Honorscollegeprop

Wichita State University Honors College Concept
Future of Honors at Wichita State Working Group
Faculty Senate Honors Committee
February 26, 2013

Concept
A WSU Honors College dedicated to intellectual innovation

Vision
Establish a Wichita State Honors College culture that stimulates intellectual curiosity, welcomes diversity, promotes responsibility, and inspires transformative leadership.

The Honors College will benefit the University by:
• Attracting and retaining academically exceptional and highly motivated students from the Wichita area, the region, the nation, and the world
• Enhancing the recruitment of high-achieving transfer students
• Increasing undergraduate enrollment
• Increasing student-faculty collaboration in teaching, research, and service
• Attracting and retaining high-quality faculty and staff
• Creating compelling connections across disciplines and with the greater Wichita community
• Enhancing the academic reputation of the University

The Honors College will benefit students and faculty by:
• Emphasizing academic rigor along with exploration, creativity, and discovery
• Providing Honors students individualized advising and priority enrollment
• Engaging students in intellectual dialogue and real-world problems
• Facilitating undergraduate research across campus
• Preparing students for top graduate schools, competitive national scholarships, and leadership roles in professional careers
• Supporting interdisciplinary courses and curriculum development
• Serving as a curricular laboratory for faculty to experiment with course design and content

Admissions
Admission to the college will be competitive, based on ACT or SAT scores, high school or college GPA, and essay. Admission and scholarship decisions will be made by an Honors Admissions Committee that may include Honors College staff, Office of Undergraduate Admissions staff, Intercollegiate Athletics staff, faculty, and students. To enhance the recruitment and retention of exceptional students, a substantial number of general university scholarships should be awarded through the Honors College.

Honors College Community
Honors College students will be encouraged to live in the residence hall for their first year at WSU. Students should have the option to live in the Honors College residence beyond the first year. Classrooms and laboratory spaces located in the residence hall will be available to all Honors College students. This will enhance the opportunities to engage in intellectual dialogue and collaborative research. As one way to create and maintain a rigorous yet supportive learning environment, we envision a common area in the residence hall with a coffee shop and library operated by Honors students and open to all faculty, staff, and students.

Curriculum Options: Core, Emphasis, Capstone
As in the current Honors Program, the Honors College core curriculum will be comprised of Honors-only courses that fulfill some General Education requirements. The Honors College will support development of more interdisciplinary, inquiry-based 100-level seminars and 300-level colloquia. Faculty will be encouraged to experiment with team teaching and other methods of course delivery such as intensive pre-session courses.

Honors College Diploma
All students who complete the Honors College curriculum requirements and maintain the minimum required GPA will receive an Honors College diploma. The Honors College degree will require 9 to 12 credits in Honors-designated General Education courses and either a 12- to 15-credit interdisciplinary Honors minor or Honors major track that includes a capstone project or research experience.

Honors Minor or Honors Major Tracks
Academic departments will continue to offer departmental Honors tracks that culminate in a thesis, creative project, or experiential learning project. Colleges might develop interdisciplinary or interprofessional Honors tracks. Honors Minors may include: Leadership, Sustainability, Global Transformations, and Integrated Arts.

Students who complete an Honors minor or an Honors major track will receive a transcript designation. Minor curricula will be developed by Honors Faculty Fellows in consultation with an Honors Student Advisory Council.

 
Proposed Timeline

Phase One: Spring 2013
• Present Honors College Concept Working Document to Faculty Senate in March
• Consult Provost and Associate Provost
• Convene Student Advisory Council
• Select Honors Faculty Fellows to develop first Honors Minors
• Convene Honors Admissions, Recruitment, and Scholarships Task Force
• Convene Honors Residential Life/Co-Curricular Task Force

Phase Two: Fall 2013 and Spring 2014
• Recruit first Honors College class: goal of 100 new students
• Search and hire the Honors College Dean
• Submit Honors Minor curriculum proposal(s) to appropriate college and university curriculum committees
• Determine additional faculty and staff needed to support first Honors College class

Phase Three: Summer/Fall 2014
• Welcome first Honors College class
• Open new Honors living-learning community
• Launch first Honors Minor(s)
• Continue Honors College curriculum development
• Integrate Honors Program students into the Honors College curriculum
• Target a national scholarship such as Fulbright, Goldwater, Rhodes, or Truman and create plan to increase submission and acceptance rates

Phase Four: Spring/Summer 2015
• Recruit second Honors College class: goal is to increase total Honors College enrollment to 400
• Hire Honors Academic Advisor(s)
• Search and hire Assistant/Associate Dean

 
Appendix I
Basic Characteristics of a Fully Developed Honors College
The National Collegiate Honors Council has identified these best practices that are common to successful and fully developed honors colleges.
1. An honors college incorporates the relevant characteristics of a fully developed honors program.
2. The honors college exists as an equal collegiate unit within a multi-collegiate university structure.
3. The head of the honors college is a dean reporting directly to the chief academic officer of the institution and serving as a full member of the Council of Deans if one exists. The dean has a fulltime, 12-month appointment.
4. The operational and staff budgets of honors colleges provide resources at least comparable to those of other collegiate units of equivalent size.
5. The honors college exercises increased coordination and control of departmental honors where the college has emerged out of a decentralized system.
6. The honors college exercises considerable control over honors recruitment and admissions, including the appropriate size of the incoming class. Admission to the honors college may be by separate application.
7. The honors college exercises considerable control over its policies, curriculum, and selection of faculty.
8. The curriculum of the honors college offers significant course opportunities across all four years of study.
9. The curriculum of the honors college constitutes of at least 20% of a student's degree program. The honors college requires an honors thesis or honors capstone project.
10. Where the home university has a significant residential component, the honors college offers substantial honors residential opportunities.
11. The distinction achieved by the completion of the honors college requirements is publically announced and recorded, and methods may include announcement at commencement ceremonies, notations on the diploma and/or the student's final transcript, or other similar actions.
12. Like other colleges within the university, the honors college may be involved in alumni affairs and development and may have an external advisory board.
Approved by the NCHC Executive Committee on June 25, 2005, and amended by the NCHC Board of Directors on February 19, 2010.