Student Government hopes to help all student organizations find money this semester by hosting a grant-writing workshop.
   SG invites all representatives from student organizations to attend the workshop Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon in the Union Vieux Carre room.
   ”As a staff we thought it would be a good idea to help organizations find information about getting grant money,” said Kimberly Allen, SG public relations director. “Its easier to get grant money and spend more time on projects than to have to fund-raise every day.”
   Speakers at the workshop will discuss topics such as making correct contacts for grants and ways to word grants for better and more effective results, Allen said.
Students interested in learning more about the workshop should contact the SG office at 578-8727.
Tracy Simoneaux
Officials attribute increased retention, graduation rates to higher standards
    During the past five years, Louisiana State University has seen nearly a 10 percent increase in its graduation rate for undergraduate students.
While a 10 percent increase may seem quite dramatic, an even more important factor is the change since 1987. That year saw 39.4 percent of its freshman class graduate, while 57.8 percent of the 1995 freshman class finished.
“Institutions just don’t do that unless they are doing something material,” said Bob Kuhn, associate vice chancellor in the Office of Budget and Planning. Admissions standards increased in 1988, making this change possible. In that year, LSU first instituted an admission requirement, 17.5 units of high school courses. Since then, the graduation rate has continued to increase because of tougher requirements. A 2.0 high school GPA was set in 1990 and was raised to 2.3 in 1995.
Students should expect to continue to see a rise in graduation rates, as admissions standards continue to tighten. The freshman class of 2000 saw a jump to a 2.5 high school GPA, plus the addition of a 20 composite on the ACT. In 2002, freshmen will be required to have a 2.8 high school GPA. This should mean good things for LSU’s academic future.
Though the numbers provide an explanation for the increase, students have other ideas about what has happened. Jen Bordelon, a retail merchandising junior, says a degree is necessary in today’s world. “I think that a lot of students feel that they will have to have a degree in order to find a good job after college,” Bordelon says. “I know that’s what’s keeping me here.”
There is some truth to Bordelon’s statement. According to the “Digest of Education Statistics” in 1998, “about 79 percent of adults, 25 years old and over with a bachelor’s degree, participated in the labor force in 1997 compared with the 66 percent of persons who were high school graduates.”
Another student Ryan Gremillion, an international trade and finance sophomore, thinks Louisiana’s Tuition Opportunity Program for Students should receive some credit for the increase. “[The Louisiana Legislature] keeps raising standards for TOPS, which means better students come in year after year,” Gremillion states.
Director of Financial Aid Kathy Sciacchetano feels TOPS is certainly an incentive for students to maintain their GPAs and eventually graduate, but it has not yet had an effect on the graduation rate. “TOPS has only been in place since 1998, so we will not see their graduation statistics for another couple of years,” Sciacchetano said.
Another important fact to note is that many more students are taking five and even six years to complete their college degree requirements. Mass communication freshman Claire LeBlanc attributes this to students trying to balance school with a job.
“A lot of people I know are working during school, so they take the minimum number of hours,” LeBlanc said.
Kuhn said he is disappointed students do this “because it means they end up paying more per credit hour, and taking a longer time to get out into their field.” He said if the University and the students work together and become more efficient in planning their entire college careers, this situation will resolve itself.