SAM 136
will be led by faculty, staff, and administrators who
have a special interest in the success of freshman students. |
SAM 136 - Introduction to Collegiate Studies - is a three-hour, elective freshman seminar. Class size will be approximately 25 students. Students will read, write, and speak extensively on experiences and challenges that are common among first-year students. We also offer a section of SAM 136 for honors students. |
| Nationally, students who actively take part in a freshman seminar course have higher GPA, higher retention rates at that college, and higher graduation rates. Students will receive academic and personal survival tools, get a general orientation to the resources and services available at Sam Houston State University, get to know other students, receive personal attention, and have fun. SAM 136 is designed to help make the transition to college life a little easier. |
These seminars are special courses for new students designed to enhance their academic and social integration into college. Recent survey data from the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition indicates that approximately 70% of American colleges and universities offer some type of freshman or first-year seminar. The precise content and goals for these seminars differ from institution to institution. Some are academic seminars which focus on a faculty member's special area of scholarly interest or an interdisciplinary theme. Others are offered within academic departments of professional schools in order to introduce students to the expectations of an academic major or career. However, the overwhelming majority (about 70%) are designed to provide students with essential strategies and information to enhance the likelihood of their retention and academic/social success. This is exactly what SAM 136 strives to do! |
