Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
504-549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
Date: August 11, 2000
Contact: Rene Abadie 1
SOUTHEASTERN, RIVER PARISHES COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SIGN CROSS ENROLLMENT AGREEMENT
HAMMOND Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond and River Parishes
Community College in Sorrento signed a cross enrollment agreement Thursday (August 10) that
will allow students enrolled in one institution to take courses in the other.
Signing the agreement were Southeastern President Sally Clausen and River Parishes
Community College Chancellor Joe Ben Welch. The agreement takes effect this semester.
Under the agreement, a student at the home institution will be eligible to take up to two
courses at the host institution during a semester.
"The River Parishes are part of Southeastern's service area, so it's quite appropriate that we
work together as much as possible to help students with a seamless transition from community
college to a four-year university," Clausen said.
Welch said the cross enrollment agreement allows the institutions to deliver their services in a
more cost-efficient manner. "The budgets in all of higher education have become extremely
limited, and resourceful agreements such as this permit us to provide more services for our
students without sacrificing quality," he said.
Students must meet all prerequisites for the courses approved for cross enrollment. In
addition, a student may not enroll at the host institution for any course offered at the home
institution during the same academic semester unless the course at the home institution is full.
Cross enrolled students will be eligible for library cards at each institution and parking decals of
the home institution will be honored at the host institution.
Bobby Jindal, president of the University of Louisiana System, said the agreement is an
example of the effective partnerships ULS universities are forming to ensure that all Louisiana
students have access to an appropriate higher education opportunity.
"Our universities are working with Louisiana's community college system to ensure that all
Louisiana students have access to an appropriate higher education opportunity," Jindal said.
"Our goal is to match students with studies appropriate to their level of readiness to increase their
chances for success in college. These partnerships make effective use of taxpayer dollars and
help our students succeed."
Southeastern instituted selective admissions criteria for the fall 2000 semester, which means
that entering freshmen and transferring students must meet specific academic criteria to enroll at
the university. Entering freshmen must have an ACT score of at least 20, or rank in the upper 50
percent of their graduating class, or have at least a 2.0 grade point average in specified high
school core courses.
"It is because students have access to the community college system, which includes
institutions such as River Parishes Community College, that we are able to institute a selective
admissions policy," Clausen said. "Students who do not meet Southeastern's admissions criteria
will be able to begin their college careers at one of the several community colleges in the area
and then transfer to one of the four-year colleges to complete their college education."
Jindal said the partnerships are especially important as seven ULS institutions raise their
admissions standards to ensure that students are prepared for college when they enroll. He said
the System is working with local high schools and community and technical colleges to boost
student performance and to ensure that every Louisiana high school student has an opportunity to
earn a higher education degree.
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu./NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsm00.htm