The University has a chance to receive additional funding from the $40 million allotment plan set aside by Gov. Bobby Jindal earlier this year, said Stephen Barnes, director of the Division of Economic Development.
The funding, called the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) Plan, will provide funds to state institutions that get industry corporations to match 20 percent of the cost of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs they are trying to grow.
Barnes said the size of the University’s established STEM programs could help the University receive more of the available funding.
Of the University’s total undergraduate students, 23 percent are enrolled in STEM programs for the spring semester, according to enrollment statistics on the Office of Budget and Planning website.
“I think LSU is positioned very well to compete for these funds,” Barnes said. “This will help grow programs that are not meeting the demand for graduates in the workforce.”
In 2012, about 33 percent of Louisiana Tech undergraduate students were enrolled in STEM programs, a larger percentage than the University, which had about 19 percent, according to Louisiana Tech’s website.
Barnes said the WISE Plan would not detract from programs in the state.
“This is state dollars that comes on top of tuition increase,” Barnes said. “Adding new money to expand certain programs.
The funding shouldn’t lead to a surplus of STEM graduates, despite expanding the programs, because the institutions vying for the funds have to get matching dollars, Barnes said.
“The requirement will be a helpful control, which reassures that these are new programs businesses need graduates from,” Barnes said.
LSU President F. King Alexander told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune the LSU schools plan to partner with IBM and Shell for private investment support. Alexander collaborated with the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the Board of Regents and the Office of Louisiana Economic Development to develop the WISE Plan.
Barnes described the WISE Plan as if every higher education program had $5 in their hands and now STEM programs have the opportunity to get five more to help meet the job market demand.