Tennessee looks to prevent ‘sticker shock’ in higher ed by offering first two years free, By Nicole Shepherd, June 24, 2014, Deseret News: “As student loan debt reaches a national high of $1.2 trillion, Tennessee has responded by offering free tuition for low-income students attending community colleges. Concern has surfaced among educators and economists that the increase in the cost for higher education is leading new high school graduates to question whether a college education is worth the cost.’Financial aid was supposed to reduce the influence of existing family financial resources on college attainment, but those resources are now a stronger determinant than ever of children’s college prospects,’ wrote Sara Goldrick-Rab, professor of education policy and sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. . .”
Tag: Tennessee
Unemployment Insurance System – Tennessee
Unemployment fix could take two years, By Chas Sisk, April 24, 2014, The Tennessean: “Although state officials have known about problems in the state’s unemployment insurance program for more than a year, outside observers say it could take them at least two more to straighten things out. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development says it already has begun to address mistakes raised in an audit of the program, some of them coming up for the second time…”
Minimum Wage – Tennessee
Tennessee leads nation for minimum wage workers, By Lance Williams, March 25, 2014, The Tennessean: “About 7.4 percent of Tennessee’s workforce earns at or below the minimum wage, the highest proportion of minimum wage workers in the country, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, about 4.3 percent of the workforce – or 3.3 million workers – earn at or below the minimum wage. In Tennessee, about 117,000 workers earn about at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour…”