May 09, 2024  
2024-2025 General Catalog 
    
2024-2025 General Catalog

University College


ANDREA JONES
Assistant Vice President & Executive Director
JENNIFER PICARD
Director, Center for Freshman Year
BRIDGET ROBICHEAUX
Director, Center for Advising & Counseling
150 Allen Hall
TELEPHONE: 225-578-6822
FAX: 225-578-5762
EMAIL: ucinfo@lsu.edu
WEBSITE: www.uc.lsu.edu

Programs

University College is the portal of entry for most incoming freshmen enrolling at LSU. It also serves many returning students and transfer students who are not yet eligible for admission to a degree-granting senior college on campus. The two enrollment divisions of University College are the Center for Freshman Year and the Center for Advising & Counseling. In addition, a variety of retention-specific programs that focus on particular student populations are a significant part of the role and mission of University College.

Center for Freshman Year enrolls students with fewer than 30 hours of attempted credit and who have not yet been admitted to a senior college. Undecided, pre-nursing, and some allied health majors may remain in UCFY for 45 attempted hours.

Center for Advising & Counseling enrolls students who have attempted 30-plus hours of college credit and who have not yet met the admission requirements for one of the university’s degree-granting senior colleges. Other special populations are included as well. Visiting students, cross-enrolled students from other institutions, and non-matriculating students who are not working toward degrees are examples of these special populations.

Allied Health and Pre-Nursing Programs – Many Allied Health and pre-nursing students begin their academic careers at LSU with the intent of continuing their studies at one of the campuses of the LSU Health Sciences Center or one of several state and private schools offering degrees in these areas. University College provides advising assistance for these students as they prepare for the selective admission process for these professional programs.

Student Support Services is a federally funded TRIO program that serves a select group of undergraduate students experiencing income, first generation, and disability barriers to academic success. The program provides academic, personal, and career enhancement opportunities designed to increase retention and graduation success.

Ronald E. McNair Research Scholars, also a federally funded TRIO program prepares first-generation students, students from a background of financial need, and students who are from ethnic groups underrepresented in graduate education for doctoral studies by connecting them with faculty-mentored research experiences and providing a wrap-around academic support system.

Center for Advising & Counseling

OFFICE 150 Himes Hall
TELEPHONE 225-578-8281
FAX 225-578-8268
E-MAIL ucac@lsu.edu
WEBSITE www.lsu.edu/ucac

The Center for Advising & Counseling serves both traditional and nontraditional students and allows them the opportunity to meet their individual academic goals. Within the framework of university regulations, students may be admitted to the Center for Advising & Counseling according to the following:

  • Students admitted from the Center for Freshman Year must have attempted a minimum of 30 credit hours and meet the university’s requirements for continued enrollment, but are not yet admissible to a senior college. Students exiting the Center for Freshman Year who are in good academic standing, on University Scholastic Warning, or on University Scholastic Probation are admissible to UCAC. 
  • Transfer students, re-entry students, and students from other divisions of the university may be admitted to UCAC for a limited time in an effort to meet the admissions requirements to a senior college. These students will be considered for enrollment based on their potential for success in a particular degree program.

Students enrolled in UCAC should meet with an academic counselor to develop a plan to gain admission into their intended senior college as soon as possible and within their duration of allowed enrollment in the Center for Advising & Counseling. Plans may be revised based on student performance, and continued enrollment may be denied if students fail to progress as defined in the individualized enrollment plan.

Students are generally allowed a maximum of four regular semesters of enrollment in UCAC. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than four regular semesters. A University College appeals committee will exercise discretion in considering other variables important to the admission decision of students being considered for enrollment in UCAC.

UCAC Enrollment Options

Students may be enrolled in UCAC in one of the following categories:

UCAC Enrollment Status DESCRIPTION Allowed UCAC Enrollment Timeframe
Pre-Degree

Continuing students with a declared major are admitted to UCAC under pre-degree status directly from the Center for Freshman Year if they have attempted a minimum of 30 credit hours and meet the university’s requirements for continued enrollment but do not yet meet the admission criteria for their intended senior college.

Students exiting the Center for Freshman Year who are in good academic standing, on University Scholastic Warning, or on University Scholastic Probation are admissible.

Transfer students from another institution may be admitted to UCAC under pre-degree status if they have attempted a minimum of 30 credit hours but do not yet meet the admission criteria for their intended senior college.

Students coded as pre-degree have a declared major and are considered degree seeking at the university.

