Nicholls State University President Stephen T. Hulbert announced that official enrollment figures for the fall 2006 semester are available and reflect a slight decline in total enrollment, but they show that students are coming to Nicholls better prepared for the academic rigor of university studies

            A total of 6,814 students are currently enrolled which is a decrease of 72, or one percent, from fall 2005. (This figure does not include students displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita who enrolled at Nicholls.)  “The exciting news is that average ACT scores have increased by 0.41 to 20.92,” Hulbert said. “This continues the trend over the last three years of Nicholls having the greatest increase in average ACT scores among University of Louisiana System institutions.”

            Retention of last year’s first-time freshman class was also higher than in several years, and the overall retention rate for 2005 first-time freshman was 63.41 percent.  In addition, seventy-five percent of 2005 new freshmen on the Tuition Opportunity Plan for Students returned to Nicholls.  There are a total of 1,755 Nicholls students currently on TOPS with more than half of the 1,119 2006 first-time freshmen on TOPS. “These numbers indicate that Nicholls is the institution of choice for these highly qualified students,” Hulbert said.

            Nicholls also has 48 valedictorians in its freshman class, up from 40 last year. “This is a 20 percent increase,” Hulbert said. “Better yet, 92.5 percent or 37 of the 40 valedictorians from last year are continuing at Nicholls this year.”

            The university also experienced a large increase in the enrollment of new students who are not first-time freshmen. “The number of graduate students, transfers, and re-admits have all increased,” Hulbert said. “I am extremely pleased with this fall’s enrollment and the quality of students Nicholls is attracting.  Despite two hurricanes and the implementation of selective admissions last fall, Nicholls continues to attract better qualified students who have chosen Nicholls to pursue their academic studies.”

            For more detailed enrollment statistics, go to www.nicholls.edu/ir.