SLIDE 1 Honoring the 21 st Century Student Through an Honors College Innovations Conference March 3,...

Honoring the 21st Century Student

Through an Honors College

Innovations ConferenceMarch 3, 2014

• Lone Star College System & LSC-Tomball• National Context for Honors College• Local Context for Honors College • Observations about successful

implementation• Questions & Answers

Welcome

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Articulate strategies, challenges, best practices and benefits

associated with creating an Honors College;

• Identify the structures, mechanisms, and resources needed to

implement an Honors College

Today’s Outcomes

Lone Star College System:

• Celebrating 40-years of serving North Houston area

• Comprised of 6 colleges, 2 university centers, 5 satellite centers

• Connected globally• Currently leading the charge in

Texas to improve student completion

A little about us…

Lone Star College System:

• Currently enrolling 78,000 credit students• Currently enrolling 12,000 non-credit students• Called the largest higher education institution in Houston area


Lone Star College - Tomball:

• Celebrating 25-years• Comprised of one main campus and an

off-site health science building• Currently enrolling 8,800 credit students



• Mostly female• Growing Hispanic population• Most students under age 24

National Context for Honors College


“It is important that college graduates, whatever their location, be not just globally competitive but also globally competent, understanding their roles as citizens and workers in an international context.”

This can be accomplished through a well-structured, vibrant Honors College program.

The Completion Agenda:Post-Secondary Education Leaders’ Perspectives On Issues Of/Strategiesfor Increasing Completion Rates: Key findings from an online survey among post-secondary education leaders

Conducted November/December 2011 by Hart Research AssociatesFunded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation



“Six out of 10 students entering community colleges must take remedial courses to make up for knowledge and skills they did not learn in high

school.”

“As community colleges, we are now out of the closet,” Terry O’Banion,

president emeritus of the league and chair of the graduate faculty at

National American University, said. Once dismissed as “high schools

with ash trays,” two-year colleges have become ground zero in the

national completion movement, which has “taken on a life of its own”

since the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation called on the nation to

double the number of students who, by 2020, earn a certificate or

associate degree or transfer to a four-year college or university.”

Why an Honors College in a Community College?


“This is our Andy Warhol moment,” Mr. O’Banion told a group

of educators attending a breakout seminar as the League for

Innovation’s annual conference kicked off. He urged them not

to blow their “15 minutes of fame.”


• Context for Honors CollegeBENEFITS TO THE COLLEGE:

• Attracts goal-oriented, academically gifted students • Creates advanced academic culture through encouraging

academic rigor• Increases student success rates and completion• Promotes vibrant student life culture through hallmark events• Fosters engaged alumni• Enhances reputation of the institution locally and globally• Gives back to the community by producing gifted interns, skilled

employees, and civic leaders


• Context for Honors CollegeBENEFITS TO THE STUDENTS:

• Cohort learning community on each campus.• Honors College curriculum drawn from the core curriculum• Honors options for students not in Honors College• Leadership training• Enrichment activities, including cultural events and international

travel

Local Context for Honors College

Our Mission:

Lone Star College System provides comprehensive educational opportunities and

programs to enrich lives.

Our Vision:

Lone Star College System is recognized globally as the premier community college for student

success, innovation and partnerships.

Local Context for Honors College

2012 – 2015 Strategic PlanStrategic Goal 1

Increase completion and achievement of all students.

LSCS Honors College - Past

• Decentralized• Lack of consistency in standards • Difficulty recruiting• No branding or recognition

The Transition

August 2012

Committee Formed

September 2013

Committee Meetings

began

July 2013Recommendations

submitted to Executive Council

August 2013

System-wide Honors College

implemented

One Honors College

LSCS Honors College - PRESENT

SYSTEM MISSION

The Lone Star College System Honors College exemplifies academic and personal excellence across the campuses of Lone Star College System by preparing students to fulfill the responsibilities of the Citizen Scholar. By providing a unique and innovative environment that values critical thinking, cultural production, and community service, the Honors College constructs an enduring foundation for lifelong learning and achievement in a complex global society.

