A Northeast Ohio college has a plan to slow the increase in its tuition. It includes the voluntary buyouts of more than 300 faculty and staff.
Oberlin College expects savings of about 3 million dollars per year depending on how many employees opt to retire.
Marvin Krislov, the president at , says "it allows us to think about our resources and to do it in a way that honors our employees but also allows us more flexibility."
Flexibility like moving positions to departments with a greater need. More junior faculty cost less to employ than senior faculty nearing retirement age. Krislov says the college is committed to supporting full-time faculty positions and does not plan to fill vacancies with part-timers.
John McNay is the president of the Ohio branch of the . He says that plan can work. "You know each university would have to make those decisions themselves and I would hope that there would be faculty input in decisions like that."
The college plans to use some of the savings toward student aid.
Michelle Faust is a reporter for StateImpact Ohio.