While retention rates and the quality of incoming freshmen are both on the rise, Nicholls is continuing to see the effects of last fall’s selective admissions enrollment standards and the impact of Hurricane Katrina in the form of an almost five percent drop in enrollment numbers. Since 2004 enrollment in the fall semesters has declined from 7,482 students to 6,886 (excluding transfer students displaced by Hurricane Katrina) in the fall of 2005 and is projected to decrease to 6,548 students this fall semester. The College of Education is expected to take the biggest hit followed by the College of Business Administration.
Renee Hicks, director of assessment and institutional research, said that though the stricter admissions standards were implemented last fall, some students who could not meet the requirements were able to slip through a loophole by enrolling in the summer, and the “full impact” of the selective admissions will be felt this fall semester.
Some students unable to enroll at Nicholls because of selective admissions had to attend schools like River Parishes Community College, L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College or Delgado Community College.
Courtney Cassard, director of enrollment services, said, “We’ve never had to contend with a community college in our backyard before. We feel like a lot (of students), especially adult learners who are coming back after raising a family, are starting there.”
“There’s a multitude of things that are working against us, and it is really remarkable that we are holding where we are,” said Cassard, “Of course the transition to selective admissions had an effect, but we planned for that effect. We didn’t plan for a hurricane to wipe out New Orleans and 20 percent of what we usually attract from that area to be displaced.”
The abundance of high paying jobs available after Hurricane Katrina is also to blame for low enrollment. Rather than invest money in an education, some prospective students are opting to earn money in positions that do not require degrees.
Hicks said, “With reconstruction and the oil industry, a lot of students are able to find jobs, and it’s a matter of money being there right now.”
According to Cassard, other reasons for the decline could be economical. She said that with gas prices steadily increasing and “Nicholls being traditionally a commuter school,” it gets costly.
Some students may also have trouble funding their educations.
Cassard said, “Federal subsidized loan limits, especially for freshmen, have not risen in conjunction with rises in tuition.”
While the selective admissions standards have hurt enrollment at Nicholls, some of its effects have been positive.
Hicks said, “While we are seeing less students, what we are getting is a much higher quality student. The average ACT score has taken a substantial leap with the selective admissions standards.”
The mean ACT score of first- time freshmen collected in the fall has gradually increased over time but took a sharp rise in fall of 2005 from 19.72 to 20.51, a 4 percent increase.
Though information regarding this semester’s ACT scores will not be official until the 14th day of class, Cassard said, “We are on track to meet or beat that number this year.”
According to Cassard, the quality of students has gone up over the past 8 years, and “the retention rate should also reflect that.”
“It’s still higher than historically it had been, but (retention) was on a very sharp upward turn and increasing quickly when it took a little bit of a hit because of the storm. But overall, retention is definitely on an upward motion,” said Hicks.
