ULL lists programs it wants to add, cites needs in subjects

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is proposing a bevy of new programs ranging from degrees in music and accounting to graduate certificates in historical preservation.

The UL System Board of Supervisors signed off on four such UL-Lafayette programs Tuesday that must still be approved by the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education statewide.

UL System board member Jimmy Faircloth, of Pineville, supported the programs but warned there could be “push back” on the degree expansions because of state budget cuts to higher education, program duplication and overall downsizing.

“At the regents level, that will send a flag, and we’ll have to defend it,” Faircloth said.

UL-Lafayette President Joseph Savoie said after the meeting that the programs represent a refocusing of the university after eliminating or consolidating about 20 degree programs last year.

“This is a rebuilding with more focused and more (job) market-sensitive degree programs,” Savoie said. The programs will be implemented almost entirely with existing resources and projected tuition revenue increases, he said.

The UL board approved a new ULL music program to start this fall. The new bachelor of arts degree in music has concentrations in music business and traditional music — “concentrations that are designed to train students outside of the currently taught classical and jazz areas.”

The UL-Lafayette School of Music and Performing Arts currently offers bachelor’s degrees in music education and another degree that focuses on performance in classical and jazz music.

Savoie said the program makes sense in a region that is “rich in Cajun and Creole music.” The university predicts the proposed degree program will eventually enroll about 60 students a year

Garth Alper, director of the school of music, said the new program is for people who want jobs like music executives and band managers who are not as interested in becoming experts in particular instruments.

The university also is proposing to add a master’s degree in accounting, which also is offered at LSU, Louisiana Tech University and the University of New Orleans.

According to the proposal, students must have 150 completed college credit hours to take the state’s certified public accountant exam, but students can receive their bachelor’s degrees in accounting by completing 120 credit hours. The plan is for a 30-credit-hour master’s degree program so students receive the advanced degree for completing the extra courses, Savoie said.

“There are some degree programs that are regional service by nature,” Savoie said, noting the need for some duplication for in-demand programs.

The proposed ULL graduate certificate in historic preservation involves the fields of architecture, history, and anthropology and archaeology. The program is expected to target students who have at least completed a bachelor’s degree and eventually enroll 25 students a year.

Lastly, the university is planning to start post-master’s degree certificates for family nurse practitioner and for family psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioner in a collaborative project with Southeastern Louisiana University and McNeese State University. The plan is for the new certificates to go into effect in May.

The three-school collaboration makes up the Intercollegiate Consortium for a Master of Science in Nursing. The goal is for each of the three universities to enroll and graduate 36 students a year for the certificates.