Year-over-year, enrollment in LSU’s online programs has grown some 20%, estimates Sasha Thackaberry, vice provost of digital and continuing education, compared to the industry standard of 4% growth.
For four programs, enrollment this fall was at record levels, including LSU’s master of social work and master of kinesiology and sports management.
The growth comes as the university focuses on bolstering its online enrollment through recruitment and expanded program offerings. When LSU hired Thackaberry in 2017, there were roughly 760 students enrolled in LSU’s online programs. That number has now grown to 1,200, though the objective is to bolster that figure to 30,000 over the next decade.
Currently, the university offers 15 online programs. Thackaberry wants to grow that amount to 50 by the fall of 2021 through an aggressive expansion plan that calls for the opening of two to three new programs each term.
This fall, LSU launched five new online degree programs, including its first two online undergraduate programs for interdisciplinary studies and construction management. In the spring, the university will launch five more programs, including its bachelor in mass communications program with specializations in public relations and political communication and bachelor in leadership and human resource development.
The remaining two programs, to be rolled out the second half of the spring semester, is currently under wraps until they are fully approved.
“We’re expanding our portfolio,” Thackaberry says. “You have to have a wide portfolio in order to become a destination for online learning.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it was originally published to remove one of the future online programs that has yet to be approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents.
