Uddannelses- og Forskningsudvalget 2013-14
FIV Alm.del Bilag 103
Offentligt
Basic Characteristics of a Fully Developed Honors Program (ThisdocumentistakenfromthewebsiteoftheNationalCollegiateHonorsCouncil:http://nchchonors.org/faculty‐directors/basic‐characteristics‐of‐a‐fully‐developed‐honors‐program/)Although no single or definitive honors program model can or should be superimposed on all types ofinstitutions, the National Collegiate Honors Council has identified a number of best practices that arecommon to successful and fully developed honors programs.1. The honors program offers carefully designed educational experiences that meet the needs andabilities of the undergraduate students it serves. A clearly articulated set of admission criteria (e.g.,GPA, SAT score, a written essay, satisfactory progress, etc.) identifies the targeted studentpopulation served by the honors program. The program clearly specifies the requirements needed forretention and satisfactory completion.2. The program has a clear mandate from the institution’s administration in the form of a missionstatement or charter document that includes the objectives and responsibilities of honors and definesthe place of honors in the administrative and academic structure of the institution. The statementensures the permanence and stability of honors by guaranteeing that adequate infrastructureresources, including an appropriate budget as well as appropriate faculty, staff, and administrativesupport when necessary, are allocated to honors so that the program avoids dependence on the goodwill and energy of particular faculty members or administrators for survival. In other words, theprogram is fully institutionalized (like comparable units on campus) so that it can build a lastingtradition of excellence.3. The honors director reports to the chief academic officer of the institution.4. The honors curriculum, established in harmony with the mission statement, meets the needs of thestudents in the program and features special courses, seminars, colloquia, experiential learningopportunities, undergraduate research opportunities, or other independent-study options.5. The program requirements constitute a substantial portion of the participants’ undergraduate work,typically 20% to 25% of the total course work and certainly no less than 15%.6. The curriculum of the program is designed so that honors requirements can, when appropriate, alsosatisfy general education requirements, major or disciplinary requirements, and pre-professional orprofessional training requirements.7. The program provides a locus of visible and highly reputed standards and models of excellence forstudents and faculty across the campus.8. The criteria for selection of honors faculty include exceptional teaching skills, the ability to provideintellectual leadership and mentoring for able students, and support for the mission of honorseducation.9. The program is located in suitable, preferably prominent, quarters on campus that provide bothaccess for the students and a focal point for honors activity. Those accommodations include spacefor honors administrative, faculty, and support staff functions as appropriate. They may includespace for an honors lounge, library, reading rooms, and computer facilities. If the honors programhas a significant residential component, the honors housing and residential life functions aredesigned to meet the academic and social needs of honors students.10. The program has a standing committee or council of faculty members that works with the director orother administrative officer and is involved in honors curriculum, governance, policy, development,and evaluation deliberations. The composition of that group represents the colleges and/ordepartments served by the program and also elicits support for the program from across the campus.
11. Honors students are assured a voice in the governance and direction of the honors program. This canbe achieved through a student committee that conducts its business with as much autonomy aspossible but works in collaboration with the administration and faculty to maintain excellence in theprogram. Honors students are included in governance, serving on the advisory/policy committee aswell as constituting the group that governs the student association.12. Honors students receive honors-related academic advising from qualified faculty and/or staff.13. The program serves as a laboratory within which faculty feel welcome to experiment with newsubjects, approaches, and pedagogies. When proven successful, such efforts in curriculum andpedagogical development can serve as prototypes for initiatives that can become institutionalizedacross the campus.14. The program engages in continuous assessment and evaluation and is open to the need for change inorder to maintain its distinctive position of offering exceptional and enhanced educationalopportunities to honors students.15. The program emphasizes active learning and participatory education by offering opportunities forstudents to participate in regional and national conferences, Honors Semesters, internationalprograms, community service, internships, undergraduate research, and other types of experientialeducation.16. When appropriate, two-year and four-year programs have articulation agreements by which honorsgraduates from two-year programs who meet previously agreed-upon requirements are accepted intofour-year honors programs.17. The program provides priority enrollment for active honors students in recognition of schedulingdifficulties caused by the need to satisfy both honors and major program(s) requirements.Approved by the NCHC Executive Committee on March 4, 1994; amended by the NCHC Board ofDirectors on November 23, 2007; further amended by the NCHC Board of Directors on February 19,2010