Servicemembers Opportunity College - Lamar University
Lamar University is pleased to be a designated as a member of the Servicemembers Opportunity College (SOC) consortium. This group of over 1800 colleges and universities are dedicated to providing post-secondary education to members of the United States military and their families throughout the world. Military personnel and adult family members can take courses in their off-duty hours in residence or online at home, at sea, or during deployment overseas. Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC) coordinate programs for the Coast Guard (SOCCOAST), Navy (SOCNAV), Marine Corps (SOCMAR), and Army (SOCAD).
As a member of SOC, Lamar University is committed to assisting members of the armed forces take advantage of our instructional programs and services through consistent, expedited procedures. These include transfer of related credit from other SOC member institutions, awarding credit for appropriate military training and experience and providing flexible residency requirements and registration prioritization.
Through prior agreement, SOC students have residency credit limited to 25% of the total degree requirements. In most cases that is a minimum of about 30 credit hours taken from the SOC “home” institution at any time during the program of study, but does not require final year residency. Lamar has also agreed to award credit based on national tests such as the College Level Exam Program (CLEP) as appropriate to individual student programs. Lamar University will accept all transfer credit meeting the American Council on Higher Education (ACE) guidelines.
Distance Education Overview
Distance learning is any type of education in which the learners are separated from the instructor or resources by space and/or time. Lamar University offers courses through four primary distance learning delivery modes: interactive videoconferencing, on-line courses, off-campus courses and telecourses.
Military members and their families may take courses using one of these delivery methods or can attend in person on campus. Students with military backgrounds bring a level of knowledge and experience into classrooms that enhances their fellow students’ learning environment whatever instructional delivery system is undertaken.
Lamar offers several degree programs or can provide distance education courses to meet requirements for military students enrolled in another SOC program school. Our degrees are designed with flexibility and ease of transition in mind for our service members.
Lamar University is a fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges to award degrees at the Associate, Baccalaureate, Master’s and Doctoral levels. Lamar is approved by the Texas Education Agency and is A Member of The Texas State University System.
Online Completion Degrees:
Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science (BAAS)
What is a BAAS degree?
The BAAS degree is a four-year baccalaureate degree that is designed for working adults and students who have earned many college credits.
Two Track Options
Two plans are available: 1) The traditional semester course track operates on the same calendar and schedule as the normal school calendar 2) Beginning October 12, 2009: The accelerated BAAS track offers courses in an 8 week format with short breaks between classes. Currently, only students with 90 college credits and core complete will be considered for admission into this track.
Admission Requirements
Students who will qualify for this degree program will have one of the following:
Five years of full-time work experience
Sixty hours of college credit
Be an active or retired service-member with 3 or more years of military service
(College credit earned at academic and technical institutions will count toward the second admission requirement and may apply to degree.)
Degree Requirements
In order to obtain a BAAS degree students must complete the following:
Core Curriculum (48 hours)
Advanced courses (36 hours)
Lower-level Electives (36 hours)
120 total hours toward the degree, of which 30 hours must be from Lamar
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology (BSIT)
Students may be admitted to the BSIT program from a wide variety of technical backgrounds. The BSIT is a non-calculus based degree which provides students with the credentials for promotion within their technical field or for a career in industrial technology. Students will learn how to streamline processes, improve quality, ensure safety in the workplace, and manage production and inventory systems and technical personnel. The BSIT allows students to transfer up to 40 hours of technical coursework as well as any academic coursework approved for transfer.
This degree is for students who want to choose their own pathway and focus on several areas of interest. This is also an excellent completion degree option following an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree at the community college level. This multidisciplinary degree allows students to choose several areas of interest. Students complete 120 semester credit hours which includes the academic core, electives, and upper division concentrations. The advanced hours must include 9 credit hours from three disciplines. The freedom to choose multiple areas of interest makes the BGS an attractive degree for those who wish to market their job skills in several areas.
The Computer Science program at Lamar University is a broad-based program emphasizing the areas of programming languages, data structures, information systems, theory of programming languages, software engineering, networking, database, multimedia, applications of computer science and computer architecture. Students who complete this degree online or in attendance at Lamar University will be well prepared to pursue a professional career as a computer scientist, or to pursue graduate work in computer science or a related field. This degree is well positioned for students who have completed the computer science field of study for transfer to Lamar University in computer science.
This flexible track is designed for the career-oriented nurse seeking a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing. The nurse must be a registered nurse in the state of Texas. Progression through the track is dependent upon the nurse’s initial nursing preparation. Transcripts are evaluated by Lamar University and the Department of Nursing. While this is a completion degree, many of the courses may require on campus class sessions.
Contact: (409) 880-8868
Master of Science in Health Promotion (MSHP)
The MSHP breadth of study includes research, formative experiences and scholarly development to prepare for a professional health career.
This online degree program is an in-depth examination of Community Health theory, research, and practice in Health Promotion program assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Program topics include current issues, epidemiology, behavior, psychosocial, and socioeconomic factors and determinants influencing Health status.
