Hullabaloo U, Texas A&M's common first-year experience (FYE), was launched in 2019 in an effort to retain more students, increase four- and six-year graduation rates, and decrease achievement disparities. The Office for Student Success is now beginning the certification process for courses to be included as Hullabaloo U certified courses for Fall 2025.
Certified courses must include the following minimum requirements:
The deadline for certification submissions for Fall 2025 is Friday, January 17, 2025. To ensure that college/unit leadership are aware of programs submitted, each college/school/unit must submit only one certification form for all of their programs. Non-academic departments should also coordinate submissions (ex. LAUNCH, Student Affairs, etc.).
Each submission requires:
Questions? Contact Meredith Malnar at meredithm@tamu.edu or see FAQs below.
Certified courses must include the following minimum requirements:
- Weekly group meetings throughout the fall semester
- Four required content lessons (Wellness & Mental Health, Academic Success Strategies, Aggie Core Values and Goal-Setting & Careers)
- For the four required lessons, instructors are provided with lesson plans and materials and are asked to deliver the content as written rather than being "topical inspiration".
- Each required lesson is written as a 40-45 minute lesson plan and a recommended range of weeks for delivery is provided. As you plan your course, be sure to include the four required common lessons within the recommended range of weeks. This timing has been strategically recommended by the content teams to: 1) Align with the transitional and developmental needs of new students and 2) Allow sufficient time for the development of community within the class for certain lessons, as some are most effective once the students have developed comfortability and trust with one another to promote interaction and open communication. The recommended range of weeks can be found in the instructor repository.
- Two required social activities (in or out of the classroom)
- A cap of 25 FTIC students per section
- 1 Peer Mentor per section of 25 students
- 1 instructor (faculty or staff) per section of 25 students
- Instructor participation in the All-Instructor Symposium and New Instructor Workshop (new instructors only) in the spring/summer
- Peer Mentor participation in common training in the summer (online)
- Participation in Hullabaloo U assessment, including but not limited to the inclusion of Hullabaloo U items on Student Course Evaluation
*New for 2025* - In order to minimize the impact of students who are in multiple Hullabaloo U courses: If the course seeking certification is a requirement for a specific population AND there are 10 or more sections of the course offered, at least one section of the course must be offered that is not HU certified to provide a streamlined experience and reduce redundancy. The non-HU certified section should not include the common HU lessons, and may:
Meet for fewer weeks
Exceed the HU capacity of 25 students in a section
Choose to include a peer mentor for the section or not, however no funding from OSS will be provided for a stipend.
- During NSC registration, if a student has attributes that necessitate the student registering for two Hullabaloo U certified courses, every effort should be made for the student to register for one of the non-HU certified sections.
The deadline for certification submissions for Fall 2025 is Friday, January 17, 2025. To ensure that college/unit leadership are aware of programs submitted, each college/school/unit must submit only one certification form for all of their programs. Non-academic departments should also coordinate submissions (ex. LAUNCH, Student Affairs, etc.).
Each submission requires:
- Completion of Certification Submission Spreadsheet to provide basic logistical information about the program(s)
- Proposed syllabus/course outline to review for adherence to the overarching Hullabaloo U outcomes (sample syllabus provided for reference) and inclusion of the required content lessons and social component. The Office for Student Success will use the Hullabaloo U Certification Form and Rubric to evaluate each submission.
- Materials must be submitted for all new AND previously certified programs; previously certified programs will have an expedited review process.
Questions? Contact Meredith Malnar at meredithm@tamu.edu or see FAQs below.