The Master Plan launched and socialized across the state in 2019, has served as a rallying point for the Board of Regents and Louisiana around talent development. Furthermore, it has given clarity to the agency's goals and objectives. The engagement across all systems, institutions, and external partners (e.g. industry, economic development…

Statewide higher education governing and coordinating boards have long been involved in academic planning, academic program review, and academic program approval. A detailed analysis of the templates that statewide boards require institutions to use during the program approval and review processes reveals the role these processes play in ensuring…

Simplification of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) entails significant changes to the FAFSA and the methodology for determining eligibility for federal financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year. The changes to the FAFSA form that were mandated by the Simplification Act delayed implementation and shifted the timeline for…

Since its launch in August 2019, Louisiana's Master Plan has driven the state's prosperity agenda, nested in its ambitious attainment goal that calls for 60% of working-age adults to hold a postsecondary credential by 2030. This shared vision for the state has connected with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, from executive agencies focused on…

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the process of inspiring change for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion by describing the efforts of a College of Nursing and Health Sciences at a 4-year, public institution in Louisiana. Motivated by recent campus conversations, the college has established a collective effort to establish new…

Higher education in Louisiana faces the consequences of a decade of disinvestment, radically reducing state support for colleges and universities and disproportionately shifting the funding burden to students and their parents. The consequences of this defunding hobbled the public institutions for a generation, just as excessive student debt…

A master plan in higher education is developed to address the academic and workforce needs of a particular state. The master plan helps serve as the roadmap for implementation of proposed strategies to reach state goals in education and degree attainment. In Tennessee, Drive to 55 is a state-wide effort to increase the number of Tennesseans with a…

"Surprise" is a word and concept seldom associated with higher education policy or with one of its most demanding projects, the development of a statewide articulation and transfer program. Legislators who mandate articulation enterprises and officials who care for these behemoths present themselves as thoughtful managers who cherish…

The U.S. Department of Education recently released a "College Completion Tool Kit" intended to support the higher education attainment goals set by the Obama administration. These goals are consistent with the state's Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education. The tool kit lays out strategies for achieving higher levels of attainment…

If a school is seeking to incorporate more collaborative approaches to teaching and learning, the design of the learning environment--whether it's a classroom or a more informal space--can be a critical factor in making this transformative move. Technology, in particular, can play a pivotal role in enabling students to work effectively in teams…

This is a study of college enrollment trends in Louisiana. The rate of increase in enrollment in Louisiana's colleges and universities has been tapering off since 1964. An increasing proportion of students have been going to public rather than private schools--from a little over 50% in 1940 to 83.4% in 1968 and 1969. Fewer Louisiana students than…

During the month of February 1970, the Louisiana Coordinating Council for Higher Education, with the complete cooperation of colleges and universities of the state and other agencies and persons, initiated an enrollment projection or estimation study of Louisiana colleges and universities. The study represents an attempt to standardize enrollment…

In this article, the author discusses disaster-recovery planning in light of his personal experience following Hurricane Katrina. He relates the advice he received from Captain Joseph R. Castillo, Chief of Operations for the U.S. Coast Guard Eighth District in New Orleans: Focus on the process of planning, and not on building a plan. The author…

This report outlines the Louisiana State Board of Regents' goals for higher education in the state. After summarizing the history of higher education in Louisiana, demographic and economic trends, and the role of higher education in the state, the report discusses five specific goals: (1) improving access to higher education for all citizens…

As a response to the concerns associated with the allocation of state resources to institutions of higher education, several states have developed budget formulas to derive estimates of the institutional financial requirements. Formulas, however, were developed during a period of rapid growth, and might be unresponsive to institutional needs…