BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Board of Regents will discuss and approve the new higher education Financial Accountability Policy during Wednesday’s Board meeting, as part of a heightened focus on the fiscal strength of Louisiana’s public colleges and universities.
Act 772 of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session (contained in R.S. 17:3134), tasked the Board of Regents with developing the policy to ensure the implementation of strong uniform fiscal oversight by the state’s management boards and to set up a process to both identify and create action plans to address financially distressed institutions.
“Ensuring strong fiscal oversight and the implementation of early warning systems is critical to gain insight into the financial posture of every campus in our state,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Kim Hunter Reed. “This policy provides the management boards with the tools they need to proactively address financial challenges partnering with the leadership of their member institutions and to ensure that the legislature and Regents understand the fiscal status of every campus.”
The policy is designed to ensure expenditure of public funds comply with appropriate fiscal controls. The accountability framework provides for the systematic and ongoing evaluation of fiscal health and operational efficiency, as is the intent of the Louisiana Legislature.
The policy includes the following management board responsibilities:
- Review and reporting of quarterly campus finances
- Adoption and implementation of a cash- balance policy
- Adoption and implementation of an unenrollment purge policy for students with unpaid tuition and fees bills
- Identification of financially fragile institutions and development of corrective action plans
The policy calls for notification of noncompliance to the Division of Administration, legislative leadership, and the State Inspector General. It also provides clear guidelines to restrict and standardize the use of reserve funds.
The fiscal accountability policy was developed in coordination with the four public postsecondary system leadership and finance staff, with input provided by staff with the Division of Administration and State Inspector General’s offices.
The policy discussion and adoption are scheduled for this week to align with Tuesday’s (September 22) annual budget hearings, during which each system president will present current funding and the budget needs of their member institutions. Commissioner of Administration Taylor Barras will open the Tuesday meeting with a discussion of the fiscal expectations in the coming fiscal year. The new uniform fiscal policy is scheduled for Board of Regents approval on Wednesday, September 23.