Tag: Nicholls State University

Nicholls Financial Analysis Team Heads to Regional Finals

The Chartered Financial Analysis competitive team at Nicholls State University competed in the Southwest U.S. Research Challenge at Rice University on February 22.

The competitive team for Nicholls included:

  • Breanne Cazenave, a senior accounting and finance double major from Luling
  • Megan White, a senior accounting and finance double major from Pierre Part
  • Preston Thibodeaux, a senior accounting and finance double major from Baton Rouge
  • Carlos Calderone, a senior finance major from Morgan City
  • Terry Dupre, an MBA graduate student from Houma

The other teams in the finals were Baylor University, Rice University, St. Mary’s University, Texas A&M University, Texas Christian University, the University of Dallas and West Texas A&M University. Among the teams that made it into the finals, Nicholls is the only school from Louisiana, as well as the only team that wasn’t located in Texas.

This year’s Chartered Financial Analyst competitive team was advised and sponsored by Dr. John Lajuanie and Dr. Shari Lawrence, who are both professors of finance.

“Our students are consistently able to compete against major universities. To be this successful, really speaks highly of our students and their abilities,” Dr. Lawrence said. “As a small teaching university, we have dedicated faculty who give our students a lot of 1-on-1 attention. This is not just myself and Dr. Lajaunie. It’s all of the teachers they have had at Nicholls to bring them to this point.”

The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge is an yearly international competition that provides students at various universities with hands on mentoring and training in financial analysis. Students are expected to work in teams to research and analyze a company, even going so far as to meet with company management.

Each team is then responsible for writing a research report on their company with buy, sell, or hold recommendations. Then, the teams are asked to present and defend their analysis to a panel of professionals.

In the first round, teams are judged based on their written work. In the finals, teams are further tested on their analysis and ability to effectively communicate their research.

Teams are given twenty minutes to discuss their results, then ten minutes to present, followed by a ten minute question session. The team who comes in first place will advance to the nationals in New York City and April 20-21 for the opportunity to compete globally.

This year makes the fifth time since 2011 that Nicholls State University Financial Analysis has made the regional finals, including making it into nationals in 2015.

“This is yet another great group of students. This is a very, very intense, comprehensive exercise and our students have done an amazing job,” Dr. LaJaunie said. “We’re one of the smallest public schools that compete. We’re one of those schools that’s not supposed to make it. But I tell my team that they can beat any school we’re matched up against because we have a history of doing just that.”

For more education related information, click here.

 

Nicholls State University Named a Top Regional University

In September 2019, Nicholls State University was named as one of the top regional universities in the South by U.S. News and World Report. This is the third year in a row the college has been named in the Best Colleges rankings.

According to the report, Nicholls ranks thirty-eighth among public regional universities in the South and the best in the state of Louisiana, and ranks eighty-fourth among southern regional universities including private schools – the third best in Louisiana State, the two preceding being Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of Holy Cross. In 2019, Nicholls ranked as No. 41 and No. 100.

“This is a direct reflection of the commitment our faculty and staff make every day to recruit, educate and graduate a better student for the Bayou Region,” said Dr. Jay Clune, Nicholls president.

U.S. News and World Report state they define a regional university as a school that offers several undergraduate degrees, a handful of master’s degrees, but a select few doctoral programs. A public university is defined as a school that functions under state government supervision and is partially funded by tax dollars.

In order to calculate each school’s ranking, U.S. News and World Report took into consideration graduation rates, retention rates, social mobility, academic reputation, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni contribution rate.

Once the data for each school is analyzed and studied, the schools were then broken into the categories of national university and regional university, then the top seventy-five percent of each category is published.

Nicholls ranked 103rd in social mobility among regional universities in the South and fourth among public universities in Louisiana. Social mobility is determined by comparing the school’s Pell Grant recipient graduation rate to the graduation rates of those who did not receive the grant.

Nicholls State University is a student-centered regional institution located in Thibodaux, Louisiana. They offer accredited degree programs and unique learning experiences with a goal to prepare their students for life beyond the classroom and to have a successful career. They are dedicated to the education of their diverse student body while also providing a rich cultural and educational environment.

“Nicholls supports the educational, cultural, and economic needs of its service region and cultivated productive, responsible, and engaged citizens.”

U.S. News and World Report is an online news and information organization that aims to empower their readers to make better, well informed choices that affect their day-to-day lives. They focus on education, health, personal finance, travel, cars, and news & opinion and aim to bring honest, fact-based information to their audience. U.S. News provides hospital and school rankings, consumer advice, and analysis in an effort to provide valuable information to people seeking to make complex decisions, regardless of their phase of life. U.S News is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and was founded in 1933, with an average of over 30 millions site visitors.

For more education related information, click here.

NSU Nursing Program Recognized

The nursing program at Nicholls State University has been recognized for the quality and affordability of the program by several online resources. Registered Nursing, a nursing advocacy organization of registered nurses that bridges the gap between resources and future nurses, ranked the Nicholls online bachelors in nursing number seven in the country and best in Louisiana.

