BATON ROUGE – Nine Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) institutions were recently ranked in Community College Week's 2015 edition of the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers.
The 2015 Top 100 analysis examines degrees and certificates awarded during the 2013-2014 academic year. The data is collected by the National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Set, or IPEDS, completions survey.
The survey took both two-year and four-year institutions into account. These listings include colleges that have awarded the largest number of associate degrees and certificates with the primary listings containing the top 100 overall. Additional lists include the institutions that award the most associate degrees, one- and two-year certificates by race. The study also includes a disciplinary/vocation list with the top 50 institutions that award degrees and certificates in a particular field of study.
The colleges that made this year's rankings are: Baton Rouge Community College (Baton Rouge), Bossier Parish Community College (Bossier City), Delgado Community College (New Orleans), Fletcher Technical Community College (Schriever), Louisiana Delta Community College (Monroe), Northshore Technical Community College (Bogalusa), Northwest Louisiana Technical College (Minden), South Central Louisiana Technical College (Morgan City), and SOWELA Technical Community College (Lake Charles).
"As we work toward meeting the 'Our Louisiana 2020: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow' goals, I am so pleased to see our colleges getting national recognition for the work they do to help our citizens earn credentials that will result in jobs and good salaries," said LCTCS President Monty Sullivan.
For the fifth year in a row, South Central Louisiana Technical College received the highest rankings of an LCTCS college, placing first in the nation as an overall producer of one-year certificates. The college awarded 5,206 certificates in the 2013-2014 academic year. One hundred campuses were ranked in the category.
Delgado Community College earned rankings on six different lists. In the two-year certificate category, Delgado was ranked 10th out of 100 for top producers. In the one-year certificate category, Delgado was ranked 100th out of 100 top producers. On the lists that considered race, Delgado ranked 44th out of 100 associate degree producers for African Americans in all disciplines. In the category of Family and Consumer Sciences degrees, Delgado ranked 47th out of 50. The school was ranked 47th in the nation as a producer of Associate Degrees for Health Professions and Related Programs. The college also made the list in the Nursing category, placing 24th out of 50 ranked associate degree producers.
Five additional LCTCS colleges were ranked as top producers of two-year certificates overall. South Louisiana Community College was ranked 14th in the nation, with Baton Rouge Community College ranking 17th. SOWELA Technical Community College was ranked 33rd. Northwest Louisiana Technical College was ranked 45th and Northshore Technical Community College was ranked 85th in the nation.
The majority of the LCTCS colleges were ranked on the list of one-year certificate producers for all disciplines. In addition to South Central Louisiana Technical College and Delgado Community College, six additional colleges were listed as top providers. Fletcher Technical Community College ranked 30th, Louisiana Delta Community College ranked 52nd, and Northshore Technical Community College ranked 58th. Northwest Louisiana Technical College ranked 61st, SOWELA Technical Community College ranked 62nd and South Louisiana Community College ranked 88th.
SOWELA Technical Community College ranked 12th in the nation for the production of associate degrees in the field of Engineering Technologies and Engineering-Related Fields. Bossier Parish Community College ranked 14th in the nation for producing associate degrees in Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services.
The overall study concluded that the data underscores a growing gender gap between men and women when it comes to earning college degrees – with men earning 39 percent and women earning 61 percent.
Community College Week is a bi-weekly publication that has been an independent source of in-depth information for and about two-year college faculty, administrators and trustees since 1988. The magazine provides a myriad of coverage on issues in community college education including analyses of critical academic trends and issues, vital statistics, technology updates and employment opportunities.
