Prairie View A&M University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, and doctorate degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Prairie View A&M University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
The University offers a broad range of academic programs and support through the following administrative units:
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
The School of Architecture
The Marvin D. and June Samuel Brailsford College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Business
The Whitlowe R. Green College of Education
The Roy G. Perry College of Engineering
The College of Juvenile Justice
The College of Nursing
The School of Public and Allied Health
Undergraduate Studies
Office of Graduate Studies
Though the University's service area has generally extended throughout Texas and the world, the University's target service area includes the Texas Gulf Coast Region, i.e., Waller, Harris, Montgomery, Washington, Grimes, Fort Bend, Galveston, Jefferson, Chambers, Liberty, Colorado, Wharton, Brazoria, and Austin Counties; the rapidly growing residential and commercial area known as the Northwest Houston Corridor as noted in the original Texas Plan; and urban Texas centers likely to benefit from Prairie View A&M University's specialized programs and services in juvenile justice, business, architecture, teacher education, social work, and the food, agricultural and natural resource sciences. Prairie View A&M University is authorized to offer a number of undergraduate and graduate degree programs at distant sites.
In addition to Prairie View A&M University, The Texas A&M University System consists of Texas A&M University; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi; Texas A&M International University; Texas A&M University - Kingsville; West Texas A&M University; Tarleton State University; Texas A&M University-Commerce; Texas A&M University - Texarkana; Texas A&M University Health Science Center; Texas A&M University-Central Texas; Texas A&M University-San Antonio; Texas AgriLife Research; Texas AgriLife Extension Service; Texas Engineering Experiment Station; the Texas Engineering Extension Service; Texas Forest Service; Texas Transportation Institute; and the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.
Administrative Organization
A current organizational chart for Prairie View A&M University is available in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Analysis and in the Office of the Chancellor, Texas A&M University System.
Mission
Prairie View A&M University is a state-assisted, public, comprehensive land grant institution of higher education. The university was designated in a 1984 amendment to the Texas Constitution as an “institution of the first class.” It is dedicated to achieving excellence and relevance in teaching, research, and service. It seeks to invest in programs and services that address issues and challenges affecting the diverse ethnic and socioeconomic population of Texas and the larger society including the global arena. The university seeks to provide a high-quality educational experience for students who, upon completion of bachelors, masters, or doctorate degrees, possess self-sufficiency and professional competence. The experience is imbued by the institution’s values including, but not limited to, access and quality, accountability, diversity, leadership, relevance, and social responsibility.
Photographs/Videography
Prairie View A&M University and its representatives on occasion take photographs or shoot video footage for the University's use in print and electronic publications. This serves as public notice of the University's intent to use such images as it deems fit. If you should object to the use of your image please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Prairie View A&M University , the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas, originated in the Texas Constitution of 1876. On August 14, 1876, the Texas Legislature established the "Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas for Colored Youths" and placed responsibility for its management with the Board of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical College at Bryan. The A&M College of Texas for Colored Youths opened in Prairie View, Texas on March 11, 1878.
The University's original curriculum was designated by the Texas Legislature in 1879 to be that of a "Normal School" for the preparation and training of teachers. This curriculum was expanded to include the arts and sciences, home economics, agriculture, mechanical arts and nursing after the University was established as a branch of the Agricultural Experiment Station (Hatch Act, 1887) and as a Land Grant College (Morrill Act, 1890). Thus began the tradition of agricultural research and community service, which continues today.
The four-year senior college program began in 1919 and in 1937, a division of graduate studies was added, offering master's degrees in agricultural economics, rural education, agricultural education, school administration and supervision, and rural sociology.
In 1945, the name of the institution was changed from Prairie View Normal and Industrial College to Prairie View University, and the school was authorized to offer, "as need arises", all courses offered at the University of Texas. In 1947, the Texas Legislature changed the name to Prairie View A&M College of Texas and provided that "courses be offered in agriculture, the mechanics arts, engineering, and the natural sciences connected therewith, together with any other courses authorized at Prairie View at the time of passage of this act, all of which shall be equivalent to those offered at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas at Bryan." On August 27, 1973, the name of the institution was changed to Prairie View A&M University, and its status as an independent unit of The Texas A&M University System was confirmed.
In 1981, the Texas Legislature acknowledged the University's rich tradition of service and identified various statewide needs which the University should address including the assistance of students of diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to realize their full potential, and assistance of small and medium-sized communities and businesses in their growth and development.
In 1983, the Texas Legislature proposed a constitutional amendment to restructure the Permanent University Fund to include Prairie View A&M University as a beneficiary of its proceeds. The Permanent University Fund is a perpetual endowment fund originally established in the Constitution of 1876 for the sole benefit of Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. The 1983 amendment also dedicated the University to enhancement as an "institution of the first class" under the governing board of The Texas A&M University System. The constitutional amendment was approved by the voters on November 6,1984.
In January 1985, the Board of Regents of The Texas A&M University System responded to the 1984 Constitutional Amendment by stating its intention that Prairie View A&M University become "an institution nationally recognized in its areas of education and research." The Board also resolved that the University receive its share of the Available University Fund, as previously agreed to by Texas A&M University and the University of Texas.
In October 2000, the Governor of Texas signed the Priority Plan, an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights to make Prairie View A&M University an educational asset accessible by all Texans. The Priority Plan mandates creation of many new educational programs and facilities. It also requires removing language from the Institutional Mission Statement which might give the impression of excluding any Texan from attending Prairie View A&M University.