Best Health Degrees, a website dedicated to spreading awareness of healthcare education, named Nicholls nursing program the number four most affordable accredited program in the country.

Dr. Sue Westbrook, provost and vice president for academic and student affairs, is delighted about the program recognition. The former dean of the College of Nursing says “It’s satisfying to know that our program offers high quality at an affordable price.”

The Nicholls nursing program is the most popular on campus, and also remains one of the most successful program in the South with their graduates regularly passing the RN licensure exam at rates that are higher than both state and national averages.

Nicholls nursing program offers a traditional BSN, LPN to BSN Articulation Program, RN to BSN Articulation Program, and a Master of Science in Nursing. The MSN program is offered in affiliation with the Intercollegiate Consortium for a Master of Science in Nursing (ICMSN) and is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). In the MSN program, you can choose from three specialty concentrations: Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, and Nursing Education.

With a mission to prepare students to contribute to a global society and a diverse workforce as productive, responsible, and engaged citizens and as well-educated nurses to meet the healthcare needs of the Bayou region and beyond, it’s estimated that eighty percent of the Bayou’s Region’s nurses are Nicholls alumni. Students will receive hands-on education from experienced and award-winning faculty, and 100 percent of Nicholls recent nursing grads are either employed or in nursing school.

Anna Busalacchi, a graduate from Nicholls with her Bachelors of Science in nursing, states “It’s cool to be prideful of my alma mater. I had so much on my resume because I attended Nicholls and it helped me get a job so much easier.”

Nicholls’ College of Nursing aims to send off their graduates embracing these core values:

  • Civic responsibility
  • Diversity
  • Excellence
  • Integrity
  • Leadership
  • Respectfulness
  • Responsibility
  • Caring
  • Professionalism
  • Safety

Registered Nursing determines its school rankings using a variety of higher education statistics, while also factoring in school accreditation, graduation rates, cost of tuition, the ratio of instructional faculty to tenured faculty, and student acceptance rate.

Best Health Degrees determines its school rankings based on accreditation from either the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and by the cost of tuition.

Best Health Degrees helps prospective students learn what skills and training they need for their ideal career field, the salary they can expect to earn, and advice on how to land their dream job, as well as information they may need about the college or university of their choice.

For more information about Nicholls nursing program visit nicholls.edu/nursing.

For more education related information, click here.

 

 

Nicholls Alumni Scholarships are Growing

Nicholls State University, founded in 1948, has always looked out for its students. However, their Alumni Federation has gone even further by supporting Nicholls students with multiple scholarships. The newest scholarship, which was awarded for the first time in the Fall of 2017 is, The J. Nannie Endowed Alumni Scholarship. The student receiving this scholarship has to be at the sophomore level, have at least a 3.2 GPA, and must be involved in a minimum of one university organization. Of course, they must be a full time student as well. The scholarship is only awarded for one year but the student will receive $250 for one fall and one spring semester.

Each year two upperclassmen are awarded the Alumni Federation Upperclassman Scholarships. The recipients must have a 3.0 GPA and at least 60 hours of credit, semester credit. $800 is given to each student for the fall and spring semesters. In addition so Upperclassman scholarships, Nicholls Alumni Federation also offers two freshmen the Alumni Federation Freshman Leader Scholarship. This scholarship is for incoming freshman and they must have at least a 3.25 GPA. They also have to score a minimum of a 20 on the ACT.

Established in 2015, the Nicholls Alumni Legacy Scholarship is a scholarship that helps encourage those to follow in their parent’s educational footsteps. In order to receive this award, the recipient must have one parent that finished a program of study at Nicholls State University. It has to be verified. The recipient must be in good academic standing and they have to be a full-time undergraduate student. $500 will be given during the fall and spring semester of the year the student received the scholarship.

In addition to the Nicholls Alumni Legacy Scholarship, the Federation also offers the Peltier Foundation Nicholls Alumni Legacy Scholarship. The Peltier Foundation has supported Nicholls for the past two decades with monetary donations and by supporting programs and projects within the school. A Peltier Foundation Board Member, Stepehn Peltier, explains how the purpose of the scholarship is to help “increase the value of being a Nicholls alum”. $75,000 has been given to the scholarship fund from the Peltier Foundation since it was founded in 2016.

In order to receive the award, the student must be in good academic standing and they must also be full-time undergraduate. One parent must be an alumni of Nicholls State University; the student must also type a 250 word essay explaining, in detail, why they deserve the scholarship.

The 2017 Corporate Mark of Honor was awarded to the Peltier Foundation by the Nicholls Alumni Federation because of how generous the Peltier Foundation has been. Jeremy Becker, the executive director of the Nicholls Foundation stated, “The Peltier Foundation has made a tremendous impact across the Nicholls Campus, and we’re proud to continue working with them. Scholarships like this one help open the door for more students to experience what Nicholls State University has to offer and to shape the future of Louisiana”.

For more information about the Alumni Foundation, click here.

For more education related information, click here.

