While many other states have individual colleges and universities that all receive their own funding through different means, Louisiana has a unique higher education setup. Instead of many different individual institutions, the Louisiana Board of Regents operates four separate systems each with several universities under its umbrella of jurisdiction. The four systems are as follows: The University of Louisiana System, The Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Louisiana State University System and the Southern University System.
The University of Louisiana System is one of the largest public systems in the United States, and it was formed in 1974. Under its jurisdiction are 9 public universities consisting of Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, University of New Orleans, University of Louisiana at Monroe, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Southeastern Louisiana University and Northwestern State University. Between the different universities there are more than 94,000 students enrolled and more than 600 academic programs offered.
The Louisiana Technical and Community College system has 14 different community colleges and technical trade schools. This system was formed in 1999 and consists of all two-year degree granting institutions in the state. The emphasis of these schools is to provide students with an education that allows them to immediately enter into and start participating in the work force.
The Louisiana State University System has 10 university campuses within it, including Louisiana State University and many of its satellite campuses. It is governed by a Board of Supervisors, and has a focus on agricultural institutions in addition to research institutions.
The smallest system, the Southern University System, has five campuses included in it. All of these campuses are different locations for Southern University, Created in the late 19th century through a land grant, the Southern University system is one of the only historically black public systems in the United States.
While there is an abundance of public universities and colleges throughout Louisiana, there are also nearly a dozen private degree-granting institutions as well. Some of the most well known private educational institutions include Tulane University, Loyola University New Orleans and Xavier University of Louisiana. Beyond the research institutions, Louisiana is also home to three religious seminaries including New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Notre Dame Seminary and Saint Joseph Seminary College. With an eclectic population and plenty of opportunity, people who attend school in Louisiana have many different educational options to choose from.