I have something to say about this subject.
The old press release was for their pearls course at the time it was created. This is a major revision, so technically it is not a "new" course.
You know the revised course is coming because Jeremy has contributed to it. GIA won't officially announce it until it's ready to go. They have good reason -- things change and they might have to revise it several times before they are sure it's ready to print. And they have stock on hand and will time the new course to coincide with the last copies of the old course.
The pearl grading lab class teaches you how the seven pearl factors are evaluated and lets you handle the goods. It does not teach you to assign letter grades to the pearls, but it's a good class and includes a fabulous natural color chart.
The trip was so popular that there were 160 people on the waiting list right after they announced it. Chances are that the waiting list will take any places given up on Part 2 to Japan, China & the Philippines.
They may not do a pearl tour again for a few years, if at all. They tend to rotate between Asia and South America. Past trips have been to see emerald mining in Columbia, sapphires in Thailand and gemstone mining in Brazil. The last trip was a diamond trip to Europe. Most of their trips are once-in-a-lifetime trips because of the entre' that the GIA is able to arrange.
My vote for next gemstone trip is Madagascar!