WBRZ - Baton Rouge

COVINGTON- Delgado Community College will close its Covington campus at the end of the spring 2014 semester. School officials say classes will slowly be phased out in the months ahead.

The Times-Picayune reports students will be directed to growing course offerings from Delgado's sister institution, Northshore Technical Community College, and Delgado's longstanding campus in Slidell.

Delgado's Northshore Executive Dean Ashley Chitwood said the move has been planned since the Legislature voted in 2011 to expand Northshore Technical into a community college. She says the plan is not connected to Delgado's recent budget cuts.

Students learned about the change in an email last week from Delgado Chancellor Monty Sullivan, who said Delgado's Slidell Learning Center will ramp up its offerings over the next 15 months as the Covington campus is phased out.