The State Board of Regents put out a master plan, two years ago, for all state universities to have admission standards changed by the year 2005. Effective for the fall 2001 semester, students applying for admissions must meet one of the following criteria.

One must have either a 19 on the ACT, an overall grade point average of a 2.25 or have graduated in the top 50 percent of his high school class.

“Students who don’t meet one of those three criteria are still eligible for admission to NSU, however; they are eligible for admission into a two- year program rather than a four-year program,” Courtney Harp, associate director of admissions, said.

This should not scare students who are looking for a four-year degree. Even though they will be entering a two-year program, once they pass 24 non-developmental hours with a 2.0 GPA, they can continue on to a four-year program.

“These students will finish a four-year degree in the same amount of time as if they would have entered into the four-year program from the very beginning,” Harp said.

“What the State Board of Regents is doing by implementing the change in admissions, is trying to get students who are not prepared for a four-year university to filter through the community college system.

“These policies are a way to encourage people to go to the community and technical schools to prepare themselves for four-year university course work,” she said.

Teachers on the high school level, and also in beginning education, will be forced to better prepare students for college and college-level course work because of the new admission standards.

“We expect to see less students who need developmental classwork, and anytime you have better prepared students coming in, you have more people graduating,” Harp said.

” That of course, is going to make us more competitive.” Students who may need two developmental courses will, in 2005, only be able to take one of those courses at Nicholls. They can then take the extra developmental course at a technical school, she said.

“They are looking to form a cross-articulation agreement so students won’t have to be enrolled at two places at the same time,” Harp said.

Changes with admission do not just end after fall 2001.

“In 2002, students will need a 20 on the ACT for admission,” Harp said.

The 2005 ACT requirements have not yet been decided, but teachers are being informed of the change now.

“The requirements for NSU in 2005 will probably be the same as those requirements for TOPS.

“Students will have to complete the 16 1/2 units that TOPS requires, so we are waiting to implement those requirements because it is too late to tell high school seniors that they are missing required classes,” she said.

Right now, the main priority is to get the word out to teachers, because the ninth grade class has to follow the TOPS requirements and take those classes which enable them to qualify. Guidance counselors have to advise these students to make sure they meet these requirements, because they are not only for TOPS but for admissions as well, Harp said.

All changes for admissions have been approved through the University of Louisiana Board system and the State Board of Regents.

“It is our mission at Nicholls to provide an education for everybody in the region. We would like to encourage everyone who is eligible and prepared for college to come to Nicholls,” Harp said.

“I don’t believe these standards are a weeding out device, so much as a way to enable students to succeed.”

Due to the recent changes in policy, the Bulletin contains some inaccuracy.

Students may check the admissions web site for further information; an addendum will be added to the new Bulletin.