Interview with LSU's Student Body President
Over the weekend, I sat down with LSU’s Student Body President, Michelle Gieg, to ask her about the issues facing higher education. Here are some of the highlights (her responses are in bold):It was recently announced that over 60 million will be cut from higher education here in Louisiana (see previous post). Is this amount higher or lower than what officials, student body presidents, etc. anticipated?
“Higher Education and healthcare are the only government-funded departments that can constitutionally be cut in Louisiana. Many officials in higher education were speculating an even bigger cut after the special session, but fortunately, higher ed was spared from a larger cut for the most part. In fact, every state agency was asked to report to the House Finance committee and go through – essentially line-by-line – how much they were cutting from their department and what those cuts would affect.”
In an earlier discussion I had with President Gieg, she mentioned that schools might be combined to handle this budget cut. For example, they were apparently considering combining LSUS and Louisiana Tech. About this, President Gieg said…
“There is conversation among the four systems of combining programs and, eventually Universities. We have made a state-wide commitment to community and technical college systems and hope to recruit more students into those institutions. There are also concerns about offering the same types of education in the same regional areas.”
In Louisiana, there is a renowned scholarship program known as TOPS (Tuition Opportunity Program for Students). This initiative was started in an effort to stop the “brain drain” from Louisiana. Outstanding high school graduates were pouring out of the state for higher education. With TOPS, students are encouraged to stay in-state because, with a reasonable GPA and ACT score, their tuition and fees are paid. But is this program at risk?
“Even before the Hurricanes, revisions to TOPS were being discussed. Louisiana, which has the highest poverty rates of any state in the country, has 95% merit-based scholarships and only 5-or-so% need-based (this is with the exception of Federal Pell grants). However, as of right now, TOPS will remain the same. The future of TOPS is, however, still a question.”
As a student at LSU-BR, I wanted to know what President Gieg saw as the biggest problem facing our university. After all, we are the flagship university of the state and, since the hurricanes, have taken in students from various New Orleans Universities.
“I am concerned that students will have to consume the majority of the 4-million dollar cut through assessment of student fees. However, it may be imposed to preserve the quality of the education students receive at LSU. If we can not compensate as a University for the cut, then we will begin to lose faculty, programs and eventually, quality. If we don’t patch the hole given to us by the state, then we could set ourselves back literally decades.”
In a previous post, I mentioned the mixed messages being sent by the Medical School in New Orleans. Here are the latest updates President Gieg has received.
“LSUHSC- NO should be online to receive students in spring 2006. However, their facilities are still severely damaged. Health Sciences took an even bigger hit budget-wise because they did not and are not receiving revenue from patients because of the Hurricane and closure of their hospitals. That school and hospital system is a real concern of the LSU system. The system, though, recognizes the huge economic impact the HSC has in New Orleans and the large impact it has in the social realm and they will rebuild it.”
As President of our Student Body, President Gieg is the “student voice” to state government and within the LSU System. She is also a member of the Council of Student Body Presidents for Louisiana – a collection of every student government president from every university within the state of Louisiana. So, what are the Student Body Presidents doing?
“We are discussing options for the future of education state-wide. Many presidents are interested in merging programs, but not necessarily Universities. We have drafted resolutions related to the cuts, encouraging the legislature to spare higher ed, which happened.”
As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, a major concern for the state is getting people to return to the cities they evacuated – especially New Orleans. It seems to me that this HAS to be a concern of higher education institutions such as Tulane and the University of New Orleans. So, how are students who transferred out of state being recruited to come back?
“Each institution is handling that differently. The message of the state is that we are open for business and are encouraging students to come back. For example, UNO will reopen January 30 and will offer a wide variety of amenities that were not offered pre-Katrina, like lounges and coffee shops on campus. They want to assure students that their livelihood can return with their educational opportunities.”
(There was an article in our school paper about this issue and the University of New Orleans today. Click here to view that article.)
But what if these students decide not to go back to New Orleans? Will LSU-BR be able to handle the extra students permanently?
“LSU will be able to capacitate the number of visiting students who choose to stay. However, these students must meet the transfer requirements of any other student wishing to enroll at LSU.”
If you have any other questions for President Gieg, please add them in the comments and I will try to get an answer for you.
posted by Jessie Tucker @ 12/05/2005
5 Comments:
I have a few questions for President Geig. First, I was wondering if there are any estimates on how large the student body will be in the spring semester? Are there any estimates on how many transfer students will decide to remain at LSU? Also, what does enrollment for next year look like? Are we getting more applicants or less as a result of what happened? Do you think housing and hotels in the Baton Rouge area might open up a bit when students go back to New Orleans in January?
Arman,
I have passed your questions onto Michelle and will hopefully have answers for you in the next couple of days. Great questions, by the way.
Jessie
Arman,
Great questions. Let me preface by saying that there remain many questions about the future of LSU and of institutions across the state. We are bound to see major changes in the way Louisiana handles Higher Education - which will undoubtedly affect LSU.
First we (LSU) are expecting that many of our visiting students will stay at LSU for the spring, but LSU is more than willing to welcome them. As of now, we have visitng students enrolling through LSU Admissions. I understand that there are a few coming in everyday. I would guess that the number is close to a couple hundred now, but as we get closer to the spring semseter, we will see more. The final day to enroll will be the 14th day of class in the Spring semester. The LSU system and UNO is working hard to make UNO a pocket of vitality in New Orleans and has plans to help rebuild the city. Enrollment for next fall is projected to go down. However, that was the projection both pre- and post-Katrina. Housing should open as more people, including students, move back to the city. For students, Universities in New Orleans are working with FEMA to ensure that sudents are accomodated ASAP.
The political issue that everyone wants to avoid is whether we have too many public Universities in LA. Every region of the state wants its own full, four-year University (2 year junior colleges will not do). So we have them, and each is starved of funds.
Second, we have to address the TOPs/tuition problem: Should not U's be able to raise tuition without it being a State Budget issue? Can we continue to pretend we can provide quality education on the cheap?
Profx,
From what I've found, Louisiana does not have an outrageous number of universities. Our numbers seems average according to (http://www.utexas.edu/world/univ/state/).
Additionally, combining schools does not necessarily lead to a better education. My friends that attend the University of Illinois (40,000 students) pay triple what I pay in tuition to get taught by UNDERGRADUATE teaching assistants in classes of 400+. There is something to be said for a variety of university choices.
Also, I agree with you about the tuition. It is ridiculously low right now but, in one of the poorest states in the country, that is expected.
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