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Basic Characteristics of a Fully-Developed Honors Program
No one model of an
honors program can be superimposed on all types of institutions. However, there are
characteristics which are common to successful, fully-developed honors programs. Listed
below are those characteristics, although not all characteristics are necessary for an
honors program to be considered a " A fully-developed
honors program should be carefully set up to accommodate the special needs and abilities " The program
should have a clear mandate from the institutional administration ideally in the form of a
mission statement clearly stating the objectives and responsibilities of the program and
defining its place in both the administrative and academic structure of the institution.
This mandate or mission statement should be such as to assure the permanence and stability
of the program by guaranteeing an adequate budget and by avoiding any tendency to force
the program to depend on temporary or spasmodic dedication of particular faculty members " The honors director should report to the chief academic officer of the institution. " There should be an honors curriculum featuring special courses, seminars, colloquia and independent study established in harmony with the mission statement and in response to the needs of the program. " The program
requirements themselves should include a substantial portion of the participants'
undergraduate work, usually in the vicinity of 20% or 25% of their total course work and
certainly no less than 15%. Students " The program
should be so formulated that it relates effectively both to all the college work for the
degree " The program should be both visible and highly reputed throughout the institution so that it is perceived as providing standards and models of excellence for students and faculty across the campus. " Faculty
participating in the program should be fully identified with the aims of the program. They
should be carefully selected on the basis of exceptional teaching skills and the ability
to provide intellectual leadership " The program
should occupy suitable quarters constituting an honors center with such facilities as an
honors " The director or
other administrative officer charged with administering the program should work in close
collaboration with a committee or council of faculty members representing the colleges
and/or departments " The program
should have in place a committee of honors students to serve as liaison with the honors
faculty committee or council who must keep the student group fully informed on the program
and elicit their cooperation " There should be
provisions for special academic counseling of honors students by uniquely qualified
faculty " The honors
program, in distinguishing itself from the rest of the institution, serves as a kind of
laboratory within which faculty can try things they have always wanted to try but for
which they could find no suitable outlet. " The
fully-developed honors program must be open to continuous and critical review and be
prepared to " A fully-developed
program will emphasize the participatory nature of the honors educational process by " Fully-developed two-year and four-year honors programs will have articulation agreements by which honors graduates from two-year colleges are accepted into four-year honors programs when they meet previously agreed-upon requirements.
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