The MSHP degree includes 36 required graduate credit hours. Two options are available, thesis or non-thesis. The thesis option requires 30 hours of course work and 6 hours of thesis. The non-thesis option requires 30 credit hours of course work and 6 hours of professional project work and Career Health Education Specialist (CHES) certification.
Financial support is available in the form of loans, grants and scholarships for qualified students.
Contact Dr. Barbara Hernandez, Health Coordinator, by phone at (409) 880-7725 or e-mail at barbara.hernandez@lamar.edu
Getting Started: Please follow the instructions below for your current position
Active Duty Service Members
Before getting started at Lamar University, it is usually best for service members to meet with their Education Office. The Education Office, or designated equivalent for your branch, will help with information about procedures, explain your options and the tuition assistance (TA) program. Service members should then contact Lamar University to apply for admission, enroll in college courses, plan a degree program, and pay costs using tuition assistance (TA).
While service members must be admitted to Lamar to take classes, application fees are waived. Online admission is available at the Lamar University web site www.lamar.edu using the “prospective students” link and clicking on the Texas Common Application. Service members pursuing a degree from another institution may request “transient” status during the application process noting active duty status. Those who wish to pursue a Lamar University degree and want transcripts officially evaluated must apply for admission and forward all transcripts. Tuition assistance currently pays up to $250 per credit hour, with a maximum of $4,500 per year, but this can change so check with the education office first. Currently TA will cover normal online course tuition and fees for in-state tuition recipients.
State Tuition Qualifications
Texas service members serving anywhere in the world and any service member stationed in Texas, as well as their spouses and dependants, are typically given “in-state” residency status and will be eligible for normal in-state tuition status.
Service members who wish to enroll in Lamar University who do not meet residency requirements may be eligible for several forms of financial aid. Additionally, those who do not meet Texas residency requirements and wish to take courses from Lamar University will be given military status upon admission so that usual tuition and fees will not exceed those of native Texans on active duty.
Spouse Grants and Financial AId for Families
Students have to be officially admitted to Lamar to take classes with us. If interested in financial aid , fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA, which is available online). Lamar’s Federal School Code is 003581. Then contact the Lamar University Financial Aid Office through the www.lamar.edu website or call (409) 880-8450. Follow normal admissions procedures indicating that you are a spouse or dependant of an active duty military member.
Spouses of active duty military personnel are eligible to apply for Career Advancement Accounts (CAA) through the Department of Defense for grants of up to $6000 to take courses. To apply for CAA, spouses must apply online through the CAA website at https://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa. Click on OPEN a MyCAA Account at the bottom of the page after reading about it. Lamar is an approved provider for Career Advancement Accounts.
National Guard/ Reserves
See the person designated as the Education Representative. As in the case of active duty personnel, the Education Representative will explain the process.
Veterans
Contact the Lamar University Veteran's Affairs Office to get the appropriate paperwork.
How do I get tuition assistance?
Tuition assistance for the army is administered through each service branch. See the Education Officer at your base.
Do I need to get an SOC agreement or a Curriculum Guide?
After taking two classes, you will need an agreement or a curriculum guide to be eligible to seek a degree from Lamar University. If you are only taking courses for transfer, then one won’t be required.
What do I need to do to get my Military Experience evaluated?
You need to get the appropriate service branch transcript sent to Lamar University. Send transcripts to: Office of Admissions Lamar University P.O. Box 10009 Beaumont, TX 77710
For specific details about your branch and procedures click here.
Does Lamar accept credit from the College Level Examination Program (CLEP), DANTES, and others?
Yes, in many cases. For complete information contact the Advising Center at (409) 880-8907
Does Lamar accept Advanced Placement from High School?
Yes, same contact as above.
What is Residency?
The term residency is typically used two ways. 1) it is often the term used when determining qualifications for in-state tuition rates or 2) to determine how many credits must be taken while enrolled at Lamar University to seek a degree.
Does Lamar have a residency requirement for military students?
1) For tuition resident status determination: Typically, Texas natives serving anywhere in the world and military personnel stationed in Texas qualify as residents for in-state tuition status. Admitted active duty military students who do not qualify as Texas residents will be afforded special rates equal to Texas residents. The same benefit is generally extended to spouses and dependants as well. There may be exceptions to this in some cases.
2) For degree seeking students, the general university degree residency requirement is the last 25% (usually 30 credit hours) of the degree must be taken from Lamar University. However, for active duty military who have a SOC degree agreement, that requirement is waived. The SOC active duty military requirement is at least 25% of your total credit hours must be taken from Lamar anytime during the course of study to be considered for a Lamar University degree.
Where do I go for help if I am having problems?
If you are a member of the armed forces, a good place to start is your Education Office, Counselor or Advisor. Your point of contact for Lamar University is The Center for Distance Education. All online students have free online tutoring available 24/7 for all subject areas.
