Capitalizing on Student Workers

Abstract

For more than a decade, the City of Auburn, Alabama, has employed university students as part-time firefighters, police aides, and 911 communicators. The most fully developed program allows students to be trained and work as statecertified firefighters. Newly constructed fire stations have separate dormitorystyle rooms for the students. Tuition is paid by the city as long as the students earn at least a 2.5 grade point average. This program has been cost effective for the city and the source of tuition assistance for hundreds of college students. Furthermore, it has created a talented pool of candidates for regular city employment.