Academic Student Support Programs
1. Disability Resource Center (DRC)
ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ values access for all students. The DRC supports access by offering a variety of accommodations, resources, and auxiliary aids for students with disabilities. Accommodations and other support services are determined through an interactive process to connect students with the best possible access to university activities, services, resources and other ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ sponsored events. General accommodations available but not limited to are: extended test time, distraction reduced testing environments, alternative formats, assistive technology, sign language interpreters, closed captioning, real-time captioning, note takers, physical access and priority registration. Other accommodations may be provided upon request.
To receive accommodations, students must complete the registration process with the DRC. Once accepted and enrolled at the university, students will first complete an Accommodation Request Form that can be found on the DRC’s website at www.lamar.edu/drc. After submitting the form, students should schedule an intake appointment with a DRC Director. Documentation will be needed to establish a disability has been diagnosed and that accommodation requests are supported as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the "ADA Amendments Act of 2008" including section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Accommodations and adjustments will be determined during the intake appointment based on a student's disability documentation, self-report, past experience with accommodations and any other necessary supporting information.
The DRC is located in the Communication building, suite 105. Students or guests can contact the DRC by calling (409) 880-8347, (409) 880-5886 VP, by fax at (409) 880-2225, by e-mail at drc@lamar.edu or by visiting in person. Additional information is available on the DRC website.
2. ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ Pathways Program
The ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ Pathway Program was formerly named the Bridge Program. ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ uses standardized test scores, such as the TOEFL or IELTS, to determine whether students need to take
Pathway (Bridge) courses to improve their English skills. Students whose scores do not meet the requirement for regular admission to ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ are admitted into the Pathway Program and are required to take Pathway courses.
Pathway students may take on-campus or online courses in Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Grammar, and Vocabulary in consecutive 8-week courses. These two consecutive Pathway courses follow the start date and end date schedule of the regular Lamar academic courses. Pathway students must take a minimum of two consecutive courses and may be able to complete their language proficiency requirement in one semester.
The goal of the Pathway Program is to provide exemplary English language instruction and student services to individuals whose native language is not English.
Additional information is available by calling (409) 880-7511, emailing the director at ckmccartney@lamar.edu or writing to P.O. Box 10130, Beaumont, Texas 77710.
3. Military and Veteran Affairs
The Veterans Affairs (VA) Office assists all students attending ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ using education benefits through the Active Duty Tuition Assistance Program, VA Educational Assistance Programs and the Texas Hazlewood Exemption Act. Our goal is to provide the pertinent information required to all our VA students attending ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ.
Qualifying students are encouraged to complete admissions and testing requirements 90 to 120 days prior to the first day of class with applications for educational benefits completed at least 30 to 45 days prior to the first day of class to ensure timely delivery of benefits.
Further information may be found by visiting our office in the Wimberly Building, Suite 101, on our website, or by calling (409) 880-7198.
4. University Writing Center
An academic support program of the Department of English and Modern Languages, the University Writing Center has two locations - one on the first floor of the Mary and John Gray Library and the other on the first floor of Morris Hall - and provides free writing consulting to students and faculty. Graduate and undergraduate students serve as consultants and assist students with their writing for any course by guiding students through the entire writing process. The Writing Center provides consulting in the following areas: understanding the assignment, brainstorming, organizing ideas, revising, editing and interpreting the graded paper. Each personalized writing conference aspires to more than just the short-term goal of improving a particular paper. Rather, our writing conferences actively engage students in identifying and addressing their writing needs so that students improve their composition practices and skills and learn to apply them to various writing tasks and purposes. To achieve this, consultants use facilitative strategies that produce authentic learning and complement classroom instruction. In the interest of academic integrity, consultants neither edit nor in any other way correct students' papers for them. Students may seek assistance with non-academic writing as well, such as graduate school applications and scholarship letters. Our consulting service is beneficial to students of all writing abilities, as strong writers can also benefit from the collaborative activity of a peer writing conference. To schedule an appointment, students can visit the Writing Center Facebook page at or the main website at www.lamar.edu/writingcenter. The Writing Center also serves faculty by providing writing and documentation resources as well as fee-based editing and a personal introduction of services to their classes. The Writing Center seeks to encourage scholarly activity across campus and provides both independent and in-class workshops each semester in support of such activity. Both writing centers are equipped with Macs and PCs for student use, restricted to academic research and writing assignments. Magic and JAWS are installed on each computer.
