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LSU Shreveport to showcase new degree offerings

LSU Shreveport will host an open house on Feb. 7 to showcase its new degree offerings made possible through a partnership with the LSU flagship campus. It’s part of a plan to improve student enrollment and retention at LSUS, and provide more higher education offerings to Shreveport-Bossier.

LSUS interim chancellor Paul Sisson said 28 students enrolled in the LSU petroleum engineering degree when it became available last fall in Shreveport.

“That's really unheard of," Sisson said. "Normally, for a brand new program, you don’t start off with 28 students. Then, we have a follow-up class this spring where we have 39 students enrolled. So it’s really, really blossoming.”

The strategy to bring new and updated academic programs to Shreveport is part of a wide-ranging endeavor called the LSU Shreveport Commitment Plan. It grew out of contentious merger talks during last year’s legislative session. Sisson will give a briefing on the plan at the open house. Paramount, he said, is the delivery of some LSU Baton Rouge degrees in Shreveport. This is new territory for the LSU System.

"It’s definitely not old hot in this state. This is a novel thing for Louisiana," Sisson said. "There are a few other universities around the country that have built this sort of collaboration between campuses.”

The Feb. 7 open house begins at 5:30 p.m. on the third floor of the Noel Memorial Library. Prospective students will be able to meet with both LSU Baton Rouge and LSUS representatives about five new degree offerings at LSUS. Sisson hopes business leaders will attend and give suggestions on what additional degrees are needed in the area.

The five degree offerings are:
- Petroleum Engineering
- Construction Management
- Human Resource Education
- Sports Administration
- International Studies