NOLA.com April 16, 2011 SUNO-UNO consolidation is long overdue, bill's sponsor says A proposal to consolidate the University of New Orleans and Southern University at New Orleans was filed Friday by a Metairie lawmaker who said his goal is to radically transform a system that has long been beset by low enrollment and anemic graduation rates. Senate Bill 183 by Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, filed on the last day that lawmakers could propose general-interest legislation for the upcoming session, would establish the University of Louisiana at New Orleans starting in 2012 and would constitute the biggest change in New Orleans' higher education landscape since the two public universities were founded a half-century ago. It also would end SUNO's status as a historically black university, a designation that brings with it millions of dollars in federal support each year. The legislation sets up one of the key political battles of the next two months, as Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration and its supporters try to round up support for an idea that is unpopular with many New Orleans officials, black lawmakers and the head of the Louisiana State University System. The bill requires two-thirds majority support in the House and Senate before it can head to the governor's desk. Appel said he expects the bill to draw heavy fire, but said the effort is long overdue. Critics of the existing system have cited SUNO's six-year graduation rate of 8 percent, one of the lowest in the country, and declining enrollment at UNO as reasons the schools need to be merged. UNO's graduation rate of 21 percent also lags far behind its national "peer institutions." "This is the very first effort to modernize the system, to bring it into the 21st century and make it fit the region and the people of New Orleans," Appel said. "I'm completely prepared for criticism. I'm aware that it's coming. I'm sure people will find all kinds of problems with the bill. All I can say is, 'Where have you been?'" Although Jindal announced in January that he would pursue a possible merger, the exact shape of the governor's plan did not come into focus until Appel filed his bill, which is matched by an identical House bill filed by Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers. The measure calls for SUNO and UNO to become part of the University of Louisiana System starting later this year and consolidate into a new entity by July 2012. The new university would consist of two colleges with separate degree programs and entrance requirements -- one would be a "research-centered college" with a focus on science, engineering and graduate study, while the other would focus mainly on traditional liberal arts undergraduate programs. Students who need remedial education before enrolling in a four-year degree program would be served by a new branch of Delgado Community College that would be on the ULNO campus. Admission to both colleges, as well as the Delgado branch campus, would be handled by a single office that also would oversee academic and financial aid counseling. The legislation goes well beyond a recommendation last month from the state Board of Regents, which was based on a study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. That report recommended maintaining two separate institutions under a single umbrella, but with different accreditations and faculty governance and listed several reasons why a true merger would not work. LSU System President John Lombardi said the accreditation issue is key, as he said SUNO and UNO serve vastly different student populations and that combining them would not lead to improvement. "I think it's pretty clear that the goal here is not to have UNO or SUNO anymore but to have a new institution whose mission and purpose is not yet clear," Lombardi said. "And my guess is that it would be less than the sum of its parts." Lombardi's comments were his most direct criticism to date, as he had previously been neutral on the matter and embraced the findings of the Regents' consultants. But while Lombardi was giving his own opinion, it's unclear whether the LSU Board of Supervisors, which includes several Jindal appointees, will make a similar argument to legislators as they weigh the pros and cons of a merger during a year just weeks before many of them will stand for re-election. "My board has not spent any great time on this conversation," Lombardi said. Also on Friday, Appel and Tucker filed matching constitutional amendments, backed by the governor, that would eliminate the Board of Regents and the state's four higher education management boards and replace them with a new, 13-member board. The Louisiana Postsecondary Education Board of Trustees would consist of two appointees from each of the state's six congressional districts, and one at-large member, all of whom would be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. It's the second year in a row that lawmakers will debate the creation of a single higher education board. Constitutional amendments require two-thirds support in both chambers and a vote of the people. But the bill is likely to face strong opposition from the existing management boards, which will make the two-thirds barrier a tough one to broach. "The boards, without exception, they think we ought to leave things the way they are," Lombardi said. Jan Moller can be reached at jmoller@timespicayune.com or 225.342.5207. SANDRA M. 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