University of Louisiana System President Jim Henderson says they plan on having students back on their nine campuses for the fall semester.
Henderson says it is important to have the students back in class so they can continue their education and not suffer further setbacks.
“We hope to have students in as close to a state of normalcy as we can reach by fall but of course there are so many variables out there and so much uncertainty,” said Henderson.
LSU Interim President Thomas Galligan says they’re planning on doing the same at the flagship campus.
Despite the pandemic throwing most plans out the window, Henderson says applications and admissions are up across the board.
“Typically those would be leading indicators of increased enrollment but all of those predictive factors are out the windows right now because you just don’t know,” said Henderson.
The state budget could take a crippling hit from the COVID shutdowns, but Henderson says that it doesn’t necessarily mean the system will go under.
“That only makes up about 25 percent of our resources. The rest of our resources come from public private partnerships and from tuition and fees on students,” said Henderson.
The nine schools that make up the UL System are Louisiana Tech, ULM, UL-Lafayette, McNeese, Northwestern State, Nicholls State, UNO, Southeastern Louisiana and Grambling State.