2015 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 132
BY SENATOR APPEL
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Board of Regents, in consultation with the public postsecondary
education management boards, to re-examine the state's public postsecondary
education delivery system and make recommendations to the legislature regarding
the appropriate role, scope, and mission for each public postsecondary institution as
necessary to ensure a comprehensive, coordinated, statewide public postsecondary
delivery system that meets the needs of students and addresses the state's economic
development and workforce needs on a local, regional, and statewide level.
WHEREAS, the role public postsecondary education plays in the economic well
being of our citizens and our state is both well established and undeniable; and
WHEREAS, it is equally clear that the number of current and projected job openings
in the state and related educational requirements does not align with the number of citizens
matriculating from our public postsecondary institutions with degrees and credentials that
sufficiently prepare them to enter the workforce and fill the demand for skilled employees;
and
WHEREAS, the changing needs of the state's workforce and the state's fiscal
condition make it imperative that our public postsecondary educational system make optimal
use of resources, increase institutional efficiency and productivity, and maximize student
access to an institution of public postsecondary education that best meets their educational
and career needs and serves the state's economic development and workforce goals; and
WHEREAS, the quality and worth of an institution is not determined by its size or
the breadth of its program and degree offerings, but by how well it serves the needs of its
students, community, region, and the state; and
WHEREAS, each public postsecondary institution is an integral part of the state's
public postsecondary delivery system, but it is time to look beyond traditional parochial
considerations and recognize that achieving the state's goals may require that the role, scope,
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mission, and degree and program offerings of individual public postsecondary institutions
be redefined in a manner that differs from what is established in the current master plan, but
yet preserves institutional identity; and
WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 5(D)(2) of the Constitution of Louisiana provides,
relative to public institutions of postsecondary education, that it is a power, duty, and
responsibility of the Board of Regents to revise or eliminate an existing degree program,
department of instruction, division, or similar division and to approve a proposed degree
program, department of instruction, division, or similar subdivision; and
WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 5(D)(3)(a) of the constitution further provides that
it also is a power, duty, and responsibility of the board to study the need for and feasibility
of creating a new institution of public postsecondary education, including establishing a
branch of such an institution, or converting a nondegree granting institution to an institution
which grants degrees, or converting a college or university limited to offering degrees of a
lower rank than baccalaureate to a college or university that offers baccalaureate degrees,
or merging one or more institutions of public postsecondary education, establishing a new
management board, or transferring a college or university from one board to another; and
WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 5(D)(3)(b) of the constitution specifies that if the
creation of a new institution, the merger of institutions, the addition of a management board,
or the transfer of an existing institution from one board to another is proposed, the Board of
Regents shall report its written findings and recommendations to the legislature within one
year and further specifies that only after the report has been filed, or after one year from the
receipt of a request for a report from the legislature if no report is filed, may the legislature
take affirmative action on such a proposal, and then only by law enacted by two-thirds of the
elected members of each house; and
WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 5(D)(4) of the constitution tasks the Board of
Regents to formulate and make timely revision of a master plan for public postsecondary
education; and
WHEREAS, the current Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education adopted by
the board in 2011, and revised in 2012, provides for the role, scope, and mission of each
public postsecondary education institution in the state; and
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WHEREAS, it is incumbent upon the Board of Regents to exercise its constitutional
responsibility and re-examine the state's public postsecondary education delivery system
from a statewide perspective and determine the best manner in which to provide a
coordinated statewide public postsecondary delivery system that provides for the proper role,
scope, and mission of each public postsecondary institution and its placement within the
public postsecondary education governance structure, focuses resources, and establishes an
optimal balance of technical colleges, two-year and four-year institutions, and courses of
study.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request the Board of Regents, in consultation with the public
postsecondary education management boards, to re-examine the state's public postsecondary
education delivery system and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the
appropriate role, scope, and mission for each public postsecondary institution as necessary
to ensure a comprehensive, coordinated, statewide public postsecondary delivery system that
meets the needs of students and addresses the state's economic development and workforce
needs on a local, regional, and statewide level.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Regents submit a written report of
its findings and conclusions, including recommendations for the role, scope, and mission for
each existing public postsecondary institution, to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on Education, and the House
Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2016 Regular
Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
chairman of the Board of Regents, the commissioner of higher education, the president of
the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Louisiana State University
System, the Southern University System, and the University of Louisiana System.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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