HONORS REQUIRED ACTIVITIES

Admission Requirements and Deadlines

Freshman admittants: The university desires to admit about twenty-four (24) students to the program every fall based on SAT/ACT scores and GPA.

Sophomore and transfer admittants: College GPA of 3.5 with a minimum of Twenty (20) credit hours and approval of Honors Oversight Committee. Students must maintain a 3.5 GPA at Southern Wesleyan University once admitted.

Requirements to Maintain Standing

Students must maintain a 3.5 GPA at Southern Wesleyan University once admitted and show adequate progress toward the fulfillment of the academic requirements of the program.

No student will be asked to leave the program on academic grounds prior to the end of the first year. Students may leave voluntarily at any time.

Academic Requirements (20 credits)

Honors General Education Requirements: 6 credits

• HNRS 1551, Honors Personal Wholeness I (1 credit)--fall of freshman year

• BIBL 1063, Honors New Testament Survey (3 credits)--spring of freshman year; (could substitute an Honors-designated religion, ethics or humanities course, but still need to meet general ed Bible requirements)

• HNRS 3551, Honors Personal Wholeness III (1 credit)--fall of sophomore year or SEMR 3181, Leadership Development

• HNRS 4551, Honors Personal Wholeness IV (1 credit--fall of junior year)

Major Courses or Upper Division Courses with Honors Components: 9-12 credits)

• Two (2) courses in the student's major designated for honors credit (3-4 credits each)

• An additional upper division course (3-4 credits), such as an additional course in the major, an Honors-level independent study, an Honors course outside the major; or a second research project.

Research Sequence: 5 credits

• HNRS 2011, Honors Introduction to Research (1 credit) or equivalent in major (XXXX 4901)--spring of sophomore year or fall of junior year

• HNRS 4993 or XXXX 4993, Honors Research Project (3 credits)--spring junior year or fall senior year

• HNRS 4001, Honors Senior Seminar (1 credit)--fall or spring of senior year, written project and oral presentation

Please note that there is some flexibility in the four-year plan given below, depending upon factors such as the requirements of the student’s major. For example, education majors must take HNRS 4001 in the fall semester of year four since the spring semester is exclusively for student teaching.

Typical Four-Year Plan

Senior "Seminar" (HNRS 4001)

• The "seminar" must yield either (1) written results of a research project or (2) a creative project. The project is commonly described as “master’s level work.” Practically, this means that research projects should include a thorough literature review and the reporting of results of original research and that creative projects must be comparable to the kind of performance or artistry associated with an M.F.A. degree.

• Written results should be in a format appropriate to the discipline and the minimum length of a publishable paper (about 30 pages).

• Presentation of the project includes an oral presentation and examination.

• A proposal must be given to the Honors Oversight Committee and possibly to the Research Compliance Committee before beginning the project. The proposal should be reviewed by the student's advisory committee chair and committee and the Honors Program Director before presentation to the Honors Oversight Committee and Research Compliance Committee.

• The Honors Oversight Committee and the student's advisory committee must review the final project and presentation and grant their approval before a course grade can be given. The student will get feedback on the research from his or her advisory committee and may be invited to meet with the Honors Oversight Committee to hear its comments and recommendation.

Substitute Requirements

• Students are not required to take courses exactly in the order described in the “Typical Four-Year Plan” but must complete all twenty (20) credits or their equivalent to earn the University Honors designation.

• Program requirements may be substituted for activities deemed equivalent.  The Honors Program Director may approve substitution requirements on an individual basis. These substitutions would be reported to the Honors Oversight Committee on a semester basis but do not need review by the Committee.

HONORS RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES

Experiential-Learning Requirements

• Participate in at least one campus extracurricular activity or campus organization per year

• Participate in at least one off-campus educational opportunity worth a semester of academic credit or the equivalent of a 120-hour internship (best completed prior to senior year)

• Present honors research project at an off-site conference (if appropriate)

Career Guidance

• Apply for at least two scholarships, grants, or other sources of funding to support undergraduate education, future graduate education, or research

• Apply for at least one graduate or professional school, if appropriate. If inappropriate, have three different individuals agree to prepare letters of recommendation for you at a future date. (best completed in fall of senior year)

• Take appropriate graduate entrance exam, e.g., GRE, MCAT, DCAT, OAT, LSAT. (best completed fall of senior year)

Community Identification

• Attend honors speakers seminars (2-4x per year) – a least 6 over 4 years

• Attend honors social events (2x per year)

• Assist in planning of at least one honor social event (usually sophomore of junior year)

• Participate in honors retreat or trip (if offered)

• Participate in honors freshman seminar or other seminar emphasizing (1) integration of faith and learning and (2) servant leadership

• Participate in at least two one-day service-learning or missions projects or one project of two days or more

Leadership Development

• Participate in hornors freshman seminar or other seminar emphasizing (1) integration of faith and learning and (2) servent leardership.

• Participate in at lease two one-day service-learning or missions projects or one project of two days or more.

UPPER LEVEL HONORS COURSES

Overview

A course is regarded as an honors course or its equivalent if (1) it is a course designed primarily for honors students, (2) it is a regular course with a section or component specifically designed for honors students, or (3) it is a special activity added to a regular course for a specific honor student.

Guidelines

Honors Courses should

• Be explicit

• Address multiple intelligences and learning styles

• Exhibit acadmeic regor

• Consist of advanced work rather than MORE work. Alternative assignments for some of the requirements are recommended.

Ideas for alternative activities/involvements

• Leadership roles, especially in team activities or work, such as Sigma Deltas, SGA officers, and SWU Admissions Ambassadors

• Presentations

• Teaching such as laboratory assistants, tutors, and supplemental instruction leaders.

• Development of grading criteria

• Development of tests

• External componets such as field trips, intensive interviews with individuals, games, skits, and other creative ways of exhibiting alternative approaches to mastering material.

• Mini-research project

Recommendations for Development of Honors Courses

All syllabi developed solely for an honors course or for a major course which includes honors components must include a specific delineation of the honors component. The student must petition the Honors Program Director for permission if a non-honors course is altered for an honors student on an individual basis.

Rather than identification as “honors” and “regular” or “non honors” or the like, it is recommended that the section delineating the honors component be designated in such a way as to avoid any negative overtones for those in the course who are not honor students.

For all courses that have honors components, please forward a copy of the syllabus to the Director of the Honors Program for filing. Should a course have material changes in later iterations, please forward the updated copy.