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Oklahoma City University Offers Tuition Cuts in GM Layoff

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 21:00 CST

By Paul Monies, The Daily Oklahoman

Dec. 21--Laid-off General Motors Corp. workers and their dependents are eligible to receive half-price tuition at Oklahoma City University if they sign up by June 2007, school officials said Tuesday.

For more information, contact OCU's financial aid office at 208-5211.

Selling off Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian reduced his stake in General Motors Corp. to 7.8 percent, taking a loss on his investment in order to qualify for a tax break, according to a regulatory filing.

Kerkorian -- who has lobbied for more say in GM's operations and a seat on the automaker's board -- owned nearly 10 percent of the company's shares at the beginning of December. He sold 12 million shares in transactions Dec. 15 and Dec. 19, according to the filing Monday by his private investment firm, Tracinda Corp., with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Los Angeles-based Tracinda said it sold the shares so that it can end its fiscal year with a capital loss, making it eligible for certain federal and California income tax breaks. This loss will offset certain gains from an unrelated transaction, the company said in the filing.

OCU said the offer applies to both its undergraduate programs and graduate schools.

"We see this as being consistent as what we want to do as a university when there are those in need out there, and we have an opportunity to lend a helping hand," OCU President Tom McDaniel said. "We thought the General Motors workers might want a chance to prepare themselves to do something in a different way, and we want to offer them the educational opportunity."

Full-time tuition for undergraduates at the private university averages about $8,350 a semester. One credit hour of graduate school tuition costs $665. Prospective students who enroll by June 30, 2007, are eligible for eight consecutive semesters of the tuition discount.

Meanwhile, GM said Tuesday it pushed back the plant idling to Feb. 17, about 10 days later than the company first announced. Spokesman Dan Flores said new orders from dealers caused the change. About 2,400 employees work at the GM plant.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry praised OCU for supporting local GM employees.

"The tuition grants will help make additional education more affordable for both GM workers and their families," Henry said in a statement. "OCU has always been a great leader in the Oklahoma City community, and this offer is further evidence of its commitment to the people here."

Henry has formed a committee of state education, work force and health agencies to respond to the needs of displaced workers at GM and its local suppliers.

OCU offered similar tuition deals to victims of Hurricane Katrina and laid-off teachers and administrators from Oklahoma public schools after state budget cuts in 2003.

McDaniel said 46 students affected by Hurricane Katrina enrolled for the fall 2005 semester. He expects more than 50 people affected by GM's closing to take advantage of discount tuition.

"We would hope that there would be alumni and donors to help defray those costs, but if they don't, we're going to give that as a scholarship on behalf of the institution," McDaniel said.

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Source: The Daily Oklahoman

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