Tag: Community College

South Louisiana Community College Established Partnership with McNeese

South Louisiana Community College recently established a partnership with McNeese State University (MSU) that benefits students seeking to transfer their two-year business degrees. In light of this partnership, The Advocate has recently written a feature article that details just how SLCC has expanded over the past few years to become one of the largest community colleges in the state of Louisiana.

South Louisiana Community College (SLCC) was established in Lafayette back in 1997 with the aim of providing both academic and vocational training opportunities. Over the years, SLCC has grown significantly, and in 2012, it merged with the Acadiana Technical Colleges, expanding its reach to become a comprehensive community college with campuses in eight parishes. Today, SLCC stands as one of the largest community colleges in Louisiana, boasting an impressive student enrollment of over 7,000 individuals.

Situated on the main Lafayette campus off Bertrand Drive, SLCC encompasses three buildings that cater to various educational needs. The Devalcourt Building, a three-floor structure, primarily houses classrooms dedicated to general studies. On the other hand, the Ardoin Building, named in honor of Ted Ardoin, accommodates the welding department, as well as other technical training programs and the financial aid office.

In 2016, a state-of-the-art Health and Sciences building was added to the campus, comprising three stories of modern facilities. This building serves as the home for the esteemed Nursing Program and also houses administrative offices. Additionally, the Devalcourt Building is where the Early College Academy is located. As Lafayette Parish’s only school of its kind, the Early College Academy offers high school students a unique opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and a two-year associate degree in their chosen field.

The recently-announced agreement between SLCC and MSU provides a clear pathway for SLCC students to seamlessly transfer their credits to MSU and continue their education towards a four-year degree. The official signing ceremony for this transfer agreement took place at SLCC, attended by Chancellor Vincent June and MSU President Daryl Burckel. The Dean of McNeese’s College of Business, Sherry Bai, emphasized the immediate effectiveness of this agreement, highlighting the opportunities it presents to aspiring business professionals. Bai was quoted as saying, “our main goal today is to make the transfers seamless, effortless.”

It’s worth noting that McNeese State University’s business school offers a wide range of programs, including accounting, business administration, finance, management, and marketing. In addition to undergraduate degrees, McNeese also provides a master’s of business administration (MBA) degree and a specialized certificate program in the liquefied natural gas business. As for SLCC, it has established 2+2 transfer agreements with business programs at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Nicholls State University, and the University of Holy Cross in New Orleans. In fact, the agreement with Holy Cross was just signed the previous day, indicating SLCC’s commitment to expanding its partnerships and opportunities for students.

SLCC Chancellor Vincent June expressed his excitement about the recent 2+2 agreements signed with McNeese and other institutions. He revealed that these agreements mark the first significant partnerships forged by SLCC since the onset of the pandemic, and he anticipates the establishment of additional agreements with other colleges and universities in the near future, likely starting in the upcoming fall semester.

The collaboration between community colleges like SLCC and four-year institutions such as McNeese State University is an excellent example of how students can take advantage of seamless transfer pathways. By starting their educational journey at a community college, students can save on tuition costs, receive specialized training in their chosen fields, and smoothly transition to a four-year institution to complete their bachelor’s degrees. These partnerships ensure that students have the necessary support and resources to achieve their academic and career goals effectively.

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Louisiana in Position to Provide Free Community College

Starting on July 1, 2022, Louisiana adults enrolling in high-demand career programs at community colleges may have their tuition paid for, according to this article from the Daily Advertiser.  Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ budget proposal for the 2023 fiscal year that begins July 1st was presented to the Joint Legislative Branch Committee in late January. While Louisiana lawmakers have been discussing and debating how exactly they should spend over $2 billion in surpluses and increased future revenue, one of Edwards’ proposed budget increases is poised to survive the debating: The M.J. Foster Promise Program.

Named after the late former Gov. Mike Foster, who is colloquially known as the father of Louisiana’s community college system, the M.J. Foster Promise Program aims to serve as a unique, valuable resource to Louisiana citizens 21 and older who are enrolled in community college programs that support one of five growing industry sectors in the state. Applicants could receive their community college paid for via a grant if their enrolled program supports a career in construction, healthcare, information technology, manufacturing, and transportation and logistics.

Monty Sullivan, President of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, described the M.J. Foster Promise Program as “TOPS for grown folks,” but unlike the immensely popular university tuition scholarship programthat’s funded by the state with more than $300,000 annually, there are no academic requirements for applicants wanting to secure their community college grants.

