Another round of cuts to Louisiana higher education is prompting some in the state to suggest closing up to 8 of the state’s 14 universities.
Over the past year and a half, the state legislature cut spending on higher education by more than $250 million. While those cuts were buffered last year by $290 million in federal stimulus spending, this year the university system will have to absorb the full budget shortfall.
After hearing about the proposed cuts, leaders of the university system presented the legislature with scenarios for how it would reduce spending. One of those scenarios would close eight of the fourteen public universities and displace 50,000 students.
