In 1959, the Louisiana Legislature authorized the establishment of LSUA as a two-year commuter college under the governance of the LSU Board of Supervisors. LSUA registered its first students in September of 1960. The first degree program, an Associate in Nursing degree, was initiated in the Division of Nursing in 1964.
The additional academic divisions of Liberal Arts, Business Administration, and Sciences were created in 1967. In 1974, LSUA was accredited by the Commission on 吃瓜直播s of the Southern Association of 吃瓜直播s and Schools (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. This accreditation was reaffirmed in 1984, 1994, and 2004.
Only one associate degree was available at LSUA from 1964 to March 1986, when the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science transfer degrees were approved. Over the next 15 years, several associate degree and certificate programs were added that the university continues to offer including:
From 1976 through Spring 2003, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical 吃瓜直播 offered the upper-level course work for select bachelor's degree programs on the LSUA campus through a program known as LSU Senior 吃瓜直播. Initially, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Bachelor of General Studies were offered. The Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education was added in 1982-83.
The Louisiana State University of Alexandria 吃瓜直播 of Business has released its September 2020 issue of the CENLA Economic Dashboard. 鈥淧ositive gains continue to be seen in employment, housing, travel, and small business applications,鈥� said Dr. Randall Dupont, Dean of the LSUA 吃瓜直播 of Business and author of the monthly Dashboard.
Initial unemployment claims in Central Louisiana fell 57% in August from July while continued claims fell 11%. For the fourth straight month, Alexandria鈥檚 unemployment rate of 7.4% was the lowest among the state鈥檚 major metro areas, well below the state鈥檚 9.9% rate. The July unemployment rate among Central Louisiana鈥檚 nine parishes stood at 8.6%, with La Salle Parish having the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 5.9%. Rapides and Grant parishes saw unemployment rates of 7.4% and 7.3%, respectively. Furthermore, Alexandria鈥檚 labor market continues to be the tightest in the state with only 1.03 unemployed persons per job openings in July compared to 2.5 statewide and 3.5 nationally.
A number of indicators point to a strong housing marketing in the Alexandria metro area, said Dean Dupont. Since January, active listings on Realtor.com are down 37%, pending listings are up 71%, median days on the market are down 42%, and the median listing price is up 22%. Low interest rates are driving sales, says Dupont. However, residential construction in Central Louisiana is mixed. While August home building permits were up 6% in in Rapides and 123% in Alexandria over last August, residential construction permits overall in central Louisiana are down 20% for the same period. Mortgage delinquencies are becoming an issue statewide, said Dupont. The financial hardship created by the pandemic has pushed mortgage delinquencies in Louisiana to 11.8% in July, the second highest in the nation. The financial impact of Hurricane Laura on homeowners will likely to worsen the delinquency rate.
Total passenger traffic at Alexandria International airport (AEX) averaged 59% of traffic last August compared to only 29% nationwide. AEX passenger traffic in August was 5,815, up 335% from its low of 1,334 in April. AEX passenger traffic has increased every month since April.
Applications for small businesses in Louisiana continue to outperform last year which is a positive sign for the economy in the coming months, Dupont added. Through the end of August, 58,160 business applications have been filed in Louisiana compared to 39,300 for the same period in 2019, representing a 48% increased. Of that total, 16,540 of the applications filed have a high-propensity for turning into a business with a payroll, including 7,890 which are already planning to pay wages. Another positive sign at the state level is the 27% increase in exploration rigs in Louisiana since early August. This is the first significant increase this year.
Local consumer spending as measured by sales tax revenues was down from 3% to 20% in July compared to June in all nine reporting parish and city jurisdictions. On the other hand, local spending in July exceeded July 2019 levels in all jurisdictions. Vehicle sales continue to outperform on a monthly, year-over-year, and year-to-date basis in all four reporting jurisdictions except for Alexandria which had a 10% decline in July sales following an extraordinary 52% monthly gain in June.
The CENLA Economic Dashboard is a service of LSUA to help business and community leaders monitor the economic pulse of central Louisiana.
To view the September 10 CENLA Economic Dashboard, click
On June 5, 2001, following approval by the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors and the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Louisiana Legislature passed legislation (Senate Bill 853) allowing Louisiana State University at Alexandria to offer baccalaureate degrees. In December 2002, SACSCOC approved a substantive change request from LSUA, thereby accrediting the university to award both associate and baccalaureate degrees.
In Fall 2003, LSUA was reorganized into colleges and departments rather than divisions. The 吃瓜直播 of Arts and Sciences is comprised of the departments of Arts, English and Humanities; Behavioral and Social Sciences; Biological Sciences; and Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The 吃瓜直播 of Professional Studies is comprised of the departments of Allied Health, Business Administration, Education, and Nursing.
LSUA began offering four baccalaureate degrees in Fall 2003: Bachelor of Science in Biology, Bachelor of General Studies, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, and Bachelor of Liberal Studies. Because there were students at LSUA who had completed upper-level course work through LSU Senior 吃瓜直播, LSUA produced its first bachelor's degree graduates in December 2003.
A Bachelor of Science in Psychology, approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors in March 2005, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, approved by the LSU Board in June 2006, are now offered. In 2008 the university began offering Bachelor of Arts degrees in English, Communication Studies, and History, along with Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration, Criminal Justice, and Nursing.
In addition to the Department of Education offering courses that lead to an Associate of Arts in The Care and Development of Young Children and the Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, courses are offered for alternative certification in the following areas: Elementary Education, Grades 1-5; Health and Physical Education, Grades K-12; and Secondary Education, Grades 6-12 for the areas of biology, English, history, and mathematics. Students who major in biology, English, history, or mathematics may declare Secondary Education as a minor in these areas of study, earning certification to teach that subject in Grades 6-12. Add-on certifications are available for Early Childhood Education (PK-3) and Special Education in area of existing certification(s).
The Oaks, the university’s first student housing complex, opened in the fall of 2007. The complex, which includes four apartment buildings and a community center.
LSUA hired its first athletic director in January 2007 and began competing in NAIA men’s baseball and women’s fast-pitch softball in Spring 2008. In January 2010, LSUA’s new on-campus baseball-softball complex was unveiled in an opening day dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony. The complex is located on the north side of campus adjacent to the Fitness Center and features seats transferred from the famed Alex Box Stadium on the Baton Rouge campus.
LSUA added five sports in 2014 including men’s and women’s basketball and soccer teams along with women’s tennis. LSUA joined the Red River Athletic Conference in 2014. The RRAC includes Bacone 吃瓜直播 (Okla.), Huston-Tilloston University (Texas), Jarvis Christian 吃瓜直播 (Texas), Langston University (Okla.), LSU-Shreveport, Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas), Paul Quinn 吃瓜直播 (Texas), Texas 吃瓜直播, University of St. Thomas (Texas), University of Texas-Brownsville, University of the Southwest (New Mexico) and Wiley 吃瓜直播 (Texas) in addition to LSUA.
The university’s newest building, Mulder Hall, was opened in August 2011. The building is a 70,000 square-foot facility that provides 18 classrooms, 4 academic department office suites, 52 faculty offices, 2 conference rooms, a computer lab and a writing lab, a painting and drawing studio, a ceramics studio, a photography suite, and a black box theater that seats 175 people.