Compliance Status

Louisiana State University and A&M College is in compliance with this principle.

Narrative

Louisiana State University and A&M College (LSU) works to ensure the quality of its educational courses offered through consortial relationships and contractual agreements.  Compliance with the comprehensive requirements and the university’s mission are evaluated by the university, at the institutional level, and by the individual academic units in which the programs are housed.

Consortial Relationships

LSU has several consortial relationships in which the university shares in the responsibility of developing and delivering courses and programs that meet mutually agreed-upon standards of academic quality. These programs are described below:

The Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences (ACCEPtS)

In 2010, LSU entered a course-sharing alliance with Mississippi State University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Arkansas.  The Alliance for Cooperative Course Exchange in the Plant Sciences (ACCEPtS) is the result of a USDA Higher Education Challenge Grant [1].  LSU submitted a letter to notify SACSCOC of this program in June 2012 and included the signed Memorandum of Agreement [2].  

ACCEPtS provides a series of undergraduate and graduate classes within the plant agricultural sciences that are shared among participating institutions. These classes are available to all of the participating institutions through a combination of course management software and distance education resources. All courses are taught by faculty who hold proper faculty qualifications at their institutions. The following stipulations for all ACCEPtS courses apply to LSU:

• LSU students register for LSU courses through our institution;

• LSU students register for a university-approved course under the appropriate number as determined by and assigned by the institution;

• An LSU faculty member is assigned as the instructor of record for the LSU course in which LSU students enroll;.  

• LSU transcripts the credit for ACCEPtS courses using the same methodology for all courses;

• LSU students evaluate ACCEPtS courses using institutional evaluation procedures;.

• The students’ home institution and the teaching institution may recognize students for internal class enrollment purposes; for state and federal reporting purposes, students are counted by their respective home institutions;

• LSU policies related to withdrawal, grading, appeals, and academic misconduct apply to LSU students in the ACCEPtS courses; and

• LSU policies related to faculty issues apply to LSU faculty teaching ACCEPtS courses.

Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC)

LSU has an agreement with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI) to provide instruction for LSU architecture students at VPI’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center (WAAC).  Since 1985, the WAAC has served to house a consortium of architecture schools from all over the globe [3].  Currently ten universities are part of the consortium.  All member schools share the common goal of providing their respective students with an academic environment which utilizes the Washington metropolitan area as an educational laboratory in which to pursue studies in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design and planning [4].  LSU students who take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the consortium typically spend their fourth year at the WAAC taking a full load of classes with WAAC instructors. Seven-to-ten LSU architecture students participate in this program each year. The renewal contract is currently pending final approval.

The following statements apply for all LSU students taking courses at WAAC:

• LSU students register for a university-approved course under the appropriate number as determined by and assigned by LSU;

• LSU students pay tuition to LSU and some fees to VPI; 

• An LSU faculty member is assigned as the instructor of record for the LSU course in which LSU students register and is responsible for the assignment of grades; and

• Both LSU and VPI may recognize students for internal class enrollment purposes; for state and federal reporting purposes, students are counted only by LSU.

Dual Degree Programs with the Louisiana State University School of Law

LSU has dual Master’s/Juris Doctorate degree programs with the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, a separate SACSCOC-accredited campus under the Louisiana State University System. Prior to the recognition by SACSCOC in 2005 that LSU and LSU Law Center required separate accreditation, dually matriculating students involving JD and MBA or MPA degrees were relatively common. With the recognition of the separate status of the two institutions, two dual-degree programs (JD/MBA and JD/MPA) were considered to be grandfathered programs. Since that time two additional dual degree programs have been added – the JD/MMC and JD/MS in Finance. A letter to SACSCOC describing these two new dual degree programs is pending.

Dual JD/MPA Program

The JD/MPA is designed for students who intend to earn both a Juris Doctor and a Master’s of Public Administration concurrently [5]. The degree is offered through the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center and the E. J. Ourso College of Business. Students admitted into the JD/MPA program spend the first consecutive fall and spring semesters as full-time students in the Law Center. After completion of the first year in the Law Center, dual degree students simultaneously schedule both M.P.A. and law courses until the requirements for both degrees are fulfilled.

Dual JD/MBA Program

The JD/MBA dual degree program is designed for students who intend to earn both a Juris Doctor degree and an MBA concurrently [6]. The degree is offered through the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and the E. J. Ourso College of Business at LSU.  A student who successfully completes the required courses of study receives two degrees: a Juris Doctor awarded by the LSU Hebert Law Center and a Master of Business Administration awarded by the E. J. Ourso College of Business. The only change in either degree program is the awarding of concurrent credit; a student pursues parallel degrees with common areas of study.