Access And Quality
Prairie View A&M University will provide equal educational opportunity to increasing numbers of persons from unserved and underserved populations residing primarily among the economically and socially bypassed in the society; further, the University will provide educational programs designed to prepare all graduates to compete successfully in the graduate and professional schools as well as in the labor force.
Diversity
Prairie View A&M University will sustain its commitment to recruit, enroll, educate, and graduate students and to employ and advance faculty and staff without regard to age, ethnicity, gender, national origin, socioeconomic background, or educationally unrelated handicap; further, the University will offer challenges to both the academically talented and the under-prepared who arrive in college with ability, but without college-ready achievement.
Leadership
Prairie View A&M University will stimulate, initiate, and implement programs and services to both inspire and guide students, faculty, and staff in developing their self-confidence, self-discipline, and other requisites to becoming successful leaders in their professions and in their communities; further, the University will offer campus-based and distance education programs to enhance the life chances for persons in its service areas.
Relevance
Prairie View A&M University will respond to the need for highly literate, technologically competent graduates educated to excel in the 21st century work force; further, the University will extend the products of its research and service to address concerns and solve problems such as violence, abuse and misuse; drug and alcohol abuse; mental, physical, and psychological neglect; environmental injustice; and other forms of social dissonance that compromise the quality of life for the citizenry.
Social Responsibility
Prairie View A&M University will promote active participation in constructive social change through volunteerism, leadership, and civic action on the part of its faculty, staff, and students; further, the University will utilize channels available for influencing public policy on the local, state, national, and international levels.
Commitment To Excellence
Upon admission to and enrollment at Prairie View A&M University , a student - undergraduate and graduate - becomes a Panther Man or a Panther Woman and agrees to uphold a commitment:
To Excellence in Attitude
Exhibiting a positive desire to accept the challenges of college life, refusing to allow obstacles to impede progress toward future goals and aspirations.
To Excellence in Personal Management
Exhibiting highest respect for self and for the property and rights of others.
To Excellence in Work Ethic and Scholarship
Exhibiting determination that leads to meeting expectations of class attendance, course requirements, work-study position, student organizations, and other commitments; exhibiting dedication and persistence required to realize one's full academic potential.
To Excellence in Responsibilities for Peers
Exhibiting leadership among peers that openly repudiates violence, illicit drug use, possession of weapons, vulgarity, apathy, or any form of destructive, nonproductive behavior.
To Excellence in Professional Career Preparation
Exhibiting deliberate pursuit of professional and career readiness as evidenced by participation in student organizations, academic learning communities, athletics competition, career planning events, leadership training, graduate/professional school orientations, and other career preparation activities.
To Excellence in Community Membership
Exhibiting responsible citizenship; taking social and political positions that advance the common good; contributing skills and talents in a manner that promotes the general welfare of local, state, regional, national, and international communities.
To Excellence in Honesty, Integrity and Character
Exhibiting commitment to being truthful in the conduct of personal and academic matters, resisting any form of deceit, malfeasance, misrepresentation or fraudulence; exhibiting a high standard of moral conduct as evidenced by one's being fair, dependable, and ever mindful of how one's behavior affects the greater good.
Rules And Procedures On Discrimination, Harassment, And Privacy
Prairie View A&M University is a member of the Texas A&M University System. The A&M System is committed to equal employment, educational programs and activities, and a discrimination free workplace and learning environment. As such, the University complies with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations on discrimination, harassment and privacy. These laws and regulations include Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972; and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. For more details, please consult the Office of Equal Opportunity or the Office of Human Resources, Prairie View A&M University.
Equal Opportunity Policy Statement
Title VI & VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prairie View A&M University is fully committed to and promotes equal opportunity for all. This commitment by the University includes equal employment and educational opportunity, affirmative action, and program accessibility. The Office of Equal Opportunity is responsible for the Equal Opportunity Programs of the University.
Program Accessibility
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
No otherwise qualified individual shall, on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity provided by the University in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. The University Office of Equal Opportunity is responsible for the Title VI Program of the University.
Title IX of The Education Amendment Act of 1972
Prairie View A&M University does not discriminate against persons on the basis of sex. Individuals will not be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination on the basis of sex under any educational program, service or activity offered by the University. The University Office of Equal Opportunity is responsible for the Title IX Program of the University.
Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
In compliance with Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Sections 501, 502, 503, and 504, Prairie View A&M University prohibits the imposition of rules or restrictions that have the effect of limiting participation of students with disabilities in educational programs or activities. Appropriate academic accommodations and reasonable modifications to policies and practices are made to assure that students with disabilities have the same opportunities as other students to be successful on the basis of their intellectual abilities and academic achievements. The Office of Student Affairs is responsible for the Disability Services programs for all students.
Right to Privacy
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 contained in Public Law 93-380 of the Educational Amendments of 1974, is designed to protect the rights and privacy of students.
Official records are not opened to the public and will not be divulged without the consent of the student. Minors (those under 18 years of age) attending the university have the same right to privacy of their records as adult students.
The Buckley Amendment provides that certain directory-type information may be made public on all students unless an individual student states in writing (within the first twelve class days) to the Office of the Registrar that they do not wish that information to be released. Such directory-type information may include (but is not limited to) name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major, participation in activities, dates of attendance, and degrees, and awards received.
Academic information is confidential. However, in order for the University to serve students, academic information is shared with University administrative offices and academic advisers for the purpose of providing services to the student.
