The traditional path to education requires 4 years for high school, 4 to 5 years for the baccalaureate (may include the associate), and an additional year for the masters degree for a minimum of 9 years.

Area high schools students now have the ability to achieve these dramatic reductions in the time and expense of education thanks to cooperation between area high schools, your college, and Sam Houston State University. 

Motivation:
Texas is increasingly competing in a global economy.  To compete, Texas and its workforce will require advanced education.  All degree programs at SHSU may be attained via Time Compressed Degree Plans.  Degrees may be attained from the College of Arts and Science, College of Criminal Justice, College of Education, and College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  The key to this attaining your educational goals in minimal time is proper utilization of the opportunities offered by your school district and college. 

Students who have not yet decided on a career may wish to consider work force projections by the federal government, state government, and industry for Texas.  The demand for professionals in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, technology, and (especially) science teachers in the public/private K-12 school system is expected to be very high.  In addition to high demand by employers, these fields are among the highest in monetary remuneration.  Demand is also expected to be high in health related fields including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and personnel to operate and evaluate the results from specialized medical equipment.  The demand for professional technicians in all industrial areas is expected to continue to increase, e.g., chemical, petro chemical, computer, and medical.

The general consensus is for Texas to compete, a highly educated workforce capable of envisioning, specifying, designing and bringing new products and services to market must be developed.  The anticipated trend is towards the requirement for lifelong continuing education and degrees/certifications above the bachelor’s degree.

Implementation:
In general, each 30 hours of transfer credit attained while in high school will result in reducing the time and expense of a university education by one year.  Programs offered by your high school and college include:

  1. Dual Credit courses taught by the college supporting both high school graduation and the associate degree.
  2. AP classes.
  3. The opportunity to take additional transferable college course at relatively low cost while in high school.  Savings typically accrued include reduction or elimination of cost associated with room and board, commuting/travel, reduced tuition, and reduced fees associated with attending a university.

Additional opportunities to reduce the time and cost required attaining education goals while in high school include:

  1. Taking college classes in the summer after the junior year of high school and in the summer after graduating from high school prior to transferring to Sam Houston State University.  Completing 12 to 24 hours of transferable course work during the summer may substantially reduce the time and expense required to complete the baccalaureate and advanced degrees at the university.
  2. Applying for early release during the school year at the high school to take college classes (similar to early release for a job).
  3. The potential ability to establish a university transcript of transferable courses and assure admittance into SHSU while still in high school.  See “Joint Admissions” in this document or your college councilor for details.

To fully realize the potential of Time Compressed Degree Plans, the student is urged to work closely with their college councilor.  The goal is typically to minimize the total number of hours required to meet the requirements of all desired degrees.  A list of transferable course work from your college in specific baccalaureate degree programs to SHSU may be found on the web at http://www.shsu.edu/prospects/transfer/.  An appointment may also be made to speak to an adviser at SHSU by contacting the Student Advising and Mentoring Center (SAM) at SHSU. 

The SAM Center is located in Academic Building 4, Suite 210, on the Sam Houston State University campus. Our mailing address is:
SAM Center
Box 2074
Huntsville TX, 77341-2074
If you wish to contact us by phone or fax, dial:
Toll Free: (866) 364-5211
Houston Area: (281) 657-6432
Phone: (936) 294-4444
Fax: (936) 294-1149
If you wish to contact us by email, our address is:
Email: samcenter@shsu.edu