The Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana, or CALL , is a joint initiative between the Louisiana Board of Regents and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) aimed at making it easier for Louisiana adults without a college degree to enroll at a Louisiana public college or university and earn a degree or other college credential.

CALL expands adult participation in postsecondary education by:

• better understanding the needs of adult learners in Louisiana
• establishing innovative programming to respond to those needs
• aggressively promoting adult learning services and programming
• creating convenient pathways to postsecondary certificates and degrees.

CALL’s innovative programs and targeted support services for adult learners were piloted initially in the northern third of the state, a region with significant adult educational needs which hamper its ability to develop and sustain economic growth. Beginning in fall 2008, six institutions were offering accelerated, online programs as part of the first CALL expansion. A significant expansion in 2010 will extend CALL’s reach statewide with the addition of 9 new degree programs and four university members.

Today, CALL offers over fifteen online degree programs in accelerated or fast-track formats from ten public college and university members statewide. The Center’s mission was affirmed in its 2009 strategic plan “To provide a focused and centralized infrastructure to enhance adult learning opportunities for citizens of the state through expanded programs and services provided by public higher education institutions.”

Offices for the Center for Adult Learning in Louisiana are housed at The Learning Center for Rapides Parish in Alexandria, Louisiana.  An Executive Director and Program Assistant manage the Center’s day-to-day operations.  These staff members may be reached via email call [at] la [dot] gov or by telephone at 318-484-2184, ext. 132. 

CALL member institutions include:

• Bossier Parish Community College,
• Louisiana State University Eunice,
• McNeese State University,
• Northwestern State University,
• Southeastern Louisiana University,
• The University of Louisiana at Monroe.

CALL’s marketing efforts are part of the Louisiana Board of Regents’ “Education…Go for more!” campaign, being implemented in cooperation with the SREB’s Adult Learning Campaign, supported by a grant from Lumina Foundation for Education, and the Go Alliance, a consortium of SREB member states chartered to cooperatively prepare for and launch media outreach campaigns that motivate all students to complete school at high levels of achievement. SREB established the Go Alliance to help states share expensive media materials and run more effective campaigns. The Go Alliance is supported by its member states and is sponsored by the College Board and ACT Inc.CALL is supported by funding from the Louisiana Board of Regents.