The Louisiana Legislature has yet to pass any bills regarding higher education in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and several bills regarding TOPS have been deferred, said Uma Subramanian, deputy commissioner for legal and external affairs of the Louisiana Board of Regents, at the board’s meeting Wednesday.
Senate Bill 62, authored by Sen. Conrad Appel, R-La., aims to establish a common application for all public colleges and Universities in the state. It has passed through the Senate and is now headed to the House Education Committee. The bill would not require that each institution charge the same application fee, rather it would streamline the application process, Appel said.
Should the bill be passed, LSU would be required to create a new application for incoming students in collaboration with other public colleges and universities in the state.
Senate Bill 124, authored by Democratic Senator Ben Nevers, would give postsecondary education boards the freedom to set their own tuition rates. LSU President F. King Alexander has pushed tuition autonomy to save the University money and separate it from the state’s monetary constrictions. The bill has yet to be heard by the Senate, Subramanian said.
The bill coincides with House Bill 943 authored by independent Congressman Jerome Richard. Should Richard’s bill be passed, public colleges and universities would be allowed to charge tuition on a per credit-hour basis. According to the University’s website, tuition caps off at $2,944.30 for 12 credit hours and does not charge for additional hours.
Senate Bill 526, which would establish the $40 million needed annually to support the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) Plan, has also yet to be passed. The WISE Plan will provide funds to state institutions that get businesses to match 20 percent of the cost of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs universities are trying to grow.
The Board of Regents must certify the matched funds for the higher education STEM programs before the programs can be awarded money from the WISE funding. The 20 percent match can be in cash or in-kind donations, but must come from private individuals or businesses.