Nicholls increased enrollment

Nicholls State University’s push to bring more students to campus has paid off once again.

Nicholls has 6,366 students attending full-time or part-time this fall semester, an increase of 99 students from last fall. The increase represents the fourth straight semester Nicholls has seen its enrollment increase year-to-year, beginning with the 2016 spring semester. Since the fall 2015 semester, Nicholls enrollment is up 3.4 percent.

Nicholls’ success has come as part of a concerted effort to reverse a trend of falling numbers at the university. As state dollars to public universities were repeatedly cut each year amid Louisiana’s budget woes, Nicholls saw its enrollment drop for six straight years. Nicholls enrollment fell from a post-Hurricane Katrina high of 7,181 total students in the fall of 2009 to 6,164 students in the fall of 2015.

To stem the tide, Nicholls has revamped its recruiting and retention policies to bring in more students and keep them around for years. Nicholls instituted new software to personalize messages to prospective students and gave recruiters more leeway in offering financial aid on the spot. The university also froze tuition increases to present itself as a more affordable option for students. The results are evident in the numbers, with Nicholls having 1,222 freshmen this year, its largest first-year class since 2013 and a 7.4 increase from last year. Nicholls President Dr. Bruce Murphy, in a press release announcing the fall 2017 figures, credited the work of the entire university for the continued enrollment hikes.

“This is a testament to the hard work of our faculty and staff in recruiting. Their efforts motivated students to our campus,” Murphy said. “Applications and campus visits are on the rise, and with programs like Tour Tuesday presented by Entergy we expect this number to continue to increase year after year.”

NSU has adjusted its freshman-level math course and offered one-credit study skills courses in the spring for freshmen who struggled in the fall. The university’s freshman retention rate this fall was 69 percent, which Nicholls called among its best ever rates. Nicholls Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Lynn Gillette said Nicholls’ nice retention figures are the result of the recent adjustments the university has made for first-year students.

“We are pleased that first-year retention continues to remain high at historic levels,” Gillette said. “There has been a campus-wide effort focusing on retention including intensive student advising, redesign in the teaching of our first-year students, enhanced academic support services, and the involvement of our entire campus community in meeting the needs of our students.”

Nicholls saw double-digit increases in its graduate and online enrollment. Murphy has said Nicholls will put a larger emphasis on particular sectors such as its online program for non-traditional students. Online enrollment increased 10 percent to 437 students this fall, the highest it has ever been. Total graduate program enrollment is up to 649, a 23 percent jump from last year.

In the face of diminishing state funds and dropping enrollment, Murphy presented the recruiting efforts as a path to financial stability for Nicholls. Murphy said a long-term goal of 8,000 students at Nicholls would give the university the proper numbers to afford the programs, faculty and staff needed to serve as the node of higher education for South Louisiana.

“Continued enrollment growth shows that Nicholls is providing a high-quality education at an affordable price to serve the Bayou Region,” Murphy said. “A larger freshman class, more graduate students and strong retention rates are indicators of long-term enrollment growth. There’s still plenty of work to do, but we’re well on our way to our vision of being the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Bayou Region. Our faculty, staff and community support has never been higher.” •

Nicholls State University