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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State officials have launched a radio advertising campaign in an effort to get the word out about its new Tennessee Reconnect program.
Tennessee Reconnect is a last-dollar scholarship program that was part of Gov. Bill Haslam's Tennessee Promise legislation passed last year. The initiative allows adults to attend one of Tennessee's 27 colleges of applied technology free of tuition and fees.
It also ties in with Haslam's "Drive to 55" campaign to improve the state's graduation rates from the current 32 percent to 55 percent by 2025 in order to help improve overall job qualifications and attract employers to the state.
WPLN-FM (http://bit.ly/1Gbv55C) reports the ad campaign highlights well-paying jobs that a degree could make possible including heating and air conditioning technician and nursing assistant.
"I trained to become a welder, and my tuition was free," one enthusiastic voice says in the ad. "Now I make more than I ever thought I would."
The commercial comes on the heels of Haslam traveling to TCAT campuses in Nashville, Jackson, Memphis, Chattanooga and Knoxville. Open houses were also held on each campus last month in an effort to spread the word.
Mike Krause with the governor's office says about 5,600 adults have signed up so far, but they would like to have more.
The deadline to apply for fall classes is May 15.
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Information from: WPLN-FM, http://www.wpln.org/
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