Want to Finish Your Degree? Compete Louisiana Offers Tuition Discount
On May 5, UL System President Jim Henderson announced at a luncheon they will be dropping the system's school tuition cost for adults who want to finish their degrees.
Compete Louisiana is a program created to help increase the completion of Louisiana's degrees by 60%. They rolled out this program last year and plan to see the benefits by 2030.
According to the Advocate, a study found that 653,000 adults in Louisiana have taken college course classes but not completed their degrees. Henderson stated a large majority of the adults who left college quit because of financial stresses with tuition.
Tuition costs for returning adults will be at a 45% decrease. Regular student tuition will stay the same, but candidates for the Compete Louisiana Program would be eligible. If you are interested in applying for this program, applicants must meet three requirements: be a Louisiana resident, have some previous college credits, and have been out of college for at least two years.
Most of the system's schools offer a $400 to $500 dollar course class per credit hour. That can be costly for many adults who want to finish their degree. Henderson says that, even with the discount, schools will earn back a percentage of the tuition they may have lost from dropouts.
Here is the list of schools in the UL system:
- Northwestern State University of Louisiana
- University of Louisiana at Monroe
- University of New Orleans
- Southeastern Louisiana University
- Nicholls State University
- McNeese State University
- Louisiana Tech University
- University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Grambling State University
Schools across Louisiana remain closed at this time, but former students who qualify for the program will receive the discount immediately. This means you could possibly take summer course work online or wait until the fall semester.
Visit competela.org for more information and to see if you qualify.