First-Year Experience


Promoting Student Success

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Our Mission

We meet students where they are in the learning process and empower them to achieve academic success.

Join a University 1101 Course

Honors college SHSU icon.
Incoming freshmen who have been accepted to Honors College.

Honors
Pre-Law icon.
Incoming freshmen who plan to attend law school.

Pre-Law

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Open to ALL incoming freshmen and transfer students with less than 60 hours.

University 1101 General Information
Smith-Hutson icon.
Incoming freshmen who have been awarded a Smith-Hutson scholarship.

Smith-Hutson
CAM Icon.
Incoming freshmen who live in Belvin-Buchanan Hall.

CAM

Find Support in One of Our Programs

University President Dana Hoyt presenting a student with his degree on stage, during graduation.
A learning community is simply a group of students with the same interests who take classes together.

First-Year Learning Communities
A pair of students appear to talk as they walk to class.
Alpha Lambda Delta, also known as ALD, is a national honor society for first-year college students.

NHS for First-Year Success
Beautiful bush full of flowers with the prestigious Austin Hall in the distance.
Seasoned Bearkats who help students navigate campus to take advantage of university resources and services.

Peer Mentoring
Student sitting at a computer in a computer lab.
Please join us as Dr. Alisa White, president of Sam Houston State University, along with faculty and staff welcome our newest Bearkats!

New Student Convocation
Picture of 2021 common reader Counting Descent by Clint Smith.
The SHSU Common Reader program supports faculty and staff with a robust framework of options to bring the book to life for students.

Common Reader Program
Picture of students walking the calm paths of campus.
Empowering former foster youth, orphans, and wards of the court or homeless students to transition smoothly through college.

FORWARD Program