March 3, 2017
East Texas Baptist University announced a new scholarship opportunity on Thursday for Marshall's first responders.
The Public Servant Scholarship, a partnership between the university and the city of Marshall, will provide reduced cost tuition at the university to all full time Marshall Fire Department and Marshall Police Department employees.
"The Public Servant Scholarship will cover one-half of undergraduate tuition and one-third of graduate tuition for full-time staff of the Marshall Police and Fire Departments," East Texas Baptist University President Blair Blackburn said in a statement on Thursday at the university.
"ETBU as a Christ-centered university is called to provide programs that help serve and transform people and communities," he said. "Having this opportunity to provide undergraduate and graduate education for the public servant leaders in our local community is an honor and blessing for our institution."
The scholarship could save the student about $5,000 per semester, ETBU Director of Adult Education Vince Blankenship said.
In addition to offering the new scholarship program, Blankenship said undergraduate students could further reduce the cost of tuition by taking advantage of the university's Prior Learning Assessment.
"The Prior Learning Assessment is a portfolio program where we assess their portfolio and the student could earn up to 32 college credit hours for college level learning through their work experience. This program additionally reduces the cost of a degree."
Marshall Police Chief Jesus "Eddie" Campa said he previously approached Blackburn and told him he had several officers who had expressed interest in furthering their education.
Blackburn's response was the Public Servant Scholarship.
Campa said the city of Marshall also offers reimbursement to employees looking to further their education.
"This is a great opportunity that I am sure many of our officers will take advantage of," he said. "We all know one of the reasons that working adults do not seek to further their education is due to the high cost of continuing their educational goals. With the scholarship from ETBU and the city's Education Reimbursement Program, it allows the officers to complete their degree at an affordable cost."
Marshall Fire Chief Reggie Cooper said Thursday he also has had several of his employees voice an interest in continuing education programs.
"This opportunity allows for a quality education to be more financially attainable," he said. "The Marshall Fire Department continuously strives for excellence in service to those called upon during emergencies. With that in mind, this education and training is critical to all of our firefighters and EMS (emergency medical services) personnel."