The Board of Regents sets an ambitious goal of making sure 60 percent of all working-age adults in Louisiana have post-secondary education by 2030.
Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed says that would mean more than doubling the number of credentials the state produces annually.
“It is certainly an aggressive plan, and we intend to have an aggressive action plan and team approach to get the work done because we know failure is not an option,” Reed said.
That would mean increasing credentials from 40,000 a year to over 85,000 a year.
Louisiana was one of the states most at risk of losing jobs to automation and robotics, according to a recent study. Reed says we're are getting to the point where a high school diploma just won’t cut it.
“I think it is a significant mindset conversation for us because we are a state where with a high school diploma in the oil patch you can make a living wage, and a very good wage at that,” Reed said.
At the moment less than half of the Louisiana working-age population has a post-secondary certification.
Doubling the number of credentials, the state puts out every year means you’ll need more teachers, bigger schools, and a lot more money invested into higher education. Now the pieces are in place to pull that off, according to Reed.
“We want to make sure rural communities, urban communities, public institutions, private institutions, everyone sees themselves in this work and is committed to helping us get there,” said Reed.