BATON ROUGE (AP) — Enrollment in Louisiana's public higher education system has dropped by about 4.4 percent in a five-year span.
The Advertiser’s Leigh Guidry reports that enrollment has dropped by about 10,000 students in five years — from roughly 225,000 in 2010 to 215,000 in 2015.
During that time, schools have significantly raised tuition and fees as well as cut costs through eliminating programs.
CollegeBoard statistics show average in-state tuition and fees for Louisiana public schools rose 66 percent from about $4,730 in 2010-11 to $7,870 in 2015-16.
System President Monty Sullivan said the enrollment figures don't tell the whole story, as the system went from 16 colleges in 2010 to 13 in 2015.
System Communication Director Cami Geisman says the enrollment drop occurred primarily at the graduate level among students 25 and older.