Software

The site is best viewed using Internet Explorer (Version 6.x for PC users; Version 5.x for MAC users).

A majority of the reference documents are Portable Document Format (PDF) files and require Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0.  

You may download Acrobat Reader for free from the Adobe Web site.

Settings

For the best viewing capability, computers should be set with a screen resolution of 800 x 600 or greater.

To set the resolution on a PC:

• Left-click the Start button located at the bottom left of the screen.
• Scroll to Settings.
• Click Control Panel.
• Click Display or Appearances and Themes and then Display.
• Click the tab for Settings.
• Under Screen Area, slide to adjust to 800 x 600 or higher.

• Go to Systems Preferences.
• Click Displays.
• Choose the correct resolution.
• Close the box.

Navigation

For ease of navigation, the SACS home page link, along with four other major directional links (Compliance Certification, Quality Enhancement Plan, Reference Room and SACS-COC information) is provided on every page under the Nicholls logo.

Compliance Certification – includes information related to the Compliance Certification Report.

Instructions for Navigating Report:	Presents guidelines for best viewing, reading and navigating through the Compliance Certification Report.
President's Letter:	Present a welcome from the University President.
Institutional Summary Form:	Includes information for the University including history and characteristics, list of degrees, locations and distance education, accreditation, relationships to the U.S. Department of Education, and a brief summary of the Quality Enhancement Plan.
Preface to the Report:	Present major changes that have occurred for the University during the past three years.
Compliance Certification Report:	Presents for each Principle of Accreditation a narrative addressing compliance, links to documentation verifying compliance, and a documentation table with links to original and local copies of documents.
Focused Report:	A forthcoming report responding to comments of Off-site reviewers.

Reference Room – includes information about Nicholls State University, general documents such as course information, degrees and programs, the University Strategic Plan, Organizational Chart, and University Policy and Procedure Manual.

Reference Documents:

Gives the reader easy access to many of the tables developed specifically for the Compliance Certification Report.

SACS-COC Information – includes information related to the development of the Compliance Certification Report.

Quality Enhancement Plan – includes information related to the development of the QEP.

All five selections will remain accessible at the top of each viewing screen as the reader selects different options. Access to the Nicholls State University home page is also accessible by clicking on the picture or University logo located at the top of the screen.

One additional link on the SACS Home Page is a direct link to faculty and staff credentials.

Password Required – authorized readers may use this section for login to Nicholls State University faculty and staff credential information. Login information is included in the written directions for accessing the electronic documents.

References

The references that substantiate Nicholls's responses to the standards are hyperlinked via the reference numbers within the narrative and in the Documentation Table at end of each narrative. The Documentation Table contains links to the original hyperlinks as well as local copies of those links. The reference numbers within the narrative are linked to the local copies in most instances. Note that local copies of Web sites are static. That is, they have been captured at a particular time.

Clicking on a hyperlink will open that reference document in a new window. Once the viewer is finished with the reference document, he or she can simply close that window.

WARNING! Many of these links take several minutes to download. Please be patient. However, to assist the reader in minimizing his/her time in linking to references, much of the information found in the links has been duplicated in reference boxes. Note that box titles shaded in blue contain information from primary links. Box titles shaded in gray contain tables or information developed specifically for the Compliance Certification Report.

How to Use PDF Files

All of the electronic documents within the Compliance Certification Report are HTML or PDF files or .doc files.

To locate a certain word or phrase within a document, the user can click on "Edit" on the toolbar across the top of the screen, then "find" and type in the word or phrase for which he/she is searching.

These files can also be oriented to fit the browser screen.

For PDF files the user can zoom in by clicking or zoom out by clicking on the toolbar across the top of the screen to read the material. The user can rotate material on the screen by clicking for Rotating Clockwise and for Rotating Counterclockwise.

For .Doc files the user can zoom in or out by clicking "view" on the toolbar across the top of the screen, then "zoom" and setting the preferred size for the reader.

Technical Support

For assistance with this Web site, please contact:

       Mr. Mihir,  Accreditation Web Developer
       (985) 448-4734
       f.mihir@nicholls.edu