Summer Enrollment Drops At NE La. Colleges

MONROE, La. (AP) — Colleges and universities across northeastern Louisiana have seen decreases in summer enrollment this year. Officials believe it's likely because of the economy and the loss of certain federal grant funding offered during the summer.

Summer Pell Grants, which provided need-based grants to low-income undergraduate and certain post-baccalaureate students, were eliminated from last year's federal budget because of financial constraints.

Jerry Ryan, interim chancellor at Louisiana Delta Community College, tells The News-Star that Delta's summer enrollment dropped to 1,274 students, which is down from 1,286 students last summer.

The University of Louisiana at Monroe saw a 15 percent decrease in summer enrollment and Louisiana Tech University saw a 3 percent decrease in enrollment.

Grambling State University also saw a drop in student enrollment this summer.