The Tennessean, July 10, 2008, Thursday

The Tennessean

July 10, 2008, Thursday

The Tennessean

Tennessee expects few buyout recipients to use free tuition program

By COLBY SLEDGE • Staff Writer • July 10, 2008

It's a deal any college student would take in a heartbeat: two free years of classes, with no grade requirements and no strings attached.

The state hopes to sweeten its voluntary buyout plan by offering exactly that, but officials expect only 1 in 10 employees who accept the buyout to use the free schooling.
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"In a voluntary program, it's all about how you make the offer attractive enough for people to want to take it," said Dave Goetz, Tennessee's finance commissioner.

The state is hoping about 2,300 workers of an eligible 12,000 will take the buyout offer, which includes education stipends of up to $5,400 per year for two years. Recipients can attend a state technology center, community college, university or apprenticeship program approved by the state labor department.

The provision is believed to be the first of its kind in a state buyout package. Eligible employees have until Aug. 5 to apply for the buyout.

"Several other companies have pursued similar strategies, but to my knowledge it's rare for state governments to adopt that kind of strategy," said Matthew Freedman, an assistant professor at the Industrial and Labor Relations School at Cornell University. "It signals a willingness to improve workers' skills."

But state officials say they don't expect the tuition offer to significantly impact the state's work force. Instead, it's meant to sweeten the deal for some workers who might be on the fence.

"There are those people who see this as a real benefit," Goetz said. "This was an effort to try and see if there were people with fewer years of service to whom this would be attractive."

Cindy Bailey, an administrative assistant in the Department of Children's Services, says the tuition offer isn't going to sway her into taking the buyout. "For me, it wouldn't be attractive because I'm 60 years old," said Bailey, who has 13 years of experience with the state. "I think I would if I was younger. I think it would be great, but I just can't even think about taking the buyout. I just can't even think about not working at this point."

The state will pay the money directly to the school for tuition and mandatory fees, Goetz said. The money will come from one-time funds, and not from higher education recurring funds that were cut by nearly $56 million this year.
State pays, pass or fail

The offer has no academic requirement; students will be covered if they pass or fail.

The plan has the potential — on paper — to become a major state expenditure. If 2,300 buyout recipients took the maximum tuition offered, the state would pay more than $24.8 million. The buyout package is expected to total $50 million.

But the likelihood that even half of the buyout recipients would take the offer is a "long shot," said Lola Potter, spokeswoman for the state finance department, and those who attend might be less likely to become full-time students.

"Certainly all of them won't 'max out,' but are more likely to take one or two classes to increase their professional portfolio," Potter wrote in an e-mail.

Those who do take advantage of the tuition offer won't have much time to register at some schools in time for fall classes. Buyout applicants will be notified of their acceptance Aug. 11, and their last day will be Aug. 15.

Classes at most public schools begin the last week of August, and some registrants might have to take placement tests before beginning.

"The state's timing is going to throw these people in with all of the people who put off until the last minute their decision on whether or not they're going to go to college," said Debra Bauer, vice president of finance and administrative services at Nashville State Community College.

Buyout recipients will have until 2011 to take advantage of the offer, which means workers could wait to enroll.

So far, schools have heard little to nothing from potential students. One state worker has enrolled at Volunteer State Community College in anticipation of the buyout, and Nashville State received a call from a state worker asking about details on enrolling. The school had few answers for her.

"We're waiting for those state guidelines to be issued," Bauer said. "The state has to tell us how the system works before we can administer the system."

Contact Colby Sledge at 259-8229 or ccsledge@tennessean.com.