Nicholls Ranks Top in Health Sciences

Thibodaux’s Nicholls State University’s health sciences degree program has been recognized as one of the best in the United States by a reputable healthcare degree program source. This source provides helpful information to those considering a degree in healthcare administration, including reviews on programs offered by various universities, interactive articles, and FAQ guides. On the website, they briefly share their mission:

“At Healthcare Administration Degree Programs, we provide resources to help you learn about both undergraduate and graduate degree programs in healthcare administration. We have information concerning online programs as well as traditional degree-granting institutions. Additionally, we have many articles and links that address important topics affecting healthcare administration today. Our FAQ section provides answers to common questions about healthcare administration and the degree programs that can prepare you for work in this field. We even have interactive articles to help you learn and understand the issues affecting work in healthcare today.”

Out of the twenty-five schools in the ranking, Nicholls State University ranked at Number 14. It was also the only school in Louisiana included on the list.

The website utilizes data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the federal program that gathers and analyzes education-related data in the United States and other nations. NCES is based in the United States Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, and satisfies a Congressional mandate to collect and analyze the state of American education. The data collected from NCES is used to review factors such as post-graduation pay rates, student retention rates, and average SAT scores of students who were accepted. The website also relies on student reviews before issuing schools a score between zero and one hundred.

The website nodded to the comprehensive curriculum, intended for entry-level students and healthcare professionals, of Nicholls’ Allied health sciences. Combined with reviews from students and the program’s affordability, Nicholls was given a score of 81.8 out of 100. The lowest awarded score on the list was 77.23, issued to Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, while the highest awarded was 100, issued to Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.

In response to the ranking, Jennifer Plaisance, the allied health sciences department head at Nicholls State University, remarks:

“It’s exciting when someone from outside of our campus can recognize the accomplishments of our program. Rankings such as this one validate the hard work of our faculty, who pour a lot of time and resources into ensuring our students are successful in the classroom and the real world. We pride ourselves on our graduates having the confidence and the foundation to learn whatever skills are required to be a professional in the workforce.”

The allied health sciences department is one of the most frequented departments at Nicholls. The department is also state-known for its effective and efficient training which yields productive graduates. Degree choices include either dietetics of health sciences, and the concentration options are pre-professional, pre-athletic training, communicative disorders, or nutrition and food services. The program states that its mission is “… to prepare students to contribute to a global society and a diverse workforce as productive, responsible, and engaged citizens, and as well-educated allied health professionals to meet the healthcare needs of the Bayou Region and beyond.”

For more education related information, click here.

Nicholls In Top 25 Affordable Online Programs

Nicholls State University was recently listed as on of the top 25 affordable online programs.  Online education has radically changed the landscape of education. We’re learning in a new and more efficient environment, one with endless opportunities for students of every kind. The virtual learning environment (VLE) is innovation that is replacing an office-building’s worth of administrators, teaching assistants, file cabinets, and paperwork. VLE such as Blackboard, Canvas, and Renweb extend both the classroom and the administrator’s office. Automatically handling teaching and administrative duties such as gradebooks, auto-scoring, attendance sheets, enrollment, updating class lists, auto-sending emails for absent students, notifying people of unpaid bills, and tracking payroll and accounting information.

Along with the convenience and efficiency, online learning is moving more toward heavy use of mastery learning which requires students to master a concept or skill before moving ahead. Instead of treating a 60 or 70 as a “passing grade,” students have to demonstrate mastery in that topic by answering all or almost all of the questions correctly.

Our own Nicholls State University has been ranked one of the top 25 Most Affordable Online Business Bachelor’s Degrees by College Choice (CollegeChoice.net) which is an online resource that aims to help students and their families as they research and compare colleges to find one that fits their interests and needs based on its research and analysis.

Nicholls earned the 25th spot out of 30 and is one of four to make the list from Louisiana. College Choice analyzes several factors to come up with their list including the cost of the degree, the value of the degree and the convenience of the degree.  Nicholls charges no out-of-state fees to distance learners and  “there are no set login times for online classes; it’s important for students to be independent and self-motivated.”

Nicholls has been ranked among the nation’s Top Public Schools  and Best Regional Universities in the South by U.S. News and Worlds Report.

Students say that Nicholls does a great job of incorporating Project Based Learning (PBL) despite the challenges that online education present.  Online PBL programs cover all the main learning outcomes while also training students to share and organize responsibilities.  Students would be responsible for tasks such as: giving peer review, working in teams, engaging in self-directed learning, breaking down projects into smaller parts, and solving complex problems. To be successful, online ed students must stay plugged in to the process and will need to learn how to communicate with peers and be a good team player. A great deal of your online education success in a PBL setting depends on your ability to work with other students.

PBL helps to avoid the isolation that many online ed students face in poorly-designed programs.  It’s easy for online ed students to drift through their studies as strangers who never truly engage one another. Fortunately, Nicholls has made great strides to implement collaborative online learning strategies to confront this challenge.

In online education, collaborative learning is carried out by various programs and platforms to allow for video conferencing, texting, email, teleconferencing, and workflow programs. Chances are, you will use these programs and skills later on in your professional life as well.  Students claim feeling much more prepared for their careers after being trained in an online degree.

For more education news and information, click here.