A new program called Compete Louisiana aims to ease the burden of returning to college for those that may have finished school without receiving a degree. President of the University of Louisiana system Jim Henderson says many of those adults are now finding it harder to compete for jobs and they need to finish what they started.
“It knocks down the barriers, it eliminates the red tape and makes coming back to college not about the process, but about the potential outcome and that increased ability to compete,” said Henderson.
One in five adults in the state, just over 650,000, started college but never got a degree, with two-thirds living in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and Acadiana areas. Henderson says time management is the biggest hurdle for those that are targeted by the program.
“Time in the classroom or time online in the discussion group and eliminate that time that is meaningless,” said Henderson.
Henderson says coaches will be assigned to individuals to figure out the right program and advise the student on the process and the entire academic pathway.
“They’ll stay with the student through graduation and ensure that they can stay on path. We’ve seen this model work on the individual level and we’ve designed it to take it to scale,” said Henderson.
More details can be found at competela.org.
