Special to the American Press

For the ninth straight year, Sowela tuition and fees will remain unchanged for the upcoming 2024-2025 academic year. All Sowela students will pay the same tuition and fees as they did in the 2023-2024 school year.

The tuition freeze is part of LCTCS’s focus on affordability, access to academic and workforce training, and workforce development. A unanimous vote at the last LCTCS board meeting sealed the decision. This is the ninth straight year of tuition freezes within the LCTCS system.

“Sowela is a strong economic development engine whose main mission is workforce development,” said Sowela Chancellor Dr. Neil Aspinwall. “The college provides programs and services that prepare individuals for high-skill, high-demand and high-wage jobs. However, if the cost of accessing these higher education programs and services is too costly, then the individuals who need this training will lose access. By keeping the cost of tuition and fees the same for nine straight years, Sowela and the entire Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) has guaranteed that all citizens of Louisiana will continue to have access to higher education training that will help them improve their lives and the lives of their families.”

The tuition freeze applies to all Sowela locations in Lake Charles, Jennings, Leesville and Oakdale.

In addition to a tuition freeze, Sowela students can take advantage of Louisiana’s “M.J. Foster Promise Program,” a financial aid award given on a first-come, first-served basis. Students may use program funds over three years to cover their tuition and fees. Qualifying students are eligible for a maximum of $3,200 per award year with a lifetime benefit of $6,400. Students must be 21 years or older to qualify.

Sowela does not participate in the federal student loan program, which makes the continued tuition freeze and numerous scholarship opportunities essential to providing students with an affordable educational option in Southwest Louisiana.

Sowela offers over 30 technical and academic programs, including accounting technology, industrial instrumentation, welding, vehicle maintenance and repair technology, forest technology, sterile processing and nursing (RN).

Registration is open for the fall 2024 semester.