UL System Remains Louisiana’s Largest System and Among Top 20 Largest in the Country
Baton Rouge, La. – Preliminary fall enrollment numbers released last week show the University of Louisiana System retains its position as the largest system in the state with 88,752 students enrolled at its nine universities. The National Center for Education Statistics shows the UL System is among the top 20 largest systems in the country ranging in enrollment from 87,000 to over 435,000.
“We are proud of the uniqueness of our system with nine distinct universities that, when combined, enroll almost half of all public higher education students and generate most of the degrees,” said UL System President Sandra K. Woodley. “However, we know this is not enough, and we have to strategically increase enrollment and degree production to fuel the projected growth in Louisiana’s economy. This is particularly crucial in high demand fields such as computer science and information systems, business, engineering, and healthcare. This month our Board will be approving strategic plans from each university related to the Workforce and Innovation for a Stronger Economy (WISE) initiative that will begin to address this important issue.”
This fall in the UL System, three universities saw enrollment increases with overall system enrollment down less than one percent. Statewide, total public postsecondary enrollment dropped 1.37 percent with almost 3,000 less students than Fall 2013.
The following is a breakdown of UL System enrollment by campus:
|
Institution |
2013 |
2014 |
Difference |
1-Yr % Change |
|
Grambling State University |
5,071 |
4,504 |
-567 |
-11.18% |
|
Louisiana Tech University |
10,962 |
11,271 |
309 |
2.81% |
|
McNeese State University |
8,349 |
8,242 |
-107 |
-1.28% |
|
Nicholls State University |
6,540 |
6,298 |
-242 |
-3.70% |
|
Northwestern State University |
8,944 |
9,002 |
58 |
0.65% |
|
Southeastern Louisiana University |
14,949 |
14,498 |
-451 |
-3.02% |
|
University of Louisiana at Lafayette |
16,646 |
17,195 |
549 |
3.30% |
|
University of Louisiana at Monroe |
8,658 |
8,526 |
-132 |
-1.52% |
|
University of New Orleans |
9,323 |
9,216 |
-107 |
-1.15% |
|
TOTAL UL SYSTEM |
89,442 |
88,752 |
-690 |
-0.77% |
|
STATEWIDE TOTAL |
216,613 |
213,647 |
-2,966 |
-1.37% |
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System enrolls 68,019 students; the Louisiana State University System enrolls 44,246 students; and the Southern University System enrolls 12,630 students.
In 2012-13, UL System schools graduated 16,599 students including 74 percent of Louisiana’s education graduates, 72 percent of Louisiana’s nursing graduates, 66 percent of Louisiana’s business graduates, and 60 percent of Louisiana’s engineering graduates.
The UL System was founded in 1974 as the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, the management board for all universities and community colleges not under the Louisiana State University or Southern University systems. In 1998 its name changed to the University of Louisiana System and transferred five community colleges to the newly created Louisiana Community and Technical College System. In 2011, the University of New Orleans transferred from the LSU System, making the UL System Nine Universities Strong.
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About the UL System
The University of Louisiana System is the largest higher education system in Louisiana enrolling almost 89,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the University of New Orleans.
