Trimming the Fat in Louisiana Higher Education (Aside from SUNO)

4-Year Graduation Rates for 2-Year Colleges & 6-Year Graduation Rates for 4-Year Colleges

IF Louisiana does indeed reach a critical point with it's annual state budget projections, which appears to be almost inevitable barring some unforeseen alteration to the state constitution or some wisdom on the part of the state legislature to pursue other revenue streams (e.g. legalize marijuana, expand gambling, impose an excise tax, implement a sliding tax for gasoline in the wake of dips in the global petrochemical market), this state's leaders are going to have to make some unpopular decisions.

Nobody wants their alma mater or current institution shut down, but the fact is that not all higher education institutions are created equal. Some give more than they take, and others take MUCH more than they give.

I have decided to contrast how graduation rates for all public institutions stack up to their allotted state budgets in order to more accurately determine which colleges are just a drain on the state economy. I have emboldened the schools that, in my humble opinion, should require some immediate examination if the aforementioned apocalyptic scenario comes to fruition.

According to data compiled by the NCES Integrated Postsecondary Educaiton Data System (IPEDS) and the U.S. Department of Education, here are the 6-year graduation rates for 4-year public universities.

In addition, each institution's supplementary budget allocation total according to the Louisiana State Legislature 2015-16 Fiscal Year Projections are listed to the right of the respective graduation percentage.

4-Year Institutions with 6-Year Graduation Rates
LSU 61% $460,510,841
Louisiana Tech 46% $94,259,391
UL-Lafayette 42% $120,128,743
McNeese 35% $58,162,657
Southeastern 31% $103,256,518
Grambling 30% $43,307,769
Northwestern State 30% $66,002,923
Southern-B.R. 30% $62,651,413
UL-Monroe 30% $67,001,032
Nicholls State 29% 50,665,586
UNO 21% $93,893,502
LSU-Shreveport 20% $24,944,257
LSU-Alexandria 12% $14,660,369
Southern-New Orleans 8% $16,372,466

2-Year Institutions with 4-Year Graduation Rates
Louisiana Technical College-Florida Parishes 82%
Louisiana Technical College-Delta/Ouachita 62%
Louisiana Technical College-Sullivan 62%
Louisiana Technical College-Shelby Jackson 59%
Louisiana Technical College-Gulf Area 58%
Louisiana Technical College-Teche Area 56%
Louisiana Technical College-Ruston 47%
Louisiana Technical College-Northeast LA 46%
South Central Louisiana Technical College-Lafourche 46%
Northwest Louisiana Technical College-Natchitotoches 44%
South Central Louisiana Technical College-River Parishes 44%
Louisiana Technical College-Baton Rouge 42%
Louisiana Technical College-T.H. Harris 42%
Louisiana Technical College-Alexandria 40%
Louisiana Technical College-Shreveport/Bossier 39%
Louisiana Technical College-Hammond 38%
Louisiana Technical College-Lafayette 38%
Louisiana Technical College-Ascension 35%
Louisiana Technical College-Northwest LA 35%
Louisiana Technical College-Oakdale 35%
South Central Louisiana Technical College-Young Memorial 35%
Sowela Technical Community College 35% $12,485,320
Louisiana Technical College-Tallulah 26%
Nunez Community College 21% $7,586,165
Louisiana Technical College-West Jefferson 18%
Louisiana Technical College-Jefferson 14%
Southern University-Shreveport 14% $11,140,120
Bossier Parish Community College 10% $29,912,722
Louisiana Delta Community College 10% $16,316,152
L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College 9% $7,747,448
LSU-Eunice 8% $10,874,937
South Louisiana Community College 7% $25,532,384
River Parishes Community College 6% $8,184,305
Baton Rouge Community College 3% $37,562,101
Delgado Community College 2% $75,458,244

2015-16 Louisiana Fiscal Projections for Higher Education