Contact information for students: (409) 880-8571, UWC@lamar.edu.
Contact information for faculty and staff: (409) 880-8587, jennifer.ravey@lamar.edu.
5. McNair Scholars Program
Location: COMM 106, (409) 880-7582, /mcnair/. The McNair Scholars Program is federally funded by the Department of Education to motivate and prepare first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students for the rigors of graduate school through involvement in undergraduate research, funded travel to professional conferences, academic workshops and faculty mentoring. The goal of the program is ultimately to prepare students for success at the doctoral level and increase the number of Ph.D.s from underrepresented groups.
6. Student Tutoring and Retention Services (STARS)
Location: COMM 109, (409) 880-7201, /student-tutoring-and-retention/. STAR Services provides sustained support, guidance, resources and information to help students achieve their educational and lifelong goals and serves ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ students through tutoring, academic coaching and workshops. Our programs include the LU Tutoring Center, Collaborative Learning, LU Success and REDtalks. Please refer to our website for hours of operation and workshop schedules contact our office at STARS@lamar.edu for more information.
7. Undergraduate Advising Center
Freshmen and sophomores with fewer than 60 credit hours are advised in the Undergraduate Advising Center (UAC). The UAC supports the mission of ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ by enhancing student development and success through exemplary service, collaboration, and support in academic advising. The UAC facilitates student success and engagement by advising, enrolling, tracking, and referring students to faculty, departments, support services, and activities. The UAC proactively assesses and responds to student needs as professional advisors meet multiple times each semester to formulate the appropriate plan for student success toward degree completion.
Students with over 60 credit hours meet with advisors within their academic major.
Additional information about advising can be found at /advising.
I Will Enrollment Agreement
Students who do not meet the requirements for “unconditional admission” to ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ will be considered on an individual approval basis termed I Will enrollment. ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ is committed to higher educational opportunity and recognizes that traditional formal admission requirements are imperfect predictors of student success. Effort, dedication, and related intangible factors do matter; hence, I Will. Lamar is equally committed to student success and behaviors indicative of future achievement. I Will students begin their college careers within a structured higher educational environment specifically created with their needs, the needs of their fellow students, and the requirements of the university in mind. Prospective students who do not meet the requirements for “unconditional admission” will be reviewed for individual approval and notified if I Will enrollment is offered to them.
8. The Reaud Honors College
The Reaud Honors College integrates academic excellence, community involvement, and civic leadership. The College provides opportunities in academics, campus engagement, residential life, summer projects, and community service, with personal attention paid to the needs, interests, and aspirations of each individual student. Through regular strategic advisement with our students, we explore, refine, and develop their personal goals and assist them in engaging with realistic opportunities in their academic and professional lives such that they may achieve Reaud Honors College Graduate status and further their educational and professional aspirations beyond ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ.
Incoming freshmen are expected to have an SAT score of 1200 1270 (critical reading + mathematics) or above or a ranking in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class. A composite score of 27 or higher on the ACT can be used as a substitute for the SAT. Students already enrolled at Lamar must have a University GPA of at least 3.5 3.6 and between 12 and 45 academic credits to apply. Honors College students must have a GPA of 3.4 to maintain eligibility. Applications are available in the Reaud Honors College office or may be downloaded from the ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ web site. Applications may be submitted online at /honors-college/apply-now/index.html. For more information call (409)-880-2294.
The Honors College offers enriched classes in most of the Core Curriculum courses, unique interdisciplinary Honors seminars and topics courses, enhanced courses in many majors, and opportunities for Independent Study and the Honors Thesis, as detailed below. All Honors College students, regardless of major, are encouraged to become Reaud Honors College Graduates through accruing 23 Honors credit hours including the Honors Thesis, or 26 hours (of which 8 hours must be at the junior or senior level) without the thesis. All students must take two Honors seminars or one Honors Topics course. Students also participate in at least one high impact educational practice in the areas of undergraduate research/creative activity, diversity/global learning, internships/cooperative education, or service learning. Reaud Honors College students are eligible for generous financial support through McMaster Honors Scholarships and Grants as well as the Tom Jones Memorial Scholarship.
