The Louisiana Postsecondary Education Review Commission met several times during the fall semester and made several recommendations that could shape the future of higher education in Louisiana. The Commission — a brainchild of House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Terrytown — is designed to evaluate the efficiency of higher education systems in the state. Its task is to compile a report for the Board of Regents to review by Feb. 12 that will then be sent to the Legislature, where lawmakers will use the Commission’s findings to help them deal with a $150 million cut in state funds expected for public colleges and universities next year. The Commission made its first recommendation for the state to increase its graduation rates in October. The University should increase its graduation rate to 75 percent by 2018, the recommendation reads. University Chancellor Michael Martin told The Daily Reveille on Oct. 30 the Commission’s recommendation will be “a large leap” but is “doable.””You’ll see our [graduation] rate rise from about 62 percent to about 68 percent based on the recent trend improvement in retention, but it will still be a stretch to 75 percent,” Martin said in an e-mail.Martin said the University will be able to achieve a graduation rate of 75 percent if it can continue to raise admission standards, which currently require incoming freshmen to have earned a 3.0 GPA in high school and a composite ACT score of at least 22. Undergraduate admission standards are determined by the LSU Board of Supervisors and University faculty. Martin said the University must also improve its retention rate to 90 percent or more. The University’s retention rate was 58.4 percent in 2007. If students carry as close to full loads of course work as possible, the 75 percent graduation rate is possible, Martin said. He said University students carry an average of 14.2 credit hours per semester, while the average for other four-year institutions in the state is 11.7. Retention rates have increased steadily since 1988 when the University began implementing stricter admission requirements, but the administration is still working to improve the percentage of graduating students, Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Budget and Planning, told The Daily Reveille on Sept. 24. But the Commission’s recommendation for increased graduation rates is not just for LSU.The Commission recommended all other public colleges and universities reach 50 percent by 2018, as well. The average in the state is about 40 percent.Last month, the Commission approved four recommendations regarding academic programs in the state.The Board of Regents, in consultation with management boards, will review academic programs statewide for unnecessary duplication of efforts and excess hours required for degree completion, according to the Commission’s first recommendation. The Board will then, according to the resolution, eliminate such duplications and excess hours accordingly. James Wharton, former University chancellor and Commission member, suggested the recommendation. He said the recommendation will look specifically at courses and not at restructuring, merging or eliminating campuses. “I’m not thinking mergers or closures at this time,” Wharton said. “I am thinking in terms of schools working more closely together.” Wharton also suggested the second recommendation, which charges the Board of Regents, along with colleges, universities and their individual management boards — like the LSU Board of Supervisors — to evaluate each institution’s role, scope and mission. The review will allow the different institutions to better define themselves and the purposes they serve, Wharton said. The Commission also recommended the Board of Regents continue to conduct regular reviews of degree programs, taking into consideration cost effectiveness, program quality and other factors. The fourth recommendation charged the Board of Regents to establish a funding formula for all associate degree programs in the state and to have that formula in place by the beginning of the 2010-11 academic year. The next Commission meeting will be Dec. 14 and 15 and will cover higher education finance.
 
 
 
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