University of New Orleans President Kathy Johnson on Monday announced the elimination of over 70 positions to align its budget with its enrollment.

In Southwest Louisiana, McNeese State University president Wade Rousse is banking on continuous improvement in the educational experience, academic support,  job placement and unprecedented community involvement opportunities to stabilize McNeese’s enrollment.

“Relatively speaking, McNeese is in decent financial shape because of the proactive measures taken by Dr. (Daryl) Burkel’s administration,”  Rousse, said.

The UNO budget had to be “right-sized,” according to Johnson,, after federal government COVID funds stopped propping it up.

Not that enrollment numbers don’t matter at McNeese. Look for that number to be announced the second week in September. Students continue to register through Aug. 20. Classes start on the 19th.

The goal is to stop the decline. Fall 2019, before the pandemic, hurricanes and other weather disasters, enrollment was at 7,302 at McNeese. Fall 2023 enrollment was 6,061.

Despite challenges facing not just McNeese, but universities across the state, MSU tuition and fees remain competitive with no increases — and the university offers millions of dollars in scholarships and several degrees where students graduate with the necessary skills to get a good job.

Non-traditional and graduate students will see the same benefits in addition to flexible online programs, according to a Tanya Brewster, McNeese spokesperson.

“You’ve heard me say this many times, but the paradigm of higher education is shifting, and we are no longer funded as a public good. The burden of funding the University has shifted away from the government, and is now carried primarily by the students through tuition. Therefore we must function more like a business in the private sector, which means that we must offer our graduates a return on investment by ensuring they graduate with the skills they need to be gainfully employed on day one,” Rousse said.