HLS 21RS-628 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 150
BY REPRESENTATIVE GLOVER
COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Requests the Bd. of Regents and LSU Board of Supervisors
to study and report relative to the status of the LSU Shreveport Commitment Plan of
2012
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Board of Regents and the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State
3 University and Agricultural and Mechanical College to collaboratively study and
4 report relative to the status of the Louisiana State University Shreveport
5 Commitment Plan of 2012, including an update on the needs and strategies outlined
6 in the 2012 report by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public
7 University in Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative Strategies.
8 WHEREAS, the Louisiana State University Shreveport Commitment Plan was
9developed by Louisiana State University at Shreveport (LSUS) in collaboration with the
10Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) at Shreveport and Louisiana
11State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College; and
12 WHEREAS, published on April 4, 2012, the plan addresses the continued evolution
13of LSUS as a major university presence in the Shreveport region; and
14 WHEREAS, on April 27, 2012, the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed
15the plan and directed its implementation through close collaboration with all institutions in
16the LSU System, recognizing that all LSU entities have a stake in the successful
17development of LSUS; and
18 WHEREAS, the plan defined both a series of short-term initiatives designed to
19provide immediate impact from new program offerings and longer-term initiatives to grow
20selected graduate programs; and
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HR NO. 150
1 WHEREAS, the plan also identified programs, degrees, and certificates, recognized
2the commitment of the responsible university administrators for each program, and
3established a timeline for implementation; and
4 WHEREAS, House Resolution No. 112 of the 2012 Regular Session of the
5legislature expressed support for the plan, urged the Board of Regents and all public
6postsecondary education institutions in the Shreveport region to cooperate with the plan, and
7requested that the LSU Board of Supervisors report to the legislature over the next three
8academic years on matters including details on new programs offered and put into effect as
9well as student enrollment and completion data for such programs; and
10 WHEREAS, the plan is regarded by many to be merely, in the words of LSU-S
11chancellor Larry Clark, a "political document", that did not represent the needs of students,
12prospective students, or regional employers or embody a realistic or worthwhile vision for
13the future; and
14 WHEREAS, Chancellor Clark noted in past remarks that the plan was "quickly
15pulled together" and that "everyone involved in creating that document is no longer in place,
16either at LSU or LSU-S"; and
17 WHEREAS, there is widespread consensus that there has been a grave lack of
18investment in LSU-S and that the commitment plan fell woefully short in terms of
19realistically addressing the measures needed to strengthen the institution and meet the needs
20of its students; and
21 WHEREAS, there remains an extremely strong need for investment in and support
22for LSU-S and further educational opportunities in the Shreveport-Bossier area; and
23 WHEREAS, prior to the publication of the commitment plan, the Board of Regents,
24along with several community organizations, co-sponsored a study conducted in 2011-2012
25by Eva Klein and Associates, which analyzed unmet needs in postsecondary education in the
26Shreveport-Bossier region; the report resulting from this study was published in February
27of 2012; and
28 WHEREAS, it has been several years since the issuance of the last report from the
29LSU Board of Supervisors and the publication of the Eva Klein report, and there is ongoing
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HR NO. 150
1discussion as to the progress made in implementing the components of the plan and the
2strategies recommended in the report; and
3 WHEREAS, it is appropriate at this time that the Board of Regents and the LSU
4Board of Supervisors take the necessary measures to provide an update on these important
5issues.
6 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
7Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Board of Regents and the Board
8of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College to
9submit a written report to the House Committee on Education on the status of the Louisiana
10State University Shreveport Commitment Plan of 2012, including but not limited to whether
11or not the commitments contained in the plan have been fulfilled and if the plan is still in
12place.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the plan is not still in place, the report shall
14identify what specific vision, plan, or strategy is in place for the future of LSUS that will
15result in its establishment as the comprehensive research university that is needed in the
16Shreveport area.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such report shall include an analysis of the status
18of meeting the needs and implementing the strategies outlined in the 2012 report by Eva
19Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public University in Shreveport-Bossier:
20Analysis of Alternative Strategies, including the following:
21 (1) Needs: Reconfiguring academic programs so that all are high quality and market
22responsive; growing incoming enrollment and improving retention and degree completion
23rates; strengthening recruitment and marketing; improving the quality of the student
24experience in and beyond the classroom; recognizing and responding to scheduling and
25support service needs of adult students; building greater engagement with the community;
26and growing both state and self-generated resources.
27 (2) Strategies for addressing these needs: Assessing all existing programs as well as
28proposed new ones; where appropriate, revamping traditional programs to achieve
29interdisciplinary structure and content; aligning programs more closely with industry,
30service, and professional enterprises in the metro area; building graduate programs in health
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HR NO. 150
1care fields based on alliances with the LSUHSC-Shreveport; developing graduate programs
2oriented to urban needs; building on existing strengths; aligning the program delivery
3calendar and schedule with underserved populations' needs; where possible, restructuring
4and revising presently authorized degree programs; and reducing program duplication in the
5Shreveport-Bossier market.
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such report shall be submitted to the House
7Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2022 Regular
8Session of the Legislature.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
10commissioner of higher education, the chairman of the Board of Regents, the chairman of
11the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical
12College, and the chancellor of Louisiana State University at Shreveport.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 150 Original 2021 Regular Session Glover
Requests the Bd. of Regents and the LSU Board of Supervisors to study and submit a written
report to the House Committee on Education on the status of the LSU Shreveport
Commitment Plan of 2012, including an update on the needs and strategies outlined in the
2012 report by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public University in
Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative Strategies.
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