Judgment of Compliance

Narrative

Sam Houston State University defines and publishes requirements for its graduate and post-baccalaureate professional programs. These requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs.

General requirements for SHSU graduate programs are published in the “Degree Requirements and Academic Guidelines” section of the Graduate Catalog [1], in addition to degree program requirements published in the respective sections of the Graduate Catalog [2]. The degree specific information is also available through the University’s online degree plan program, the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]. Additionally, the Office of Graduate Studies publishes a Graduate Student Orientation Booklet that details the broad-based academic requirements for graduate study and the Thesis and Dissertation Manual on its website [9] [10]. Many programs also provide a supplemental graduate student handbook that is specific to department requirements [11] [12] [13] [14].

The published definitions and program requirements follow the guidelines of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and standard practice for such academic programs as determined by external accrediting agencies [15] [16]. The approval process through the Texas Higher Education Coordinator Board ensures that all approved programs conform to commonly accepted standards and practices. To maintain this level of appropriate content and requirements, all defined and published requirements undergo periodic review through the curriculum cycle, the catalog revision process, and the assessment of student learning. Annually, departments solicit input from their faculty pertaining to proposed changes to the curriculum and accompanying degree requirements. Degree requirement changes pertaining to curriculum are reviewed and subject to approval by the departmental curriculum committee as are any departmental curriculum changes. The curriculum cycle is described in detail in Core Requirement 2.7.2 and Comprehensive Standard 3.4.10. The Graduate Catalog is published every two years and is available in an online version that is kept up-to-date and prevails in cases of discrepancies. The review cycle provides an opportunity for faculty to review the degree requirements and procedures for each degree program in their respective department.  Part of the effort to ensure that program requirements conform to commonly accepted standards and practices for degree programs is accomplished through regular, systematic assessment. As detailed in Comprehensive Standard 3.3.1.1, each program must identify goals, objectives, indicators, and criteria used to assess student learning. These attributes along with the associated findings and actions are used to maintain and improve program quality in relation to accepted professional standards. Assessment processes and results are summarized and disseminated through the University’s Online Assessment Tracking Database (OATDB).

Further evidence that the graduate programs conform to commonly accepted standards and practices is found in the accreditation of programs by discipline related organizations [17]. The programs in the College of Business Administration and the College of Education are accredited by AACSB, International and NCATE, respectively. The doctoral program in Clinical Psychology is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA). The Masters Program for Licensed Professional Counselors is accredited by the Council of Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The Accreditation of the Dietetic Internship (DI) Program is currently granted at the graduate level in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). The Graduate Program in School Psychology is approved by the National Association of School Psychologists.

Supporting Documentation