Today@Sam Article

New SHSU-HISD Partnership Promotes Higher Education For All

Jan. 29, 2016
SHSU Media Contact: Julia May

During the first "College Sense for Huntsville Hornets" presentation, SHSU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jaimie Hebert told Huntsville High School seniors, "You do your part in the classroom, you prepare yourself and meet admission requirements, and you allow us to assess your financial need to attend college, and we will get you on this campus. I hope you begin to dream of things you haven't dreamed of before, and I hope you allow us to make those dreams a reality."

Approximately 250 Huntsville High School seniors visited Sam Houston State University on Friday to get a first-hand, up-close view of some of the things they might experience as a college student, including individual assistance with the application process.

The “College Sense for Huntsville Hornets” program targets students in Huntsville, providing a way for the school district and university to work together to promote college-readiness for students who are interested in higher education. 

During the opening session of the day’s activities, SHSU Provost Jaimie Hebert told the students, “Today, HISD and Sam Houston State University join in a single effort to make higher education accessible, affordable and a reality for you, our future. It’s a day for you to ask lots of questions and for us to brag and provide answers about the university.

“It’s also a day for us to help you understand that the college experience is not only a real option for you, but to help you understand that you can get one of the finest college experiences in the nation, right here in your own back yard.” 

The program came about after a conversation between HISD Superintendent Howell Wright and Hebert last March about a similar program at Texas State University-San Marcos with the San Marcos Independent School District. Wright served as deputy superintendent for curriculum, instruction, and accountability for San Marcos CISD before taking his current position in Huntsville. 

“Dr. Hebert and I stayed connected through the summer and fall and worked out some timeframes when we could do this,” Wright said.

“I envision this program as an opportunity for our students—particularly those who want to go to college, or are thinking about going to college but never do anything about it—to be able to take that next step,” he said. “Some students will leave SHSU today with all their documents turned in and be that much closer to being accepted as a college student. The opportunity for those students is fantastic.”

Wright also said that the new partnership could possibly provide an added economic benefit for the community.

“As we continue the program, I can see that those students who have not given college attendance serious consideration and felt that they had to leave Huntsville—yet they were qualified to go to Sam Houston State, and they wanted to stay in Huntsville—now can do so,” he said. “This is a way to grow economic development within Huntsville, providing more for our community than what we’ve had in the past.”

Although SHSU hosts Saturdays@Sam for high school students, conducts campus tours for individuals and groups throughout the year, and sends recruiters to College Night programs across the state, students on Friday received individual attention and instruction on the application process and were given crucial financial aid and scholarship information, such as approaching deadlines.

“Next-step” sessions also were provided for students who have already been accepted for admission.

“The College Sense program is an ideal way for the university and the community to partner and promote college-readiness to Huntsville students who are making decisions about their future,” said Clair Collins, an alumna of both Huntsville High School and SHSU, who now serves an SHSU admissions counselor for the South East Texas/Gulf Coast Region.

“When high school students become more familiar with the admissions process, they are much more comfortable,” she said. “They don’t feel intimidated by the application vocabulary, and they know what to ask for in getting their documentation together. It helps with their attitude and their understanding of the expectations.” 

SHSU will host juniors from Huntsville High School for the same program in April.  Administrators are planning for College Sense to be an annual event each spring for juniors, so that they will have adequate time to begin the college application process, take entrance exams, and gather required documentation for financial aid and scholarships. 

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