The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors voted not to increase tuition and fees at two-year colleges for the 2018-19 academic year and to launch a program to pay for adults to go back to school to learn technical trades.
“The greatest challenge facing students is affordability and our action today keeps tuition flat, which will help provide access to academic and workforce training for thousands of Louisianans,” said Board Chairman Tim Hardy, The Daily Advertiser reports.
The board also approved the Go Grant Non-Credit Pilot Proposal and the implementation plan for Tops Tech for Adults. The Go Grant proposal funds scholarships for adult students enrolled in workforce training programs. LCTCS colleges will use up to 25% of its approximately $2.5 million Go Grant allocation for the pilot.
The Tops Tech for Adults program calls for the development of a new program to establish scholarships for programs aligned with high-demand, high-wage occupations. The decisions come at a time when funding for higher education from the state is up in the air as the lawmakers prepare to go into their third special legislative session of the year. Â
