The Jindal Administration continues to show a lack of support for higher education in the state with a $22 million decrease in funding for public colleges in Louisiana.
Nicholls learned about its $455,349 portion of the mid-year budget cuts at the beginning of the holiday break.
The $22 million in higher education cuts are part of a collective $165.5 million mid-year budget cut, which also affects various state entities.  
University President Stephen Hulbert said the state released specific numbers regarding the budget cuts to the media before notifying the University of their portion of the cuts.  
“While we finally learned of our share of the twenty-two million dollar reduction to higher education just before noon, the state administration had already notified the media with the specifics,” Hulbert said in an email to University administration and faculty on Dec. 14.  “As such, while we barely learned of the $455,349 cut figure, the local media already had that information and was asking for specifics regarding the impact campus-wide.”
The timing of the mid-year cuts was not accidental since many Universities were on holiday break during the release.  As a result, much of the community was not responsive toward the issue, Hulbert said at faculty institute on Jan. 17.  
 “We knew it was coming. We planned for it, and we were able to take one more hit,”  Laynie Barrilleaux, vice president of academic affairs, said.  “Nothing is done without some type of suffering somewhere, but it was not to any academic programs.”  
Larry Howell, executive vice president, said the University did not have to make any reductions to supplies, salaries, travel funds or anything dealing with academics because there was some money set aside in the event of a mid-year budget cut.
The University was able to adjust to the cuts by decreasing the amount of money used for the quality enhancement plan and saved money with a decrease in the amount owed for liability insurance.
Howell said at this point, neither students nor faculty will notice the recent budget cuts, but that may not hold true in the future.   
“We’ve already lost about 50 percent of our state funding so even a small impact is a big impact,” Howell said.   
As students pay more tuition costs and faculty struggle to earn pay raises, the University plans to move forward with a new strategic plan: “To become the institution of choice for students in south-central Louisiana and beyond.”  
To do so, the strategic plan consists of five goals:  

GOAL 1:  Increase the level of educational attainment for students.

GOAL 2:  Cultivate research that engages faculty and students seeking knowledge in areas of common interest.

GOAL 3:  Achieve greater accountability, efficiency and effectiveness across campus.

GOAL 4:  Continue the university’s collaboration with business, education and service entities to meet regional workplace needs and to provide cultural enrichment and service to the community.

GOAL 5:  Invest strategically in University employees to enhance customer service and sense of pride in the Univesrity.
“The University and its faculty, staff and students have been facing considerable hardship with little leadership or support evidenced from the state level,” Hulbert said in a press release.  “The plan also seeks to make it clear that together the Nicholls family of faculty, staff, students and friends alike is working to keep the University vital and growing in support of the region we serve.”