Published: March 17, 2026
By: Sheridan White and AnnMarie Bedard, LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE—Demand has been so strong that a program to help residents obtain two-year associate degrees in hot fields exhausted its funding for the current fiscal year within the first six months, a state education official said Monday.
Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D., the commissioner of higher education, said the Murphy J. Foster Promise Program has already served about 10,000 students since it launched four years ago.
“It is working, and it is important,” Reed told the Senate Finance Committee.
The program provides financial assistance for Louisiana residents between the ages of 25 and 55 who are pursuing certificates or associate degrees in high-demand fields such as healthcare, construction and information technology. Eligible students can receive up to $3,200 a year to cover their tuition and fees.
Read more at KATC.
LSU Manship School Statehouse Bureau 
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