Sam Houston State University (SHSU) makes available to all students, regardless of modality, current and future academic calendars, grading policies, cost of attendance, and refund policies. Current and future academic calendars, cost of attendance, and refund policies are published on the SHSU website. Grading policies are communicated to students through the academic catalogs and within course syllabi.
The University Calendar Committee meets each fall term to set the academic calendar for upcoming academic terms [1]. After approval, the University Registrar posts the academic calendar on the SHSU Registrar’s Office website [2] [3]. Links to the academic calendar are provided on numerous webpages including the Fast Links dropdown menu on the SHSU home page [4], the online undergraduate [5] and graduate and professional catalogs [6], and within the University’s homepage under the “My Sam” portal (Registration [7], Students [8], Campus Resources [9], and Faculty [10] tabs). The SHSU academic calendar is in compliance with Texas Administrative Code, Title 10, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter A, Rule 4.5 [11]. As the academic calendar is published online, both face-to-face and online students have access to the information.
At SHSU, faculty are responsible for determining the grading system for each course taught and are required to communicate that system within their course syllabi [12], as required in the Faculty Handbook [13]. Faculty members are charged with informing their students as to the grading value of each assignment, test, etc. Sample syllabi have been provided [14] [15] [16] [17]. The SHSU grading system can be found in both the Undergraduate Catalog [18] and the Graduate and Professional Catalog [19]. As the grading policies are published in each course syllabus and the online academic catalogs, both face-to-face and online students have access to the information.
Refund policies, estimated cost of attendance, tuition and fee tables, and payment options are posted online for both student and public review on the Registrar’s Office webpage [20], the Financial Aid & Scholarships webpage [21] [22], the Cashier’s Office webpage [23], and the undergraduate [24] and graduate catalogs [25]. As this information is published online, both face-to-face and online students have access to the information.