PROPOSAL FOR A GENERAL EDUCATION HONORS PROGRAM AT CSUS February 2005

 “Education is not preparation for life: education is life itself.”—

John Dewey

 SUMMARY

 This is a proposal for creating an Honors Program in General Education at CSUS. It will eventually have both lower division and upper division components. It will consist of a cohort of 25-50 native students who together will take a set of specially designated GE courses in their freshman and sophomore years, and then participate in an upper division Honors Bloc. To graduate “with Honors,” a student will have to complete at least 30 units in the lower division program and a nine-unit upper division Honors bloc.

The Honors Program will be run by a Director and an Honors Committee under the supervision of the university’s Office of General Education. It will receive financial support from CSUS Academic Affairs and the participating colleges. Most of the coursework will be in the Consortium of Arts and Sciences, but there will be opportunities for faculty in other colleges, particularly in the upper division program. The program will be open to all qualified students in the university.

 

THE ISSUE

At stake here is a chance to provide opportunities for gifted, well-prepared students to pursue advanced studies in General Education at CSUS, and to recruit high achieving academically motivated students for enrollment as freshmen at CSUS. The development of a strong and unique Honors program would offer CSUS a chance to make a statement of an academic identity that would distinguish it as a destination campus.  The program will raise the standing of CSUS in the minds of leaders in the Sacramento Community, and facilitate university fund raising in the community.

Following the disappearance of CSUS’ original Honors Program in the early 1970’s, we have been talking for 30 years about recreating an Honors Program. Every indication is that the time is ripe. There is a strong push from the CSU Chancellor’s Office and among campus presidents to recruit academically gifted students into the CSU as freshmen. Honors Programs are on the upswing on CSU campuses.  A CSUS Honors Program is congruent with the Destination 2010 program goal of academic excellence. The principle of an Honors Program has been implicitly endorsed by the university’s Council on University Planning.  We believe the first, and most important, phase of the program can be up and running in fall 2006.

OTHER CAMPUSES

UC Davis has two Honors programs, a residential Honors program for freshmen on Regents Scholarships and another, the Davis Honors Challenge that is open to all students. The latter is rather untraditional but extremely active. Davis administration pays for a half-time position for the Director, an office manager, a professional counselor, 5.5 rooms, a shared conference room, and about $70,000 per year to buy out faculty time from participating departments.

The great majority of CSU campuses already have honors programs.  These include CSU-Bakersfield, CSU-Chico, CSU-Dominguez Hills, CSU-East Bay, CSU-Fresno, CSU-Fullerton, CSU-Long Beach, CSU-Los Angeles, CSU-Northridge, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, CSU-San Bernardino, San Diego State University, San Jose State University, California State Polytechnic University-San Luis Obispo, CSU-San Marcos, and CSU Stanislaus. They vary widely from informal “mom and pop” organizations with little support from campus administrations to highly organized ones with university support, focused admissions policies, scholarships and well thought-out curricula.

Fresno, which recently received a million-dollar gift to support the Honors Program, received 490 applicants this year for 50 openings. Students receive tuition, a book allowance, campus housing, parking, extended library privileges, and priority registration. CSU Chico has one of the oldest and most successful Honors programs in the CSU. There is a General Studies Thematic Program for about 36 freshmen who live together in the dorms and take the same courses in their first two semesters. The more general Honors in GE Program offers about 15 courses per semester to about 350 students. The latter has considerable support from the Provost’s Office, including 9 units of assigned time for the Director, a dedicated adviser, a full-time clerical and a student assistant. The program has the use of three rooms for offices and a dedicated classroom. This past academic year the Provost’s Office allocated $17,000 for stipends to participating faculty and departments, $10,000 in Learning Enhancement funds for out-of-classroom activities, and OE which included money for student travel to conferences.

STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY

The primary objective of the CSUS Honors Program is to attract highly motivated students from California’s schools and provide them with an outstanding liberal arts preparation. The goal is to enrich the academic experience of Honors students by providing challenging and stimulating learning experiences in a small class setting. To achieve this, a cohort of students identified and admitted to the program will take as a group a set of specially designated GE courses in their freshman and sophomore years and then pursue an upper division Honors Bloc. Through individualized attention from dedicated professors, special seminars, significant out-of-classroom learning options and interaction with faculty and other motivated students, the program will provide exciting opportunities to the enrolled students.

The guiding principles of the Honors Program will be active learning, global subject matter, and interdisciplinary approaches. Classes will demand vigorous participation by students, through use of primary materials, laboratory-based learning, discussion classes, and requirements for individual research. In the classes fulfilling humanities and social science requirements, teachers will consciously strive to focus on all parts of the world. Through close connection between faculty, and with cohorts that take coordinated classes, the program will encourage the mixing and application of things learned in one discipline to another. By promoting critical thinking, analytical interpretation, research and communication skills, service learning, and cultural literacy, the program seeks to bring out the potential in these students to have a significant impact on society.

The ultimate goal is to attract, recruit, and train such motivated students to be self-reflective learners striving for excellence, ready for future roles of leadership in academics, the professions, business, civic activism, and politics. A successful program will enhance the standing of CSUS in the community and increase the university’s ability to attract the best freshmen students from the region. It will demonstrate to the Capital community that CSUS is able and willing to foster the intellectual growth of the best young minds from the region right here at the Capital Campus.

PROGRAM DESIGN

The Honors Program will be implemented in two phases: the first for the basic freshman and sophomore program; and the second for the upper division program.

1)  The Lower Division Program

The lower division program will be for freshmen and sophomores and will fulfill almost all CSUS GE requirements. The lower-division program will consist of tightly structured interdisciplinary classes using specially designated sections of courses normally scheduled by departments for GE purposes.  These classes will be designated by an ‘H’ after their course number. Honors students will take some courses in their present form, such as those in the physical sciences. The courses in the lower division program will be scheduled in the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Social Science and Interdisciplinary Studies, the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and in other colleges as appropriate. The program is open for students of any major in any college at CSUS; however, it is anticipated that many of the Honors participants will be students in the professional schools. In some cases, these students may be required to take a few additional classes by their majors that would normally fulfill GE requirements that the Honors program also covers. We do not anticipate this significantly delaying their graduation.

Students who enter the honors curriculum as freshmen at CSUS will complete most of the courses in their first two years through a program of set courses providing a comprehensive introduction to core academic disciplines. These courses will be organized in roughly the following academic units:

1. A globally-oriented Great Books seminar in which students will read and discuss great works of philosophy, literature, social theory, and history from around the world.
    

2. A year-long course providing a survey of World Civilization.
    

3.  Laboratory-based classes in the sciences.
    

4.  Honors-designated classes in Theater and the social sciences.
    

5.  An informal Friday afternoon organized discussion group to build community. 

In addition, all students admitted as freshmen will be required to take either Calculus or a new math course developed for the Honors program. The upper division program will provide opportunities for the students to take stock of the meaning of their two-year experience in their final courses in the Honors program.

We propose an 18 course program that will fulfill almost all GE requirements. The following is the lower division program with an indication of how students will fulfill their CSUS GE requirements through the program. (Courses to be used for the upper division Honors bloc are also included).

A few of these courses (e.g., English 1A, physical sciences) will not be redesigned according to Honors criteria:

1. Because of the presumably large number of Honors students exempted from the Freshman Composition requirement, we will not design a special section of English 1A for the Honors Program.
    

2. Instead of requiring a specific physical science course, which may interfere too heavily with major requirements, the Honors program leaves the choice of class to the students; however, in accordance with the principles of the program emphasizing active learning, students will be required to take a physical science class that includes a laboratory. Students will be required to fulfill these lower division requirements before they take Philosophy of Science.
    

3. Honors students will have to fulfill the CSUS Foreign Language Proficiency requirement.  The Honors Committee will endeavor to receive an exemption for English 20 for Honors students.
    

