Judgment of Compliance

Narrative

Sam Houston State University’s mission statement states, in part, “to provide excellence by continually improving quality education, scholarship, and service to its students” [1]. The undergraduate and graduate admissions policies are consistent with this mission in that they promote standards that ensure scholarship and excellence.

Undergraduate admission policies are published in the Undergraduate Catalog as well as on the Undergraduate Admissions website [2]. These policies describe minimum acceptable test scores/high school class rank, and required documents for beginning freshmen, graduates of a non-accredited or non-ranking high school, graduates of a home school, early admissions students, students who earned the GED, transfer students, and international students [3] [4] [5]. Undergraduate students who transfer to Sam Houston State University from another regionally accredited college or university with less than 12 transferable academic hours must meet the standards of beginning freshman students. A transfer equivalency guide is available as a link from the Undergraduate Admissions website and follows the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Rules for Transfer of Credit [6]. Students may select the college from which they are transferring and view a report of the course with equivalents at Sam Houston State University [7]. Admission Policies are reviewed periodically by the Academic Policy Council [8].  The policy, Academic Policy Statement 840502 - Admission Standards for Undergraduate Students, is published online in the Academic Policy Manual [9]. Policies are in compliance with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Uniform Admission Policy [10]. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Common Admission Applications for freshmen, transfer, transient, and former students are also accepted at Sam Houston State University [11] [12].

Freshmen applicants who do not meet minimum requirements for admission but graduated from the Recommended or Advanced Degree Program and are currently ranked in the top three quarters of their class are eligible for the Personal Review of Educational Potential (PREP) process [13].

Graduate Admissions policies from the application process through personal standards are published in the Graduate Catalog [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] and on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies [22]. Admission materials vary by college and/or program and are described in the sections of the Graduate Catalog that pertain to each program. For example, the Master of Science Degree Program with a major in Criminal Justice lists its admissions requirements under the College of Criminal Justice section of the Graduate Catalog [23]. Links to the Graduate Catalog listings of the various programs and their requirements can be found at the Office of Graduate Studies website [24]. The final graduate admission decision rests with the respective academic dean.

Supporting Documentation