Within the University’s Core Curriculum, Lamar offers Honors sections in every Core Area as well as opportunities to petition for Honors credit in other courses at the 1000-2000 levels that are required in a significant array of student degree plans. Honors credit involves course assignments in addition to (or different from) the standard course. Students should consult with individual professors or the Honors Dean for details.
3000-4000 level honors credits can be earned in several ways: 1) through upper-level Honors courses and seminars, 2) through Honors Independent Study classes, 3) through adding an Honors Contract to an upper-level class, or 4) through the Honors Thesis. All Honors students take at least two Honors Seminars (HNRS 3161) or one Honors Topics course (HNRS 4364). These unique, interdisciplinary courses are available only to Honors students and enable students to extend their studies beyond the traditional academic disciplines. Honors Independent Study (HNRS 3360) provides the opportunity for students in any major to create a course of study that is not covered in the regular curriculum. Students often use this opportunity for independent
research and creative endeavor. The Honors Contract may be used to individually enhance a course in the regular curriculum for Honors credit. Honors Thesis (HNRS 4360 and 4361) permits students aiming at post-baccalaureate degrees to demonstrate clearly the ability to complete a major research/creative project. For all students, it provides the opportunity to pursue in depth an area of study or research that is personally important or intriguing. Forms and guidelines for both of these options may be secured in the Reaud Honors College office or downloaded from its website.
Honors Student Life
Reaud Honors College students come from all over Texas, the United States, and even the world. They represent all five academic colleges at ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ (Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, and Fine Arts and Communication) and pursue a wide array of interests. Honors students are among the most active students on campus; they participate in the full range of student organizations, often serving in leadership roles. For all of their differences, however, Reaud Honors College students are united by the goal of getting more out of college by putting more into it.
The Honors Student Association encourages participation in the cultural life of the campus and community and provides Honors students their own vehicle for organizing events and service activities and getting involved in campus life. The HSA meets monthly, and its elected officers serve as the official Student Advisory Board for the Reaud Honors College. The HSA regularly wins awards as one of the foremost student organizations on campus.
New students will be contacted by an Honors Peer Mentor – usually in their major – who can assist them in preparing for and successfully negotiating the transition from high school (or another College) to ËÄ»¢Ó°ÊÓ. These seasoned Honors students are committed to making incoming freshmen and transfer students feel at home in the Lamar Honors community.
Reaud Honors College students are also able to stay in Scholar’s Tower, the Honors wing of the residence halls. For more information about Honors Program activities, see /honors-college/.
10. Center for General Studies/Bachelor of General Studies
Program Coordinator: Dr. Lynn Maurer, 203 Parker Building, Phone (409) 880-8508
Director of Academic Advising: Ms. Julie Alford, 114 TAGS Building, Phone (409) 880-7570, Email: gsadvising@lamar.edu
The Center for General Studies offers advising for exploratory students who have not selected a major, students who are transitioning to other majors, and students who are seeking the Bachelor of General Studies degree. Academic advising in General Studies is a collaborative partnership between advisor and student that facilitates academic and career exploration and promotes student success. Advisors help students engage in their academic planning, develop personal goals, design a program of study, navigate the university, connect to campus resources, and establish a timeline for graduation. Students are encouraged to consult the discipline-specific sections of this catalog to identify advisors and advising centers for academic departments.
The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) degree provides the opportunity for an individual to take courses in more than one area of interest, resulting in a broad-based, multi-disciplinary program of study. Additionally, the B.G.S. is designed for those students who have already established careers and who wish to earn credit toward a degree. The B.G.S. degree requires courses in three different academic disciplines, allowing students to tailor a degree to fit their needs.
The Bachelor of General Studies will be awarded upon completion of 120 credit hours that include, but are not limited to, the following requirements:
- General Education Core Curriculum (42 credit hours)
- General Electives (33 credit hours)
- Advanced Electives (36 credit hours) within three areas of concentration
- Required Advanced Courses (9 hours): AASC 3301 (Lifelong Learning and Portfolio Development), AASC 4301 (Senior Seminar), and ENGL 3311 (Professional Writing) or ENGL 3326 (Advanced Expository Writing)
- A grade of “C” or higher must be earned in all required upper-level courses