On-Campus students admitted to UCAC as pre-degree are generally allowed a maximum of four regular semesters of enrollment in UCAC. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than four regular semesters.

LSU Online students admitted to UCAC as pre-degree are generally allowed a maximum of eight modules of enrollment in UCAC. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than eight modules.

Restricted Admit

Continuing and re-entry students may be eligible for admission into UCAC under Restricted Admission Status (RADM) if they have been previously enrolled in an LSU senior college and are petitioning enrollment in UCAC as a condition of College Probation or are exiting a senior college to attempt to gain admission to another senior college offering a newly declared major.

These students must apply for admission to UCAC and eligibility for admission will be considered based on their potential for success in a particular degree program. 

On-Campus students admitted to UCAC under Restricted Admission status are generally allowed a maximum of two regular semesters of enrollment in the unit. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than four regular semesters.

LSU Online students admitted to UCAC under Restricted Admission status are generally allowed a maximum of four modules of enrollment in the unit. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than eight modules.

Pre-Professional

Allied health or nursing students who have attempted over 45 hours, are not pursuing an undergraduate degree at LSU and have the potential to pursue one of the pre-professional programs at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans or Shreveport may be admitted into UCAC under available pre-professional status. 

While students may be enrolled in UCAC as their academic unit, advising is provided for these programs in the Center for Freshman Year (UCFY).

On-Campus students enrolled in UCAC under pre-professional status are generally allowed a maximum of four regular semesters of enrollment in UCAC. In some instances, it may be appropriate to limit enrollment to less than four regular semesters.

Not Regularly Admitted Students

Students pursuing a degree at another college or university and taking courses at LSU with the intent to transfer all credit to their home institutions.

Students admitted under this status are allowed one semester/module of UCAC enrollment.

Non-Matriculating Students 

Students who have completed an undergraduate degree at a four-year institution and wish to take undergraduate courses with no specific degree path can be admitted to UCAC under non-matriculating status.

Enrollment in UCAC as a non-matriculating students is not limited pending as long as the student is meeting the university’s requirements for continued enrollment.

Ronald E. McNair Research Scholars

DIRECTOR Joseph Givens
OFFICE 232 Hatcher Hall
TELEPHONE 225-578-4321
FAX 225-578-4320
E-MAIL mcnair@lsu.edu
WEBSITE www.lsu.edu/mcnair

Ronald E. McNair Research Scholars, a U.S. Department of Education (ED) TRIO program, promotes a cohort of scholars that more accurately reflects the emergent diversity in life experiences, cultures, and perspectives represented in academia by preparing students who are first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented in graduate education for doctoral studies. We connect undergraduate students with faculty-directed research experiences, provide individualized advisement, and foster knowledge of the graduate school application process. McNair Research Scholars conduct research under the mentorship of LSU faculty representing all fields of study and share the results of their work through publications and workshops.

Student Support Services

DIRECTOR Shauna Landry
OFFICE 1155 Pleasant Hall
TELEPHONE 225-578-2873
FAX 225-578-8308
E-MAIL sss@lsu.edu
WEBSITE www.lsu.edu/sss

The Student Support Services Program (LSU SSS) is a TRIO program federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education to: 1) increase college retention and graduation rates for eligible students; 2) to foster an institutional climate supportive of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education; and 3) to improve the financial and economic literacy of those students.  LSU SSS offers services designed to help students successfully navigate the academic arena and graduate from LSU. Students selected for membership that actively participate in the provided opportunities have a higher retention and graduation rate.  LSU SSS offers a variety of free programs and services, such as a structured first year experience including a for-credit course “SSS Success Strategies,” peer and group tutoring, academic advising, personal counseling, holistic workshops, open roundtables, assessments for strength’s development and career exploration, “priority class scheduling” opportunities for future semesters and a “home” at LSU.

LSU SSS membership is based on criteria established in the Higher Education Act.  To be eligible, a student must be a U. S. Citizen, U. S. National or a Permanent Resident of the United States; have a need for academic support and must meet at least one of the following criteria: 

  • Neither parent graduated from college with a baccalaureate degree;
  • The student has a documented disability AND has registered with LSU Disability Services
  • The student’s family meets the income levels established by the federal government (see sss.lsu.edu for additional details).

Students who meet the established federal income levels and are either a first generation student or a student with a disability receive membership priority.  For information about the application process, visit Student Support Services and click on the Membership Process link.