The Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission met Monday to discuss the future of community and technical colleges in Louisiana. Members heard from national and local leaders about the state’s dwindling workforce and discussed ways to improve education completion rates while cutting government costs. Public colleges and universities endured budget cuts this summer after a rocky legislative session left institutions battling for funding. The Commission — brainchild of House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown — is designed to evaluate the efficiency of higher education systems in Louisiana and make suggestions to the Legislature this spring. The Commission will hear from each of the four college system presidents during the next few months and evaluate the structure of higher education. “There are no sacred cows,” Chairman Ben Nevers declared. Curt Eysink, executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, presented employment and workforce statistics at the meeting. Eysink stressed the importance of balancing the amount of students attending four-year universities and those who attend two-year institutions. “We do a great job of producing four-year graduates,” Eysink said. “We don’t do a good job producing two-year completers. We’re producing a work force that we cannot employ in Louisiana.” Belle Wheelan, vice chairman and president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, said the only way to achieve this goal is if the state is able to attract more businesses. Patrick Kelly, senior associate and director of the National Center for Higher Education, presented statistics to the Commission about degree production in Louisiana. According to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, about 23 percent of residents between the ages of 18 and 24 do not earn high school diplomas in Louisiana — compared to an average of about 18 percent in the rest of the U.S. Kelly said about 34 percent of 18- to 24-year-old residents just have a high school diploma. He said Louisiana is a state that has historically gotten people out of high school, but not much further. “The challenge is to get people out of high school,” Kelly said. And while recent high enrollment rates at public colleges and universities may look good on paper, the issue is the attainment of degrees — which is low, Kelly said.The Commission’s report is due to the Board of Regents by February 12. Its next meeting will be held in late October. —-Contact Kyle Bove at [email protected]