LSUE grows despite extraordinary challenges

LSUE grows despite extraordinary challenges Main Photo

3 Nov 2020


Enrollment at LSU Eunice continues to grow even as faculty and students have had to adjust to life during a pandemic and face other adversities.

While community colleges nationwide have seen enrollments dip by eight percent, fall enrollment at LSUE is up five percent over last year. Chancellor Nancee Sorenson expects that to continue because of an aggressive marketing campaign.

Sorenson was joined at the podium at a recent meeting of the Eunice Rotary Club by Dr. John Hamlin, vice chancellor of academic affairs; Travis Webb, public affairs director; and Jeff Willis, athletic director and baseball coach.
Despite the social distancing and other restrictions of a pandemic, LSUE is on an upward trajectory, Sorenson said. Webb said the school has launched its biggest ever marketing and communication effort, reaching principally into Jefferson Davis and Lafayette parishes. 

One of the challenges brought on by coronavirus resyttictions has been in meeting the needs of high school students with dual enrollment because many of the high schools started late and in virtual settings, according to Hamlin.

LSUE’s continued strength in spite of the extraordinary challenges is important for the parish and for the region as a whole, in the view of Bill Rodier, St. Landry economic development director.

He pointed to a recent analysis by the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) that found two-year colleges “critical” for Louisiana.

“Because of our concentrations in industrial jobs, oil and gas, and manufacturing, our economy relies on a large number of workers who need skills training and credentials to get hired, but not necessarily a four-year degree. We need to further diversify our economy so that we have a better balance in the mix, but that won’t change the existing demand for these workers,” CABL said.      

Partnering with high schools in dual enrollment programs has been important in LSUE’s growth, and has also provided opportunities that some high school students would otherwise miss, Rodier notes.

LSUE has partnered with two dozen high schools to deliver college-level courses and the U.S. Department of Education selected the school as one of only 44 colleges and universities to participate in an experimental program to allow high school students to take courses for college credit.

Dual enrollment programs introduce students to college-level work, and also give them an incentive to continue their education after graduation from high school. LSUE and the St. Landry Parish School Board work together to find students ready for the program and to expand course offerings available to them.   

Coronavirus restrictions have also led to a jump in enrollment in LSUE’s online offerings, Sorenson said.

“This continued growth in the face of an unprecedented crisis is truly good news,” Rodier said. “One of our highest priorities in economic development is to provide the best education possible for every student at every level in St. Landry Parish. LSUE is providing leadership at many levels as we move toward that goal.”

Three things to know about this story:

  • Fall enrollment at LSUE is up five percent over last year.
  • The school has launched its biggest ever marketing and communication effort.
  • LSUE’s continued strength in spite of the extraordinary challenges is important for the parish and for the region as a whole.
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