Located in the small town of Dudley, Massachusetts, Nichols College is a small and private college that operates as a nonprofit institute of higher education. Founded as Nichols Academy in 1815, it received donations from a number of local business owners but shut down at the turn of the century. After several others schools used that campus, it finally reopened in the 1930s as the Nichols Junior College of Business Administration and Executive Training. As a junior college, it offered two-year training programs designed to help students find jobs and succeed in their careers. It wasn't until years later that it became a four-year college and before the campus opened its doors to female students.
Though Nichols College has programs for both undergrad and graduate students, it limits its catalog to just a few programs. Students can pick from five different liberal arts majors, a teacher prep program or 12 areas of business. Though the college is small, it does offer a global learning program. This program allows students to spend a semester or more working and studying in Washington DC or in a foreign country with one or more professors from their departments. Many of its students study abroad as a way to gain more experience in the international business arena.
Nichols College Accreditation Details
Colleges seek accreditation as a way to show that their campuses offer more opportunities for students and that they have the approval or authorization of a higher organization. Institutional accreditation is the most important type because it is what the United States Department requires of students seeking financial aid from the federal government. This type of accreditation also lets students know that the degrees they earn are actually meaningful. Nichols College has its institutional accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
As this college has fewer degree programs than other schools, it only has specialized accreditation from one organization, which is the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). IACBE accreditation applies to all the business degree programs that the college offers, including those at the undergrad level and its graduate programs like its MBA option. Many employers look for employees who earned a degree from a college or university with accreditation from this group.
Nichols College Application Requirements
As an undergrad interested in applying to Nichols College, you can either use the Common Application or use the official site. With the Common Application, you can enter your personal information just once and use it multiple times, which is helpful when applying to more than one college. The Common Application will show you all the requirements associated with other college applications too. If you want to apply to just Nichols, you can use the website to create an account and use that account to log in and out as needed until you finish and submit your application. The college may ask for a high school transcript and an official score from one of the standardized tests too.
Graduate students will need to submit different types of information based on the program they enroll in and the requirements of that program. You can start with the online application, which will ask for information about your background like where you went to college, when you completed or will complete your bachelor's degree and whether you have any professional experience. The program you apply to may need a copy of the same resume that you send to prospective employers or a short essay relating to your future goals. Some programs will ask for one or more letters of recommendation or a score from an exam like the GRE.
Related Resource: 10 Most Affordable Top Ranked Online Master of International Business/Online MBA in International Business
Tuition and Financial Aid
Nichols College manages to keep costs down because it does not charge a nonresident rate for students living in other states. It charges a flat undergrad tuition rate per credit hour for all students that brings the annual cost up for full-time students to around $33,000, and full-time students typically take at least 12 credit hours every semester. The cost of a dorm room and meal plan will add more than $13,000 to your annual costs. If you are a graduate student, you'll pay a flat rate of around $600 per credit hour. When you factor in the cost of college fees, you'll pay around $11,000 a year.
Regardless of your year in school, you should always submit the FAFSA before classes at Nichols College start. Graduate students generally qualify for fewer types of financial aid but usually qualify for more in terms of loans. The amount you can borrow each year will depend on how close you are to graduating. These are unsubsidized loans that incur interest while you're in school. As an undergrad, you may receive federal subsidized loans, federal or state government grants, institutional grants and even admission to the work-study program on campus. Nichols College offers some scholarships for qualifying students too.
Nichols College Programs
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration programs are among the more popular programs offered at Nichols College. One of those programs is in hospitality management, which prepares you for working in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels and casinos. You'll take 121 credits of courses that include five required courses like human resource management, resort and conference management and current issues in hospitality management. The college also requires that students do at least one internship and spend a semester working in a hospitality business. Some of the electives that you can take include management in the hospitality industry, hospitality facility operations, casino management, travel and tourism and international management. BSBA programs are also available in human resource management, criminal justice management, economics, general business and other fields.
The Nichols Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a top choice for busy graduate students because this program lets them finish a degree in just two years on a part-time basis. All courses are just seven-weeks long and have breaks after to give you some time off. These intensive classes teach you practical skills that are necessary in the business world today. The program includes 15 credits of core MBA classes like strategic management, managerial finance and global marketing as well as 12 credits of skills courses. Nichols College allows students to take electives that count toward professional certificates like those in operations management or employee benefits.