After losing hundreds of millions of dollars in the COVID-19 pandemic, Louisiana’s public universities are hopeful that three rounds of federal relief packages and a proposed $56 million increase from the state will enable them to avoid budget cuts this year. Universities and colleges faced significant revenue losses and additional expenses as a result of the pandemic. The LSU, University of Louisiana and Southern systems also had to cope with a $21.7 million cut in state funding last year. Education officials feared that they were going to lose ground again in the coming budget year after more than a decade of financial instability.
