The Kent State Tuscarawas Campus will extend tuition assistance to recently laid-off workers as early as this summer.

The program is designed to retrain individuals who have recently lost their job because of the difficult economy, Tuscarawas admissions counselor Melissa Crites said.

The scholarship program is for new students who have been laid off from a full-time position after January 1. The applicant must be able to provide a letter of documentation to support the unemployment claim, have no prior bachelor degree and have not attended college within the lasttwo years.

WHAT THE TUSCARAWAS CAMPUS IS DOING for RECENTLY laid-off workers &bull Unlike the Fresh Start program at the Trumbull campus, this is not a free tuition program. &bull The campus will try to link students with federal and state grants. &bull The campus has partnered with the Employment Source, an employment and human resources management company, to see if students qualify for workforce investment aid. &bull The campus has asked the Tuscarawas County University Foundation to set aside funding for the program. &bull Admissions officials at Tuscarawas estimate that roughly 50 individuals can receive aid for the program.

The campus held an information session March 19 to provide details about its new Tuition Assistance Program for laid-off workers. About 60 people attended the session.

Laurie Donley, director of Enrollment Management and Student Services, said as job growth tightens in the tough economy, employers will look for applicants with a higher education.

“We’re concerned about the growing unemployment, and employment projections through 2016 show growth in careers that require an education beyond high school,” Donley said.

The campus is taking a three-way approach to provide tuition assistance for qualified students. First, they try to link students with federal and state grants. Second, Kent State Tuscarawas has partnered with the employment management company Employment Source to see if the students qualify for workforce investment aid. Third, the campus has asked the Tuscarawas County University Foundation to set aside funds for the program.

“We want to help as many students as we can,” Donley said. “We estimate that we can provide tuition aid for at least 50 individuals through the Tuition Assistance Program.”

WHO QUALIFIES FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE AT THE TUSCARAWAS CAMPUS Pn Students must be laid off from full-time employment after Jan. 1. &bull Applicants must be able to provide a letter of documentation to verify the unemployment claim. &bull Students must not have a prior bachelor’s degree and not have attended college in the last two years. &bull Students must fill out a FAFSA form and a Dislocated Worker Grant application.

Kent State’s Trumbull campus offered a free tuition program for workers laid off after Oct. 1, 2008, as a part of its Fresh Start program.

Students enrolled in the Fresh Start program now account for 4 percent of the campus’s student body, said Randi Schneider, director of Enrollment Management at Trumbull.

Donley said the people who attended the information session left feeling very positive.

“These people are worried about bigger things, like taking care of their kids, paying for their house and providing food for their families,” Donley said. “They’re left thinking education is possible.”

Several of the applicants filled out forms after the information session. Around 19 students have turned in their application so far to enroll in the program.

Approved applicants can begin using the awards as early as the summer 2009 semester. Applicants need to complete a FAFSA and a Dislocated Worker Grant application.

“We’re trying to provide assistance to people whose careers have ended and give them a chance to start over,” Donley said.

Contact regional campus reporter Mary Jo Spletzer at [email protected].