Strategic Planning and Student Success

The Strategic Planning and Student Success Division is responsible for coordinating and updating BOR’s Master Plan, including the development of policy, resources, and initiatives to support Master Plan goals. The division also shares responsibility for many statewide and federal reporting requirements, responding to legislative requests and resolutions, and fulfilling data requests from a wide range of stakeholders. The section oversees the registration and licensure of non-academic proprietary schools in Louisiana, as well as statewide workforce and education planning.

Master Plan for Higher Education

Article VIII of Louisiana’s Constitution authorizes the Board of Regents (BoR) to develop a master plan for higher education in Louisiana. This Master Plan provides a broad vision for the State’s higher education system and acknowledges its interdependence with the economy and its many contributions toward better lives for Louisiana’s citizenry. The actions outlined in this Plan are guided by the reality that Louisiana must raise the educational attainment of its adult citizens if it is to compete successfully in the 21st-century world economy. The Plan also addresses the need to strategically invest in targeted research to sustain and expand the State’s economic development. Finally, increased accountability is a common thread that undergirds every element of this Master Plan.

To move Louisiana aggressively forward, the Board of Regents has embraced a robust new attainment goal that calls for 60% of all working-age adults (ages 25-64) in Louisiana to hold a degree or high-value credential by 2030. As we stand on the brink of a new decade, this Master Plan, born of the Board of Regents’ unique charge to guide postsecondary education across the state, will set the foundation to increase opportunity.  Our Talent Imperative is to Educate, Innovate, and Collaborate.

Master Plan for Higher Education
Master Plan Data Dashboard
Previous Master Plans (1972-2011)

Teacher Education Initiatives

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITAL)

In 1997, the Louisiana Legislature designated that funding be established for a Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITAL) within the Louisiana Board of Regents to improve university-based teacher training programs in Louisiana. CITAL’s mission is to improve K-12 teacher preparation and educational leadership programs in all disciplines, consistent with state and national standards, statewide education reform initiatives, and policies of the Board of Regents and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Specific efforts supported by the Board of Regents to help improve the learning of PK-12 students by placing a caring and highly competent teacher and leader in classrooms and schools in Louisiana are the following:

Teacher Recruitment, Recovery, and Retention Task Force

House Concurrent Resolution 39 of the 2021 Regular Legislative Session creates the Teacher Recruitment, Recovery, and Retention Task Force. The legislation requires the Task Force to study the declining enrollment in teacher preparation programs and review strategies that can be utilized by the state and individual school districts in locations of teacher shortages to reverse declines.

Learn More about TRRR

Institutional Licensure

The Board of Regents serves as the authorizing body for post-secondary schools operating in Louisiana that are not part of Louisiana State System Schools. This includes occupational and trade schools, defined as Proprietary Schools and Degree-Granting schools, both those that offer Academic Degrees and Religious Degrees.

Proprietary Schools

Institutional Licensure

SARA

Louisiana became a member of SARA on December 1, 2014. SARA is a national initiative that seeks to establish comparable national standards for the interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. SARA is a voluntary agreement among regional compacts (SREB, NEBHE, MHEC, and WICHE) and member states. Each member state approves its in-state institutions for SARA participation. Institutional membership is voluntary and open to accredited, degree-granting institutions from all sectors of postsecondary education (proprietary, public, private). Once approved, SARA member institutions may offer distance education programs in other SARA member states without additional authorization. For more information on SARA, and for the latest listing of participating states and institutions, visit www.nc-sara.org/directory

PLEASE NOTE: As of January 11, 2021, Initial and Renewal applications have been combined into one document with a check box to select initial or renewal. The link to the updated application is under step #2 below. 

For postsecondary institutions located in Louisiana: Accredited, degree-granting institutions located in Louisiana seeking INITIAL SARA membership and RENEWAL SARA membership should do the following:

  1. Review the following document: Louisiana SARA Institutional Application Process and Student Complaint Process
  2. Complete the Application and Approval Form for Institution Participation in SARA
  3. Attach the following documents to the Application for Institutional Approval to Participate in SARA:
        1. A copy of the institution’s student  complaint process;
        2. documentation explaining the institution’s policies and practices addressing catastrophic events; and
        3. continuity of operations
  4. Enclose a check or money order in the amount of $1,500, made payable to the Louisiana Board of Regents
  5. Submit the above items to:

Louisiana Board of Regents
P.O. Box 3677
Baton Rouge, LA. 70821-3677
Attention: LeAnn Detillier

Applications are reviewed and approved on a rolling basis. Applications will be reviewed and submitted to the Board of Regents for consideration within 60 days of receipt.

