Dive Brief:
- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal says the state's public colleges and universities should brace for as much as $300 million in cuts for the 2015-16 school year.
- For Louisiana State University, $300 million would amount to a third of its operating budget, according to the Times-Picayune.
- Measured another way, $300 million would counteract Louisiana's $250 million program to offer free college tuition to 18,000 undergraduates.
Dive Insight:
Even before the proposed reduction, Louisiana has cut more per-student higher education funding over the last seven years than nearly every other state. That's $673 million cut since 2008. Louisiana is facing an overall budget deficit of $1.4 billion that could get worse if oil prices keep dropping.