Adults in Louisiana with little or no college experience now have an opportunity to enroll at a public college or university and earn a degree.
The Louisiana Board of Regents and the Southern Regional Education Board announced April 5 they would launch a joint initiative to help more adults pursue a college degree – the Continuum for All Louisiana Learners.
CALL will launch next fall at six institutions in Louisiana. It includes online, accelerated courses so adults with jobs or other obligations can receive course credit without dealing with long-term commitments.
Joseph Savoie, Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education, said the state needs more adults with college credentials, according to a news release.
“[Our state needs] not only more four-year degrees, but associate degrees and other skills certification beyond the high school diplomas as well,” Savoie said in the release.
Savoie said the CALL initiative will target three groups of adult learners: adults with no college experience, adults with some college experience but no degree and adults with college degrees pursuing further education.
Bruce Chaloux, director of SREB’s Electronic Campus and primary SREB liaison for the initiative, said CALL is an important step in supporting the state’s economy through educating workers.
“It’s no secret that Louisiana has a leaky educational pipeline,” Chaloux said. “The CALL initiative will establish a progressive set of strategies that build on a number of efforts planned or now underway across the state designed to address educational needs and to support economic and workforce development.”
Chaloux said the initiative will give consideration to adults who possess skills they used in a job and may give them course credit, according to an interview with Inside Higher Education.
“In some fashion, we’re recognizing that a 45-year-old working at a bank for many years may have creditable, demonstrative knowledge,” Chaloux said.
Kevin Hardey, communications director for the Louisiana Board of Regents, said a pilot of the initiative began in January 2007 at Bossier Parish Community College and Northwestern State University with focuses on nursing and criminal justice.
“The pilot program at those two campuses were very successful,” Hardey said. “The Regents were very encouraged by the success of the program, and it was decided to procreate some funds to expand the program this fall.”
CALL will be featured at four new campuses in the fall – Louisiana State University at Eunice, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Southeastern Louisiana University and McNeese State University. Bossier Parish Community College and Southeastern will continue their programs, totaling six in the state.
Hardey said the Board issued requests for proposals for any campuses in the state, including LSU.
“We didn’t receive any proposals from LSU in Baton Rouge,” Hardey said.
—-Contact Ben Bourgeois at [email protected].