Moving Forward Archive

It’s now easier for LSU at Eunice graduates to pursue a bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The schools have signed an agreement that lets LSUE graduates apply course credits earned on the Eunice campus toward a bachelor’s degree in biology from UL

This latest accord is part of a “2+2” program that has brought recognition to the schools as one of six high-performing pairs of community colleges and universities in which students can easily move from one to the other to earn a bachelor’s diploma and perhaps a higher degree.

LSUE and UL Lafayette began their first 2+2 program, in education, in 2014. That program allows students to complete all four years of coursework on the LSU campus in Eunice. UL Lafayette faculty members and advisors travel to Eunice to teach and for counseling sessions. More than 30 students were enrolled in the program in the Fall 2017 semester.

Additionally. LSUE has recently signed an agreement with Northwestern State University in Natchitoches to allow students to apply credits earned at LSUE to bachelor’s degree programs in criminal justice and public safety administration.

The 2+2 plan in biology will take effect in the fall 2018 semester. Under this arrangement, students complete 60 credit hours of classwork 

during a two-year tenure at LSUE to earn an associate degree. Those credits then transfer to UL Lafayette, and are applied to the 120 hours needed to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Another partnership, called Ragin’ Cajun Bridge, also begun in 2014, gives benefits to  LSUE students who plan to transfer to UL Lafayette. These include admission to athletics events, library privileges, tutoring, career counseling services, and academic advising.

UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie said that the latest 2+2 agreement “strengthens the university’s already strong collaboration with LSUE.”

“The partnership between our two institutions provides a seamless transition for LSUE students to complete a bachelor’s degree in a high-demand field of study,” according to LSUE Chancellor Kimberly Russell, who said the school “will continue to develop more innovative pathways that lead to student completion, graduation, and success in their chosen careers.

Van Reed, LSUE director of public relations, said that over the last ten years an average of 19.35 percent of the first-time, full-time LSUE freshmen have gone on to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. The average of all two-year schools in Louisiana is 7.5 percent. The nationwide average is 14.4 percent.