Is Oberlin starting to feel the effects of the higher ed bubble? This could be a sign.

Cleveland.com reports.

Oberlin College offers buyouts to faculty and staff

Oberlin College, in an effort to save several million dollars a year, has offered buyouts to 323 faculty and staff.

Buyout offers at colleges are rare but have become a way to encourage professors, whose positions are protected by tenure, to retire.

Oberlin offered the Voluntary Separation Incentive Plan to employees, including 100 faculty, in April. The college expects about 85 individuals to accept the offer, spokesman Scott Wargo said in an email.

The program goes into effect for staff on Dec. 31 and for faculty on June 30, 2017. Wargo said he did not know how many faculty accepted the offer.

“For individuals, the program will offer an opportunity for those who are considering retirement, but are uncertain whether they can do so financially,” Wargo wrote. “For the college, the primary purpose of the VSIP is to expedite voluntary attrition with the goal of decreasing long-term operational costs.”

The college expects to save between $2.75 million and $3.5 million per year, he said.

Employees had to be at least 52 and have at least 10 years of service. The age and service years had to total at least 75, Wargo wrote.

Those who accepted the offer will receive one year’s salary and the college will waive health insurance premiums for the first year after retirement.