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Nicholls State University will begin offering seven bachelor’s degree plans and one masters degree completely online when classes begin in January, giving rise to a new generation of students who will never even have to set foot on campus or deal with finding a parking spot.
“Nicholls Online will be different than simply online courses at Nicholls, which we have been teaching for the last 10 years,” said Dr. Andrew Simoncelli coordinator of E-Learning and assistant professor of mass communication. “Online courses at Nicholls run the same schedule and payment as traditional classes. Nicholls Online is an entirely different entity with shorter eight week semesters and a separate fee structure.”
Tuition for undergraduate courses will be $250 per credit hour and $350 a credit hour for graduate courses as opposed to $750 for a three-hour on-campus class at the undergrad level.
“This is comparable to the traditional Nicholls State courses when you factor in fees,” Simoncelli said. “The Nicholls Online courses will have no additional fees. This is a unique tuition and fee structure than other schools in the state. Students can be anywhere in the world, and all you pay is straight tuition. You don’t have to pay recreational fee, the yearbook fee and things like that if you do not want to.”
Not only is Nicholls online thrifty on potential student’s pocketbooks, but it is also thrifty on the amount of time each session, not semester, lasts.
Classes will be taught during one of five, 8-week semesters, the first of which begins on Jan. 23. Session A will run until March 14, and Term B will run March 18 to May 15. Only one session will be taught during the summer, followed by two sessions in the fall.
“Registration will begin in the next few weeks,” Simoncelli said. “Students will be applying for the same financial said and registering online just like on-campus students, but everything will be handled electronically. This is better for working adults; they can take three or four classes online instead of coming to four or six on campus.”
Those who decide to pursue a degree online will be able to choose from Bachelor of Arts degrees in history, English and sociology and Bachelor of Science degrees in general studies, general family and consumer sciences, nursing, for students who have an unencumbered registered nurse license and business administration. A Master of Education degree in educational leadership, with a concentration in educational technology, will also be offered.
Forty of the school’s current teachers have already undergone the Quality Matters two-week national professional development training for online teachers, which will help them develop their online courses. Professors will also participate in an on-campus workshop and have their courses reviewed by their peers prior to each semester.
In the first session, 20 classes, ranging from history and nursing to math and psychology will be taught, and each of the faculty listed on the schedule will only be teaching one course.
“The number of courses could expand or decrease depending on the demand for the courses,” Simoncelli said.
Dr Cindy Vavasseur, assistant professor of education, will be one of the 40 teachers providing online instruction during next spring’s first session.
“It’s double the work for the teacher, but we will be able to reach more students who cannot come to campus for class,” Vavasseur, who will teach educational telecommunication from Jan. 23 to March 14, said. “You have to prepare, and you must work hard to get things across to students because they are not in a classroom setting to ask you questions.”
Vavasseur, who has been teaching online through Nicholls Distance for the last 10 years, has learned several things in the years of never actually being face-to-face with some of her students.
“You must have very good self discipline to earn a degree online,” she said. “This is not a big problem with graduate students, though, and those are the only students I am only teaching online. You, as a teacher, have to be available 24/7 by email and phone, and my assignments are project based, like live videos with screen casts so that students can see what I am doing on my screen. I post lots of videos and talk things through.
“I have lots of commuter students, and I am even a commuter teacher,” she said, laughing. “I live in Baton Rouge. Lots of my undergraduate students have expressed interest in wanting to take advantage of the online master’s course.”
While typically a more traditional teacher, Dr. Greg Stall, department head of teacher education and assistant professor of education, also sees the advantages and disadvantages of online learning.
“I teach online courses, but I view teaching as a social activity where teachers and students have immediate interaction,” Stall said. “There is value to that. In a traditional setting, students have a chance to talk in class as a group. The Internet makes it a little more challenging.”
Like Vavasseur, Stall cited the ability of the university to reach students who may not be able to make it to campus is one of the top perks of Nicholls Online.
“We could potentially have students from Maine or Saudi Arabia,” Stall said. “It is a way for students to complete their degree at their convenience. Nicholls has the technological infrastructure for us to do this. A few years ago, this might not have worked, but now most students are tech savvy, so it’s ok.”
As the university moves into the online future, Stall hopes the school’s technological expansion may help the college in more ways than one.
“Nicholls needs to move with the times and stay competitive to keep attracting students,” Stall said. “Maybe we will get more funding if we keep up to speed.”
Tori Dufrene, a freshman biology major from Schriever, does homework at Jazzman’s Cafe and Bakery on the campus of Nicholls State University. Coming this spring, students will be able to earn a degree completely online from anywhere in the world.
