About SPA
Purpose and History
The purpose of the Student Programming Association is to provide activities and entertainment for the students of Nicholls State University. The SPA was established in 1981 to provide these events to enhance the social and educational atmosphere of the university and community.
Six committees were established: Entertainment, Special Events, Multicultural and Speakers, Union Events and Spirit and Travel.
The SPA has brought such acts as George Carlin, Carrot Top, Sammy Kershaw, the MTV Campus Invasion Tour featuring 3 rd Eye Blind and Eve 6, Mike “The Miz” from MTV The Real World, Ace Emerson from MTV The Real World,and various other entertainers. The SPA also puts on the annual Crawfish Day, Watermelon Day and Midterm Breakfast events, along with providing speakers, movies, bus trips and tailgating parties.
SPA Mission Statement
SPA’s mission is to enhance the academic, cultural, recreational, entertainment and social life of Nicholls. To accomplish this, SPA provides leadership development through hands on planning, marketing, implementing and assessing campus programs. Students engage in collaborative processes and are exposed to university and entertainment business practices.
The goals of the SPA are as follows:
- To address the needs and interests of a changing student population (Entertainment and Union Events)
- To encourage Colonel spirit (Spirit and Travel)
- To offer a number of cultural, motivational and educational programs (Multicultural and Speakers)
- To encourage participation in and help plan university traditions (Special Events)
Professional Organizations
The SPA works with two professional organizations for educational and networking purposes. Those organizations include the ACUI, Association of College Union International, APCA, Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities and NACA, National Association for Campus Activities. For more details, please refer to their Web sites.
Policy and Procedures
Policies and procedures are in place to help ensure the effective running and management of Nicholls’ largest student organization. The SPA Policy and Procedure manual is available for student review. It contains the organizations Constitution and Bylaws. During this academic year, the SPA Executive Board will be updating the Policy and Procedure Manual.
Policy Manual
policy-procedure-table-of-contents.doc
Assessment
SPA likes to remain in constant communication with Nicholls students to maintain quality programming and reflect the dynamic needs of the students. Surveys (program-evaluation.doc) are distributed during every SPA event, and results are tallied and reviewed for future programming. At the monthly SPA general committee member meeting, focus groups are held with the committee chairs to obtain input and feedback from the students. This input provides guidance to the SPA Executive Board.