The Honors Program should continuously examine its approaches to attracting and retaining high-quality students.
Objective
Enhance The Honors Experience For Select Honors Students
The honors program should develop specific supports that would enhance the honors experience for the top students in the program.
Indicator
New Support And Recognition For Top Students
The Honors Program will seek to provide specific support, monetary and otherwise, for students identified as among the top in the program.
Criterion
Financial Support
The top 5% to 10% of Honors students should receive recognition and support beyond that of the other honors students.
Goal
Improved Recruitment And Retention
The Honors Program seeks to increase its numbers without altering the acceptance criteria and to increase it retention/graduation of students currently in the program
Objective
Improved On-going Advising And Contact
The Honors Program seeks to improve in both contact hours and quality of contact the advice and support that in-program students receive.
Indicator
Increased Retention And Graduation Rates
Stronger in-program advising should result in higher rates of students who complete Honors requirements and not just graduate but graduate with honors.
Criterion
Increase Graduation-with-Honors rate
In the past three years, about as many honors students failed to complete honors requirements as did. For May 2006, 19 completed the requirements and 23 did not. With improved communications and advising, we should raise the completion rate by at least 10 percent.
Indicator
Honors Contracts Completed
Currently, too few honors course contracts are completed. This directly affects honors graduation requirements.
Criterion
Direct monitoring of honors contracts
Through a program on direct contact between the honors program, students, and instructors the current rate of contract completion (62%) should be improved by at least 10%.
Goal
Maintain A Balanced, Comprehensive Honors Academic Program
The Honors Program should regularly examine and assess the Honors curriculum to determine if it reflects adequate quality, depth, range, and balance.
Objective
Assessment Of Course Offerings
The Honors Program should regularly evaluate the range and sufficiency of honors courses.
Indicator
Determining Student Satisfaction With Current Honors Course Offerings
The Honors Program will poll Honors students to determine is there is significant dissatisfaction with current offerings and if there are suggestions for additions.
Criterion
Expanding Honors Course Offerings
Based on student response, the Honors Program should seek to add two upper-division and two lower division courses in selected majors and a second humanities seminar.
Goal
Enhance The Overall Honors Educational Experience
The honors program should strive to provide avenues for academic and scholarly fulfillment both within and beyond the honors curriculum
Objective
Provide Academic Opportunities Beyond Coursework
In addition to maintaining the honors curriculum, the program should provide specific support for scholarly and academic activities beyond those available in the regular honors curriculum.
Indicator
Provide Support For Undergraduate Research For Honors Students
In addition to maintaining the honors curriculum, the program should provide specific support for undergraduate research by honors students.
Criterion
Program Support
The Honors Program will develop specific programs to support undergraduate research
Finding
The 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium
In April of 2008, the Honors Program sponsored the first Undergraduate Research Symposium. The program was modelled after research symposiums in the disciplines. The expectation was that the symposium would attract enough student participants, faculty moderators, and audience participants to justify a second symposium in 2009.
Action
Contiuation with revisions
The 2008 Undergraduate Research Symposium was a success. It was well organized and reasonably well attended. Revisions need to be made in how the symposium is promoted and explained. The program will review and assess the 2008 program with the objective of making it an annual event
Goal
Growing Program Resources
The Honors Program operates under adequate but limited annual renewable resources and should seek to expand its support from both internal and external sources.
Objective
External Funding Sources For Student Scholarships
Investigate possibilities of raising external support for student scholarships and program contingencies.
Indicator
Enhancing Scholarship Support For Honors Students
The Honors Program will consider organizing a fundraising campaign that will supplement the scholarship support available through existing sources.
Criterion
External Fundraising Initiative
The Honors Program should develop fundraising initiatives with the objective of bringing in at least $10,000 of external support in 2007-08.
Finding
The ??????Let??????s Talk?????? Fundraising Event
Planning began in the fall for a spring gala fundraising event. The March 2008 ??????Let??????s Talk?????? gala raised $55,000 for student scholarships and program support.
Action
"Let's Talk" 2009
The event will be continued in 2009. The organizing committee will hold its first meeting in August 2008, and the event is set for March 2009. The committee performed a post- assessment of the 2008 event and will use the results to refine and improve the 2009 event.