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Louisiana College in Pineville prepares response to accrediting body

Taylor Freet

Louisiana College is preparing to submit a progress report to its accrediting body, SACS, as part of its ongoing probation status.

President Rick Brewer has been on the job for five months at the private Baptist college in Pineville.

The college has been on academic probation since June 2014 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Brewer says he’s optimistic that SACS will find Louisiana College on better footing with a balanced budget and a renewed emphasis on undergraduate programs.

Brewer says the proposed law school in Shreveport is completely off the table. The former Joe D. Waggonner Federal Building that the school bought in 2011 remains on the market.

“We have a building in downtown Shreveport we’re trying to sell. We’d love to get that sold and off our books. There are no plans to do the law or the medical component at this time,” Brewer told Red River Radio intern and Louisiana College student Taylor Freet, referencing the school’s previous plans of a law school and medical school during the presidency of Joe Aguillard, who came under pressure to resign and left the presidency in May 2014.

Brewer says Louisiana College has hired a consultant to work on its admissions, financial aid and marketing functions. The update to SACS is due by Oct. 1, and Brewer expects a response in December.

Meanwhile, he says, Louisiana College is working on articulation agreements with public universities and two-year colleges around the state, a move that could help stabilize enrollment. The most recent articulation agreement was signed this month with Louisiana Tech University.

Brewer came to the college following a 28-year career at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University.