Just shy of 23,000 recent public high school students in Louisiana enrolled in college, which the state Department of Education says is an all-time high. The 22,972 enrolled students marks a 6% increase over enrollment during 2013 and a 16% increase since 2011, the department says.
“The numbers are positive but not surprising. We have raised expectations through more challenging standards, the ACT, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment courses and Jump Start,” says state Superintendent John White in a prepared release. “Our state should heed these results: We cannot afford to go backwards.”
Similarly encouraging, White says, is the number of students from low-income backgrounds attending college increasing by nearly 750 this year and the number of minority students increasing by nearly 740—both accounting for more than half of the overall state growth.
Statewide, 59% of graduates in the class of 2014 matriculated into college in the fall semester following graduation, a one percentage point increase in the annual rate. Roughly two-thirds enroll in four-year institutions while one-third enroll in two-year colleges. Ninety-two percent of the total is made up of graduates who remain in state for post-secondary education.
LSU is the top choice among high school graduates last year, with 2,230 freshmen enrolled for fall 2014, followed by Southeastern Louisiana University at 2,006 and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette at 1,777.