Dual JD/MMC Program

The Manship School of Mass Communication offers a dual degree program with the Paul M. Hebert Law Center in which students can complete course work on both campuses to earn both the Master of Mass Communication and a Juris Doctorate, giving students an opportunity to develop media and legal expertise at the same time [7]. This partnership falls squarely within the research, instruction, and service mission of a public land-grant, research-intensive institution.  This arrangement, as approved by the LSU Graduate Council and by the dean of the Graduate School (2008), and the terms of the agreement between the Manship School and the Law Center provide mechanisms to assure a quality educational experience consistent with the missions of both programs [8].  Students have academic advisors in both programs, and course work adheres to the high standards that both programs provide.

Dual JD/MS in Finance Program

JD/MS is a program set up to allow a student to obtain both a Master’s in Finance from the E.J. Ourso College of Business and Juris Doctor/Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center [9]. The program is designed to allow students to complete both degrees in less time than if the two degrees were obtained independently outside the program. Admission to both schools is required and is granted independently of each. The student is required to complete the first year of law school and the first semester in the MS program before taking any courses for which concurrent credit is granted. The student can choose which program to begin first, but because the Law Center admits beginning law students only in the fall semester, a student who chooses to begin the concurrent degree program at the E.J. Ourso College of Business will likely begin the MS program in the spring semester.

Dual Degree Programs with International Institutions

LSU has a pending dual degree PhD program in Civil Engineering with Hanyang University (Republic of Korea), specifically in the area of solid mechanics (advanced materials behavior and computational simulation). It is anticipated that this program will begin in fall semester 2014. LSU submitted a letter to notify SACSCOC of this program in June 2013 [10].

Memorandum of Understanding with Community College

The Department of Theatre in the School of Music and Dramatic Arts has a Memorandum of Understanding [2] with Baton Rouge Community College to facilitate a film and television concentration through a link to BRCC’s Entertainment Technologies program. Through the arrangement BRCC provides 15-credit hours of course work, which is required to complete the LSU BA in Theatre, concentration in Film and Television degree program. LSU students enrolled in the BA in Theatre with a concentration in Film and Television will complete a set of required courses at BRCC which will lead to those students earning a 15 credit-hour Certificate of Technical Studies in Digital Cinema Production from BRCC. In addition, BRCC students who earn the Certificate of Technical Studies in Digital Cinema Production and/or the AAS in Entertainment Technologies at BRCC will be able to transfer seamlessly into the BA in Theatre concentration in Film and Television.  This arrangement is conducted under the existing LSU-BRCC cross-enrollment program and provides mechanisms to assure a quality educational experience consistent with the missions of both programs [11].

Contractual Agreements

Academic Partnerships

LSU has contracted with Academic Partnerships (AP) from Dallas, Texas, to help establish new distance education degree programs through the LSU Online initiative. AP has worked with the LSU faculty, departments, and university support areas to bring five master’s degree programs online [12]. The five degree programs participating are

• The Master of Business Administration;
• The Master of Science in Construction Management (a new degree program in the College of Engineering);
• The Master of Science in Human Resource Education (the legacy program that now offers a 100% online degree program option through AP);
• The Master of Arts in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Administration; and
• Master of Education in Educational Leadership.

AP provides design support to help create online course presentations that are taught in an accelerated seven-week format, student recruitment and monitoring of student progress through courses and programs, and online student technical support services [13]. All instructional materials and course offerings are the responsibility of the LSU faculty. The online degree programs maintain the same quality and learning outcomes as the on-campus degree programs.

The revenue model for these degree programs is different from that used with the legacy programs. The primary reason that we can have a different revenue model is that these programs are directed toward “new” students who would not otherwise enroll at LSU. Thus, the programs provide a different source of revenue than current degree programs. These incremental students, once admitted to an LSU Online program, must complete the degree program online. These are 100% online with crossover to the on-campus degree programs restricted. Also, the tuitions and fees for these programs are competitively priced at “program cost” that is set by market analysis.

Based on the contract with AP, the revenue model includes a split between AP and LSU on income from the program. The revenue split is that AP receives one-half of the set in-state tuition for the degree program, based on number of enrolled students. That is, the financial risk to LSU in its partnership with AP is minimal because AP is only paid when students enroll and continue to be enrolled throughout the program. Thus, AP is motivated to recruit highly qualified students, to provide appropriate student technical support, and to monitor students’ progress through the program. Also, the contract with AP is for three years, thus giving LSU time to build its online infrastructure and then to decide whether to continue with the external partnership.

LSU receives the remaining half of the in-state tuition plus any additional tuition and all other fees paid by the student. This structure allows LSU to cover expenses and to provide program support directly to the colleges to incentivize them to support and develop other online programs. LSU’s net tuition revenue is divided 65% to the college and 35% to the institution. The institutional split provides for central or institution-wide support for the LSU Online Program.