The Huntsville-based university is launching its ninth academic college — called SamPoly — to address statewide learning gaps and job shortages in a quickly changing workforce. Students can enroll this summer for fall courses, which will be fully online.
"This initiative aligns with Sam Houston State's mission to support economic growth and workforce development in Texas and beyond," said Chad Hargrave, who is leading the college. "Our aim is to expand SamPoly certification options over time. We continue to meet with business leaders and analyze job data to identify future programming."
The workforce programs are largely meant to build upon each other, providing students the opportunity to enter the workforce or continue their studies with advanced certificates or degrees.
Sam Houston will offer a Level II certificate and associate's of applied sciences in the paralegal studies program, and a Level I certificate in "Practical AI and Intelligent Automation." The school will also offer a Level I certificate for students to become computer user support specialists and an associate's program that allows them to earn jobs related to the security of computer information systems.
SamPoly has its first approvals through the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas State University System. The individual programs are pending approval through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, an accrediting body for most higher education institutions in the southern United States.
The college will open in the fall as a revamped version of the formerly dissolved Josey School of Vocational Education, according to the university. The school launched in 1947 as adults and veterans needed additional training to gain employment in the post-World War II era, and Sam Houston officials said they spotted similar challenges facing higher education in today's fast-moving technological workforce.
Administrators developed the programs with input from industry partners, said Hargrave, the university's vice president for research and strategic partnerships. Texas higher education officials have acknowledged the need to get more credentialed people into jobs, as they also chase a goal for 60 percent of working-age Texans to obtain postsecondary credentials by 2030, up from 48 percent in 2022.
Trade programs are most common in two-year institutions, though four-year schools have been known to offer some certificates aligned with their existing offerings. "Upskilling" has become an increasingly used buzzword in the university space, and SHSU has marketed its new college as an educational model that brings more flexibility to industry employers and students.
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