Carthage
Carthage, NC · Education
Ashe Post & Times
$35 million App State GEAR UP grant advances college, career readiness for Western NC students
BOONE — Appalachian State University’s Office of Rural Promise (ORP) is the awardee of a seven-year, $35 million GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The award marks the second consecutive $35 million federal grant App State has received in support of its GEAR UP program, allowing the university to serve more students and families across the western portion of the state. GEAR UP is a federally funded college access program designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education immediately after high school. Through a wide range of research-based services to students, families and teachers, App State’s GEAR UP NC Appalachian Partnership aims to improve college-going mindsets, high school graduation rates and postsecondary enrollment rates. Results from App State’s previous GEAR UP grants demonstrate the program’s effectiveness in improving educational outcomes. Among participating schools, 97% of students were on track to graduate by the end of ninth grade, and 98% graduated from high school on time, significantly exceeding the statewide average of 88%, according to 2024–25 data, the latest available. “By helping prepare thousands of regional middle and high school students
Neuse News
WRAL
wcti12.com
Raleigh News & Observer
NC State's Sigma Nu suspended by national fraternity after ‘heinous and grievous acts'
N.C. State University’s oldest fraternity will shut down indefinitely, its national organization said Friday afternoon, following a weeks-long probe into graphic hazing allegations within the fraternity. According to a release Friday afternoon, the national Sigma Nu Fraternity suspended the charter of its NC State chapter effective immediately, after “significant and severe violations of the Fraternity’s principles, law, policies, and membership requirements” that they said occurred in the chapter’s “activities.” The chapter will remain closed until further notice, officials said. “The Fraternity continues to appreciate the diligent work of North Carolina State University Police Department officers in their thorough investigation, which remains ongoing,” the release states. “The Fraternity will continue to fully support and cooperate with the procedures of law enforcement officials in this matter.” The suspension comes a day after search warrants revealed graphic videos and anonymous testimony that further detailed the hazing allegations. Those allegations included physical abuse, death threats, pressured drug use, induced vomiting and multiple hospitalizations, according to the warrants. NC State officials suspended the fraternity from campus last week, simultaneously announcing the investigation into the alleged hazing practices. But the newest suspension from the national organization adds deeper, more permanent consequences for the fraternity that’s become
AL.com
randolphhub.com
Raleigh News & Observer
Feds escalate investigation of Duke med school admissions - after UNC made a deal
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has referred its findings about Duke University’s admissions processes in its medical school to the Justice Department — a move the health agency had said it would make if Duke didn’t comply. The Duke Chronicle first reported this story . The health department’s Office for Civil Rights announced the referral in a social media post last week. HHS accused Duke’s medical school on Sept. 8 of using racial proxies that still allow applicant reviewers to consider race, despite the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions. The result of Duke’s admissions process, HHS said in its letter to Duke , is that admitted Black students had statistically lower Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, scores and GPAs than admitted white and Asian students. HHS also said Duke failed to produce explanations for the deviations when asked about them. Higher education experts have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the finding, questioning such statistical conclusions based on standardized test performance, The News & Observer previously reported . HHS’s letter to Duke says that “HHS regulations permit referral of matters to the United States Department of Justice if