Editor: Merge SUNO with Delgado

Gov. Bobby Jindal is wrong to propose a merger between Southern University at New Orleans and the University of New Orleans that would put the combined school in the University of Louisiana System, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. Instead, Jindal should propose merging SUNO with Delgado Community College and put the new school under the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. SUNO defenders say the school helps students who aren’t working toward a degree, but are rather taking classes to enhance their knowledge or skills so they can earn promotions or qualify for new jobs. They also say the school’s low graduation rate is due to so many students being unprepared academically for college when they enroll at SUNO. “What you have then, in SUNO, is the living, breathing definition of a junior college,” Ball says. Read the column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.