Beginning next year, Nicholls State University will become one of the first colleges in Louisiana that will have an online college program for students to earn a bachelors degree.

Nicholls Online will be a completely separate college from Nicholls State University. The Division of Distance Education under Academic Affairs will house Nicholls Online. This new program has been in the works since summer 2012 and was designed to offer students who cannot attend classes or have jobs that hinder them from coming to campus an opportunity to receive their degree in three years instead of four.

“We service a certain region of students who live in South Louisiana as well, who may have a difficult time getting here from towns such as Chauvin, Cut Off and Golden Meadow,” Ellen Barker, Languages and Literature department head, said.

Not every major will be offered yet, but the programs that will initially be offered through Nicholls Online include: Bachelor of Science in General Studies, Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership, RN to BSN Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts in History, Bachelor of Arts in English, and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.

Students who are already enrolled at Nicholls will not be able to transfer over to the online education program yet.

 Barker said, “We are discouraging it right now because it will be too complicated to try and transfer over course work to the online program.” Current Nicholls students who are taking online courses will not be affected by this new addition.

The courses will be offered in eight-week increments instead of the normal 16 weeks in order for students to progress more quickly. Within the eight-week increments there will be five eight-week sessions offered per year. “If a student is not able to complete the program in eight weeks or if they [have not completed] an assignment or two, then we will continue to work with them until they can finish,” Barker said. 

The course workload will be identical to the coursework of traditional students who attend classes. One of the major differences between the traditional college and the online college is that Nicholls Online only requires students to take three classes at a time to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed.  If students take at least six hours per eight-week session, they will be able to complete the degree in four years or 20 eight-week terms. 

Student tuition and mandatory fees for Nicholls Online will be $250 per credit hour. Students do have the option of adding additional student service fees such as the recreation center, tutoring, services, a parking pass, SPA and other student services. 

According to the Nicholls Online proposal, after both students and faculty are paid, revenue from Nicholls Online will be distributed as follows, 30 percent to university operating budget, 50 percent to distance education division, 20 percent to the department for a course within the major, 10 percent to the department teaching the course, and 10 percent to the department of the student’s declared major. 

Students who want to enroll in Nicholls Online will be given an exclusive banner code that will identify them as online Nicholls students. All information regarding Nicholls Online will be on a separate web page and students will be able to register and contact admissions through this page. 

“There is one person that was recently hired from Florida who has a Ph.D. in creative writing,” Barker said. “He is basically going to be our constant Nicholls online figure.” 

Many of the faculty members who will be teaching these online courses have taken a program called Equality Matters. “They are [going to become] sort of experts in teaching online education,” said  Barker. There will be Nicholls instructors as well as a few instructors from the New Orleans area. All instructors will be compensated beyond their regular teaching load.  

Each faculty member will be paid a $2000 minimum per class. After enrollment exceeds ten students, faculty’s pay will increase $200 per student (with no maximum limit). Also for students who pass the course, they will receive an additional $50 per student. 

The use of textbooks is one of the main areas about Nicholls Online that remains a topic of discussion.  “I will probably order from the bookstore or make arrangements through Barnes and Nobles for students to purchase textbooks,” said Barker.

An additional issue that needs to be resolved is whether there will be a total limit of hours if a student would want to enroll in traditional classes as well. 

All English and math classes will contain no more than 18 to 25 students in order for students to have the opportunity for one-on-one attention.  To have this one-on-one communication, depending on the instructors, there will be chat rooms, Skype sessions and office hours available for students who live nearby and need to meet with their teacher.