LSCS Honors College - Present

SYSTEM PHILOSOPHY

• “College within a college” • Earn honors academic course credit by

enrolling in honors sections, as well as by working with a faculty mentor on honors contracts


Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs

Honors Program Director






Executive Director

SYSTEM STRUCTURE

Open to new or returning students with at least one of the following:

• A high school GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale• 1150 or higher on the SAT (combined math and

critical reading sections)• 26 or higher composite score on the ACT• 3.25 GPA with a 9 or more college credit hours

LSCS Honors College - Present

ELIGIBILITY

CHANCELLOR’S HONORS COLLEGE FELLOWS:

• Honors Associate Degree (AA or AS)• Scholarship Package to include tuition and fees (15

credit hours per semester)• Book Allowance ($600 per semester)• Stipend ($600 per semester)• International travel opportunities


Mechanisms for Engaging Faculty

Honors Advisory Council

The Honors Council directs the activities of the LSC-Tomball Honors Program. This council is comprised of college faculty, staff and administrators dedicated to the mission of offering appropriate challenges to our gifted students. It is the responsibility of the Honors Council to assure quality in the Honors Program. The chairperson of the council is the Honors Program Director, who reports to the Vice President of Instruction.

Mechanisms for Engaging Faculty

Honors Faculty Spring 2014

Speech 1318 – Interpersonal Friesen, C.

English 2328 – American Lit Veselis, A.

History 1302 – US History >1877 Prewitt, S.

Economics 2302 – Macroeconomics Davia, R.

English 1302 – Comp & Rhetoric II Carter, K.

Biology 1406 – Biology II, Majors Simcik, B.

Government 2389 – InternshipHaysley, V.

Mechanisms for Engagement

Honors Cohorts

• English 1301 – Composition & Rhetoric I

• Education 1300 – Student Success Course for Honors

• Speech

Honors Presentation Day• Campus-wide event each semester• Honors student present their research• Open to all faculty and staff

Mechanisms for Engagement

Honors student John Colvin presents his comparison of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and the Old Testament.

The Culture of Honors

What works.What doesn’t.

What works

Honors Study as

a reflection of the culture of your institution

a reflection of institutional values

an opportunity to emphasize academic depth

What doesn’t

“one size fits all” approach


Considerations Unique needs of the community college

environment

Function that Honors Studies fulfills within the life of the College

Nurturing scholars and scholarship

Academic standards and flexibility

Strength of community partnerships


Establishing Honors Studies

Leadership and supportStrategic planning/goals for the departmentRecruitingAdmissions processFunding and scholarshipsCurriculum developmentHonors faculty designationStudent experience – beyond the classroomMaintenance and growthSense of community – internal and external

Identity matters. Find space that is dedicated to Honors. • Classroom• Student study area/lounge• Provide signage

OBSERVATIONS

Outreach matters. Find target populations of students.• Dual credit• Home school• Advanced Placement students• Non-traditional students

OBSERVATIONS

Faculty input matters. Include faculty in the planning and implementation.

– Administrative support matters. Commitment of resources makes a difference.

OBSERVATIONS

It takes time. Allow some small enrollment classes to make in the beginning.

OBSERVATIONS

• Should community colleges offer Honors Programs? Why?

• What does the future hold?• How can they grow and attract more

students?

Honors College - FUTURE

http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/


What’s the Point of an Honors College, Anyway?

In 1989, the sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined

the term “third place” to refer to environments,

separate from work and home, which people visit

frequently and voluntarily. Examples include

coffeehouses, cafes, salons, and the Internet.





Third places share certain fundamental traits:

• They act as social levelers, discounting class status as a marker of social significance.

• Their mood is playful; their atmosphere is warm and friendly.

• They promote group creativity and lively conversation.

• Most important, they serve as anchors of a community, fostering broad and less scripted interactions than those we have at home or our regular workplaces.





“Thinking about honors colleges as third places gives us a new and non-elitist way of asserting their value... It reinforces how they can serve as spaces of creativity; conversation; intellectualism; collegiality. It also reinforces their potential as homes of inter-disciplinarity.”





“Like all third places, honors colleges are neutral ground, separate from departments and yet in the business of serving them all; as such, they provide an ideal space for the kind of “in between” collaboration required by interdisciplinary work. Honors colleges are where team-teaching—that activity we all say we should do more of but can’t because of departmental restrictions—really can happen.”


• 2-Year Honors Boom: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/04/honors


• National professional organization of undergraduate Honors programs

• Last year, 167 community college members (13% of total membership)

• National honors society for community college students

• Last year, 43.5% of chapters reported their institutions had an honors college

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/04/honors



Questions?

Dr. Susan E. [email protected]

Dr. Lee Ann NuttVice President of [email protected]

Dr. Lisa MoralesDean – Academic Initiatives & [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



SLIDE 1 Honoring the 21 st Century Student Through an Honors College Innovations Conference March 3,...

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