Georgia Tech’s enrollment increased the most this fall among the state’s public colleges and universities.
ATLANTA – Enrollment at Georgia’s public colleges and universities climbed to a record high this fall, reversing two years of enrollment declines with a 3% gain.
The University System of Georgia reported a fall enrollment of 344,392 students, up 9,993 over last fall, with increases at 23 of the system’s 26 institutions.
“This is happening as we focus on aligning degrees to the state’s workforce needs, from nursing and teaching to logistics and cybersecurity,” system Chancellor Sonny Perdue said Tuesday. “Our campuses make a transformational difference in students’ lives.”
Enrollment on university system campuses had fallen during the past two years, reflecting the experience of public colleges and universities across the nation.
Before that, the University System of Georgia experienced seven consecutive years of enrollment growth.
This fall, Georgia Tech saw the largest enrollment increase numerically, with an additional 2,665 students signing up for classes. The largest percentage increase in enrollment – 11% – came at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.
Only Georgia State University in Atlanta, Valdosta State University, and East Georgia State College in Swainsboro saw enrollment declines of 2.8%, 0.4%, and 6.9%, respectively.
Demographically, the university system reported a 3% increase in enrollment among Black students, and 7% growth both among Latinos and among students identifying as Asian.
The number of white students rose slightly – by 0.3% – for the first time since 2011. However, that category still declined as an overall share of the student population due to larger growth in the other categories.
ATLANTA – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has declared an additional 11 Georgia counties in North Georgia natural disaster areas due to a sustained drought.
The secretary issued a natural disaster declaration earlier this month covering Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, and Walker counties in Northwest Georgia.
The counties added to the disaster list include Bartow, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, and Whitfield. Those counties have suffered eight or more weeks of severe, extreme, or exceptional drought conditions.
The disaster declaration lets the agriculture department’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) extend essential emergency credit to farmers in the affected areas.
“The addition of these 11 North Georgia counties to last week’s natural disaster declaration is a welcomed source of relief for farmers facing severe drought conditions,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tyler Harper said.
“I know firsthand the impact drought conditions can have on our agriculture industry, especially those with dryland operations. … Our team will do everything possible to help those hardest hit recover.”
FSA loans can be used to meet various drought recovery requirements, including replacing such essential items as farm equipment or livestock, reorganizing a farming operation, or refinancing loans.
The federal agency reviews all loans based on the extent of losses, available security, and repayment ability.
ATLANTA – Cases of COVID-19 are declining headed into the respiratory virus season, while cases of RSV and flu are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels.
That forecast from State Epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek came Tuesday during a meeting of the Georgia Board of Public Health.
While those trends represent good news, Drenzek said they shouldn’t give Georgians a false sense of security. The threat posed by COVID, RSV, and flu together is greater than the sum of their parts, she said.
“Because we have circulation of RSV and flu at relatively moderate levels, when you put COVID on top of it, it really can push up the overall activity for respiratory viruses.”
Still, Drenzek said deaths and hospitalizations from COVID are as low as they’ve been since the pandemic began in early 2020, due both to the availability of vaccines and the widespread immunity Georgians have acquired during the pandemic years.
“The wild card is that the circulating variants can change rapidly and ultimately result in high levels of transmissions and surging cases,” she said.
Drenzek said the good news is no surges in COVID cases have been reported, while the boosters that became available in September should be effective against the variants currently circulating. People over the age of 65 remain the most vulnerable to severe outcomes from COVID, including death, she said.
Drenzek said cases of flu in Georgia are starting to rise but only account for 4% of outpatient doctor visits. Children from birth to age 4 are by far the group most affected, she said.
Positive tests for RSV spiked at 21% a few weeks ago in Georgia but have dropped since to only 10%, Drenzek said. Most of those hospitalized with RSV have been infants up to 6 months of age, while hospitalizations of young children from 6 to 12 months also are rising, she said.
“We want to target youngsters for RSV and flu,” she said.
ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., was a leader in getting a provision capping the cost of insulin for Medicare enrollees at $35 a month into the Inflation Reduction Act Congress passed last year.
Now, Warnock is working with Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on federal legislation that would extend the insulin cap to the rest of the population.
Warnock and Kennedy released a study on Tuesday – World Diabetes Day – showing that more than a quarter of the nation’s counties are “Insulin Deserts,” plagued by both high rates of uninsured residents and high rates of diabetes.
The report found most of of these counties – including 105 in Georgia – are concentrated in the South, especially the Southeast, contributing to the region’s widespread poor health outcomes.
“Despite progress over the last few years to lower out-of-pocket costs of insulin, unaffordable insulin remains pervasive across the country,” the study states. “This report confirms the need for legislation to make insulin affordable for both privately insured and uninsured Americans.”
According to the report, insulin is seven to 10 times more expensive in the United States than in other countries. Between 2014 and 2019, the list prices of certain types of insulin in the U.S. increased by about 50%.
While the $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare enrollees took effect last January, legislation to extend the cap to Americans with private insurance failed in the Senate by three votes.
Last March, three insulin manufacturers announced voluntary steps to lower the price of their insulin. However, the voluntary programs do not reach all eligible Americans, and there is no permanent policy that will guarantee all low-income Americans access to a drug many diabetes patients need to live.
“This alarming report makes clear who will be left behind if Congress fails to pass my $35 insulin cost cap, including uninsured Georgians who live in the 105 counties considered insulin deserts,” Warnock said. “My bipartisan legislation with Senator Kennedy would ensure that uninsured folks, especially folks in insulin deserts, are able to afford their insulin.”
ATLANTA – Establishing a statewide portal employers could use to help fill job openings is among the recommendations a legislative study committee looking for ways to grow Georgia’s workforce adopted Tuesday.
After holding six hearings across the state, the state Senate’s Expanding Georgia’s Workforce Study Committee approved the final report it will send to the full Senate to consider during the 2024 General Assembly session beginning in January.
The new statewide portal would be modeled after Indeed, a popular worldwide website used by both employers and jobseekers looking to connect.
“There’s a whole lot of opportunities on the business front,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a driving force behind the resolution creating the study committee, told members of the panel before Tuesday’s vote. “We’ve got to be able as a state to harness those opportunities.”
“Government doesn’t create jobs,” added Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, a member of the study committee. “What we do is create a conducive environment and give the private sector the tools to be successful.”
Other recommendations the study committee made it its final report include:
improving the system the state university and technical college systems use to transfer credits to make it easier for students to transition between the two systems without losing credits.
increasing flexibility in Georgia’s professional and occupational licensing processes to make it easier for people moving to Georgia from out of state to get business licenses.
increasing state funding to reimburse tuition to students pursuing high-demand fields including nursing and welding.
creating a grant program for high-school graduates interested in working in local government during a “gap year” between high school and college.
providing incentives to encourage retirees to reenter the workforce.
opening child-care centers for teachers across the state, following an example being set in Effingham and Bryan counties.
The study committee included not only senators but representatives of business organizations and of large, medium, and small businesses.
Those members included former University of Georgia football great Champ Bailey and Dave Williams, senior vice president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
