswire / -- An additional 8,722 students in Georgia would receive Pell Grants if excessive lender subsidies are cut, according to a new report released today by the Campaign for America's Future. Today's report shows that this simple change would provide an average Pell Grant of $3,010 to about 181,580 students across the state.

With the average cost of tuition at a public college in Georgia increasing by 19 percent between 2000 and 2007 and up 6 percent in the last year alone, President Obama's budget calls for a cut in lender subsidies to make the financial aid system more efficient.

Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage said the president's budget proposals would make major changes to the federal financial aid system so more families can pay for college.

"Family incomes and college grants haven't kept pace with soaring tuition costs," said Borosage. "No student should be priced out of the college they need to succeed in the modern economy. With more and more high school graduates putting off higher education because they can't afford it, the president's budget would help provide the change students and families need."

The college affordability proposals in the president's budget would increase and expand Pell Grants and Perkins loans, make the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent, broaden the U.S. Department of Education Direct Loan program, phase out bank loan subsidies and create state and federal partnerships to help students complete their college education.

**NOTE: An electronic copy of the Georgia college aid report is available at www.ourfuture.org/collegeaid2010.**

BACKGROUND ON COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY PROVISIONS IN PRESIDENT OBAMA'S BUDGET

President Obama's budget addresses both the immediate economic concerns as they relate to higher education as well as sets the stage for future higher education investment and success.

INCREASES THE MAXIMUM PELL GRANT TO $5,550, MAKES PELL GRANT FUNDING MANDATORY, AND KEEPS FUTURE INCREASES TIED TO INFLATION.

Nearly 5.6 million students from low and moderate income households are able to attend college this year due in part to Pell grants. Originally designed to cover 80% of the cost of college, Pell grants currently cover just 1/3 of the cost. Presently, Pell grant funding is discretionary and determined by the annual budget process. The budget will make Pell grant funding mandatory to help eliminate uncertainty and prevent funding shortfalls. The budget also increases the Pell grant maximum to $5,550 for the 2010-11 school year and indexes the maximum grant to grow with inflation in the future.

MAKES THE PARTIALLY REFUNDABLE $2,500 AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT PERMANENT

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act created a new partially refundable $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit over the next two years to provide a tax break to millions of families, including low-income families who don't pay taxes and therefore currently get no tax relief for college. Up to $1,000 of the credit is refundable for low-income families, and the credit itself is phased-out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples filing jointly.) The budget proposal makes the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent.

BROADENS THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM AND PHASES OUT THE FFEL PROGRAM

There are two federal student loan programs -- the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and the Direct Loan program. FFEL loans are federally guaranteed loans issued by banks and other lenders, who are provided subsidies by the federal government for providing the loans. The tightening of credit markets essentially made the FFEL program untenable on its own last year prior to the passage of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act. The proposed budget would end the FFEL program and subsidies to lenders on all federal student loans beginning in July 2010. The Direct Loan program, which has operated successfully since 1994, issues loans directly from the U.S. Department of Education. Transitioning entirely to the Direct Loan program is projected to save taxpayers $4 billion a year that can be used for increased student aid, rather than lender subsidies.

EXPANDS AND MODERNIZES THE PERKINS LOAN PROGRAM.

Perkins Loans are low-interest federal loans available to students enrolled in a participating college or university with a demonstrated exceptional financial need not met by Pell grants or other federal loans. Currently, only 1,800 out of 4,400 institutions participate in the Perkins loan program. The budget proposal would seek to make Perkins Loans available to more than double the number of institutions it currently serves. The budget would also increase funding for Perkins Loans by $5 billion -- up from the current $1 billion available in Perkins Loan aid. President Obama also proposes restructuring the program to provide an estimated 2.7 million additional students with the average Perkins Loan each year -- a five-fold increase over the current 500,000 students receiving Perkins Loans.

IMPROVES COLLEGE COMPLETION THROUGH STATE-FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP

The budget provides for a five-year, $2.5 billion fund available to states for innovative programs and research aimed at improving college success and completion rates, particularly among students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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Gwinnett County Public Schools Connects Homebound Students with Alcatel-Lucent Unified Communications and Collaboration Solution

/PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to better educate the greatest number of the county's pupils, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS), has extended the classroom beyond its campuses to reach homebound students through state-of-the-art collaboration technology provided by Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU). With its new capabilities, the Gwinnett district, the largest school district in the state of Georgia, is embracing the digital age and creating a more interactive learning environment for homebound students, while dramatically reducing costs across its campuses.

The new Alcatel-Lucent Voice over IP (VoIP) solution will link 114 schools in Gwinnett, providing a major reduction in telephony charges for a district that serves more than 157,600 students and employees a staff of approximately 22,000. Gwinnett is also using the Alcatel-Lucent OmniTouch My Teamwork Unified Conferencing and Collaboration solution to better connect teachers and homebound students reducing the need for travel. The county hosts approximately 60 audio-visual calls per week serving 600 to 700 students who need to be educated at home.

"Previously, our teachers would either travel to each homebound student to provide a few hours of daily instruction or use an audio bridge to conduct group lessons. Voice-only instruction lacks the graphics and visual aids that help keep young, inquisitive students engaged," said Rick Overton, Director of Telecommunications & Network Services, Information Management Division, Gwinnett County Public Schools. "Alcatel-Lucent's VoIP network and the My Teamwork solution help teachers provide a richer learning experience -- they can use video clips for a history lesson, interactive graphing for science or white-board instruction for math."

The Gwinnett County Public Schools IP network already used a range of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet switches to provide the bandwidth and security needed by students and faculty for on campus communications. The more recent deployment of the Alcatel-Lucent OmniPCX Enterprise provides a new VoIP solution and allows the district to centralize its main voice switches at the district headquarters, extending remote call servers with back up circuits at each school building when fully complete.

Morse Communications, Inc., an Alcatel-Lucent business partner, worked as project leader to gather requirements, customize and install the VoIP equipment, manage service cutover and train the school district staff. Morse currently is providing full-time, on-site backup support for the school system as well as ongoing service, maintenance and consultation.

"Effective and efficient communications technology is critical when creating a dynamic learning environment that makes it possible for students to connect with teachers, fellow students and other knowledge resources safely and securely -- anytime, anywhere," said Tom Burns, who heads Alcatel-Lucent enterprise activities. "My Teamwork will help Gwinnett County Public Schools expand access to education beyond the four walls of the classroom. Our solution helps school districts reduce travel requirements and transportation costs with a virtual infrastructure that brings students and teachers together when they can't reach the brick and mortar classroom."

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