Sullivan went on to explain that the maximum $6,400 award will cover all of the eligible training and degree programsfor those high-demand career sectors “without having to come out of their pocket.” He went on to refer to the program as a transformational opportunity poised to benefit 1.1 million Louisiana adults who don’t have training beyond high school.

Under the grant, the types of eligible training that can be covered for approved applicants can range from a two-year associate nursing degree to a 10-week commercial driving course. Sullivan, who plans to begin marketing the program and how to access it this spring, said: “This will not only transform the lives of these adults and their families but the communities in which they live. Imagine having more nurses during a pandemic and having a workforce to attract new business and industry.”

The idea for the M.J. Foster Promise Program, now Act 457, started as Republican Senate President Page Cortez’s Senate Bill 148, and while the bill was passed last year, it still must be funded in order to officially start on July 1. Republican Senate President Page Cortez said of the program, “the Legislature has been very supportive of this new program for those who have been caught in an education and career gap, and I’m confident my colleagues will continue to support it when it comes to funding the program,” Cortez told the USA Today Network, “The MJ Foster Promise Program is the first of its kind in our state’s history and will provide opportunity and access to jobs for thousands of Louisianans. Employers across the state are seeking skilled workers who often lack the resources they need for training.”

In addition to the proposal for $10.5 million in free community college tuition, Governor Edwards’ budget proposal also announced: a $1,500 pay increase for K-12 teachers and $750 raises for school support staff at a cost of $148.4 million; a $31.7 million pay raise for higher education faculty, $97.2 million in other higher education funding increases such as Go Grants and Title IX, and $43 million to expand early childhood education in the state.

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Baton Rouge Students Earn Associate Degree & High School Diploma

Recently, an innovative new program has emerged in Baton Rouge Louisiana that involves local high schoolers earning an associate degree and a high school diploma at the same time, as reported by an article from The Advocate.

The program is similar to other early college programs that have emerged in Louisiana in recent years, though this particular Baton Rouge-based program, known as the East Baton Rouge Career and Technical Education Center’sEarly College Academy, is set to zero in on specific, high-demand, higher-paying job fields. The end result is to have students walk out of high school and right into a job, having gained the education and experience alongside their diploma requisites.

Earlier this year in March, a memorandum of understanding was signed for the new academy by officials from both the Baton Rouge Community College and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Though, the coronavirus outbreak and the surrounding closures of schools shut down the operations involved in opening the academy and getting students enrolled. However, officials from the two educational institutions recently reconvened to sign a proclamation that commemorates the partnership between the school system and the community college.

Though the program is beginning with a manageable, smaller size than intended, it’s allowing officials to observe what does and doesn’t work about the program from the onset, as four Baton Rouge teenagers from Broadmoor Senior High School are starting their associate’s degree alongside their diploma pathway this month.

These students started the year by taking both their high school and college-level classes strictly online, and they’re set to return to twice-a-week instruction in-person soon. The in-person instruction will have students taking their traditional classes at Broadmoor High and taking their field-specific college courses at the school system’s Career and Technical Education Center. These four students are the first ninth-graders to attend EBR CTEC, and they’re joining 155 juniors and seniors from other local high schools.

Chancellor of Baton Rouge Community College, Willie Smith told the Advocate just how graduates of the program can make an immediate impact upon exiting. He stated, “Could you imagine — we’ll have 18-year-olds now paying taxes — what that will do for our community?”

Similarly, Associate Superintendent Ben Necaise, who was filling in for Superintendent Leslie Brown addressed students at the ceremony directly by saying, “Congratulations for taking that plunge and being the first students to go through this amazing program. We can’t wait to see what you do.”

These four students from Broadmoor High entering the program are pursuing associate’s degrees in automotive as well as information technology with more degree pathways to be added in the future once the program opens up to more high schools.

So far this year, the students have been taking online IT courses as they await a return to in-person instruction that will allow them to gain experience that comes with full utilization of the hands-on lab equipment.

One student learned of the program just by viewing a promotional poster in the office while he was registering for school earlier this year. He viewed the program as a good opportunity to broaden his expertise, as he had already begun independently learning how to code.

The Executive Vice President of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, John Spain, traced the genesis of the program all the way back to 2008 when he and other civic leaders were trying to decrease the amount of teenagers dropping from local area high schools.

This program, once expanded, wil serve as a great companion to a high schooler’s education as it’ll propel them directly into the workforce just as they receive their diploma, making the students an active investor in their education as early as Freshman year.

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