Letter from the President
August 12, 2020
Dear SHSU Community:
As we are quickly approaching the first day of the fall semester, some of you may have questions about your return to campus. Over the last few months the university has gone to great lengths and expense to provide a safe teaching and learning environment.
Based on CDC guidance, we have combined physical distancing strategies with a face covering requirement for all faculty, staff, students, and campus visitors. The university is also supplying all requesting faculty with face shields as a supplementary safety measure. Additionally, we have installed signage throughout campus directing people how to move safely through buildings and spaces. Reconfigured classrooms and common areas will now facilitate social distancing and lower density. We know keeping surface areas clean is very important, so we have enhanced our cleaning procedures and installed hand sanitizer stations across campus.
Sam Houston State University, like many other public institutions across Texas, has implemented a flexible instructional model that combines remote learning with reduced face-to-face engagement. This method provides the safest possible environment for the campus community while addressing the learning needs of our students. My expectation is that our campus will be as safe or safer than any public business or institution in our region.
One of the things that makes Sam Houston special is the makeup of our student body. Bearkats come from different backgrounds and all walks of life: 50 percent of students reside in rural areas; approximately 70 percent are considered academically or financially at-risk; 45 percent are first-generation; 70 percent receive some form of financial aid; and more than 75 percent work while pursuing a degree. Our students are eager to learn. They’re motivated to seek opportunities. While their motivation may be higher than many, they’re also disproportionately affected by systemic inequities or other disparities, and the university has responded with proven strategies, programs and services that successfully help students overcome these unique challenges.
When it comes to the classroom, fully remote or online instruction can be very robust if students have adequate broadband. Unfortunately, a large segment of our student population does not have access to the necessary technology due to affordability or availability. Students from rural and low-income households, in particular, felt the impact of this digital divide when the university moved to remote instruction in the spring semester. And, not only does lack of broadband access impact learning, it also affects students’ ability to take full advantage of critical services and support programs.
We know students’ first-year experiences are critical to their future academic success. Requiring incoming freshman to live on campus has been proven to help more students stay enrolled and on track to graduate. Our residence halls remain open because we want the Class of 2024 to have the same incredible opportunities and advantages that have been offered to other Bearkats, and because of the requirements we’ve put in place for residents, many students will be safer in the residence halls than they would be living elsewhere.
Stress related to COVID-19 and social isolation has certainly affected everyone’s mental wellbeing. Active outreach helps decrease feelings of anxiety, fear and loneliness, which can also offset more severe mental health consequences like substance abuse and suicide. While it just makes sense to keep ourselves healthy in both mind and spirit during these very challenging times, many of our students do not have adequate healthcare and mental health support when living at home. Our on-campus Student Health and Counseling Center not only helps to fill that healthcare gap, it provides a crucial service that directly affects student success.
Financial insecurity has always been an issue for a large percentage of SHSU students. As businesses shut down this spring, students relying on their jobs to cover living and educational expenses, suddenly faced even greater financial challenges. Through CARES and the Bearkat Emergency Fund, the university provided a number of students with limited, short-term financial relief. By opening campus this fall, the university will be able to employ approximately 2,000 students and help alleviate some of their worries.
To say that universities are essential at this time is an understatement.
You, also, are essential. We are a student-focused institution, but how we care for one another is also important. To that end, we are discussing ways to be more flexible with members of our community who have immune issues that put them at high risk.
This is unchartered territory for all of us. It appears that we will be dealing with COVID-19 for many months and maybe longer. The national guidance has been to work to “flatten the curve” so that our healthcare system is not overwhelmed. As we move forward, we will continue to carefully monitor the health and safety of our Bearkats. We will learn. We will be flexible, and we will be ready to quickly adapt to changes in the environment. Most importantly, we will strive to serve the best interests of our community.
Dr. Alisa White