If you have questions regarding the SARA institutional application process, please contact LeAnn Detillier at LeAnn. Detillier@laregents.edu.

For SARA-approved postsecondary institutions located outside of Louisiana:

SARA-approved postsecondary institutions listed on the NC-SARA website listing of approved institutions (www.nc-sara.org) may operate within Louisiana without additional authorization unless the institution offers courses or programs that require clinical experiences in the State of Louisiana and such clinical experiences place more than 10 students from each program in Louisiana who are physically present simultaneously at a single facility/site.

SARA Student Complaints

(NOTE: THIS PROCESS IS ONLY APPLICABLE TO SARA STUDENTS)

If you are a student living outside of Louisiana in a state currently participating in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), and you are enrolled via distance education in a Louisiana college/university that is a current member of SARA, and you are unable to resolve a complaint with the college/university, or feel that not all issues were resolved with the final disposition of the college/university, you may appeal to the Louisiana Board of Regents. To find out whether or not your college/university is SARA-approved and/or the state in which you reside is a SARA state, please visit the National Council for SARA website at www.nc-sara.org. Below are links to the forms you will need to file your formal complaint:

Louisiana SARA Student Complaint Process (read this first)

LOUISIANA SARA STUDENT COMPLAINT FORM

SPSS Staff

Name Title Email
Susannah F. Craig, Ph.D. Deputy Commissioner for Strategic Planning and Student Success susannah.craig@laregents.edu
Lisa Vosper Smith, Ph.D. Senior Associate Commissioner for Workforce Education, Collaboration and Engagement lisa.vosper@laregents.edu
Mellynn Baker Associate Commissioner for Student Success and Strategic Initiatives mellynn.baker@laregents.edu
Chris Yandle, Ph.D., APR Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications chris.yandle@laregents.edu
Michelle DeMeulenaere, Ph.D. Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Planning & Student Success michelle.demeulenaere@laregents.edu
Allison Smith, Ph.D. Assistant Commissioner for Student Health and Wellness allison.m.smith@laregents.edu
Allison Vicknair Assistant Commissioner for Student Success and Strategic Initiatives allison.vicknair@laregents.edu
Melissa Anders Program Administrator, Teacher & Leadership Initiatives melissa.anders@laregents.edu
Courtney Britton Director of Licensure courtney.britton@laregents.edu
Chandra Cheatham Director of Procurement Services & Assistant Director of Proprietary Schools chandra.cheatham@laregents.edu
Christina Cheek Program Coordinator, Teacher/Leadership and STEM/Cybersecurity Initiatives christina.cheek@laregents.edu
Alysia Delone Program Manager for Student Health and Wellness alysia.delone@laregents.edu
Brianna Golden, J.D. Director of Government Affairs brianna.golden@laregents.edu
Mighan Johnson Assistant Program Manager, Proprietary Schools mighan.johnson@laregents.edu
Ryleigh Kühn Communications Specialist ryleigh.kuhn@laregents.edu
Lupe Lamadrid, Ph.D. Senior Policy Analyst lupe.lamadrid@laregents.edu
Antonio Williams Assistant Program Manager, Proprietary Schools antonio.williams@laregents.edu
Annie Evans Administrative Assistant ann.evans@laregents.edu
Cara Landry Executive Assistant/Program Coordinator cara.landry@laregents.edu

BACK TO DIVISIONS

The Master Plan

To move Louisiana aggressively forward, the Board of Regents has embraced a robust new attainment goal that calls for 60% of all working-age adults (ages 25-64) in Louisiana to hold a degree or high-value credential by 2030. As we stand on the brink of a new decade, this Master Plan, born of the Board of Regents’ unique charge to guide postsecondary education across the state, will set the foundation to increase opportunity.  Our Talent Imperative is to Educate, Innovate, and Collaborate.

Master Plan for Higher Education