4. The courses that will be designated ‘H’ or ‘Honors’ for the first cohort are designated by being underlined. Courses from other departments may be substituted in the future.

Area A -	nine (9) units of Basic Subjects A1 (oral expression): three (3) units: Theater 30(H) A2 (written communication): three (3) units: English 1A A3 (critical thinking): three (3) units): Philosophy 4(H)
Area B -	twelve (12) units of Math and Science B1/3 (life science and laboratory): three (3) units: Biological Sciences 10(H) with laboratory. B2 (physical science): three (3) units: any Physical Science with a laboratory section B4: three (3) units: Calculus or a new Honors Math course (Math 30 H or Math 1(H)). B5: three (3) units (additional science): Philosophy of Science (Philosophy 125(H))**
Area C -	fifteen (15) units of the Humanities C1: six (6) units: World Civilization (Hist 50(H) and 51(H))* C2: (art, music, and humanities): three (3) units: Humanities 105(H)** C3/4: six (6) units: English 11A(H), Philosophy 6(H)
Area D -	fifteen (15) units in the Individual and Society. D1: six (6) units: Anthropology 2(H) and Sociology 1(H). D2 (contemporary issues): three (3) units: Government 116(H)** D3 (American society): six (6) units: Government 1(H), and either History 17A or 17B.
Area E -	three (3) units in the new Freshman Seminar(H); this course will be taken in the first fall semester of each cohort.
Honors 199 -	three (3) units: awarded in compensation for mandatory extracurricular activities.

**These courses are properly part of the upper division program; they are listed here for convenience so that it is apparent how the program fulfills almost all of the GE requirements.

Promotion from freshman to sophomore year will depend on completing 18 units of Honors courses and maintaining a 3.0 GPA in Honors courses and overall.

The courses will be organized in a sequence over a four-semester period. In each semester, three Honors courses will be required for all of the students in the program. The courses will be offered in predictable time blocs (TR mornings or TR afternoons?) so students might plan their lives and academic schedules around them. If we can have a large enough entering class, two sections of each class may allow some scheduling flexibility while continuing to build a strong feeling of social cohesion and academic camaraderie.

2)  The Upper Division Program (Implement two years after Lower Division Program)

A second stage of the program to be implemented later will be an interdisciplinary nine-unit upper-division Honors Bloc, which will allow students to reflect upon their honors courses and the deeper questions involved in their studies, as well as their relevance to issues today. These will fulfill the CSUS upper division GE requirements. The upper division courses currently envisioned will fulfill requirements in B5 (Science), C4 (Further Studies in the Humanities) and D2 (Contemporary Social Issues) of the GE Program, as indicated in the listing above. This second-stage classes will be offered for students to take during their junior year.

In order to have the “Honors” notation entered on their diplomas, students will have to complete the lower division program with at least 30 units in ‘Honors’ designated courses, and one of the 9-unit upper division Honors blocs.  Students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA and a minimum C- in every course taken in Honors. Honors graduates might also be subjected to portfolio evaluations (see below) and an interview with a faculty committee.

PROPOSED ACADEMIC PROGRAM FOR FIRST COHORT (2006-2008)

The majority of the courses taken by Honors students in their program will be designated ‘Honors.’  An Honors version of a GE lower division course will be similar to the basic course, but will allow more latitude to the instructor to adapt it according to Honors standards, taking a global approach, encouraging active learning, using primary texts, and approaching subjects in an interdisciplinary way.

Fall 1

GS 21H (E1) Hist 50H (C1) Math 30H (B4) or Math 1H

Freshmen Seminar World Civilization to 1600 Calculus I or Honors Math

Spring 1

Phil 4H (A3) Hist 51H (C1) Thea 30H (A1)

Critical Thinking World Civilization 1600-Present Oral Expression of Literature

Fall 2

Phil 6H (C4) Govt 1H (D3) Anth 2H (D1)

Introduction to Philosophy Introduction to Government Cultural Anthropology

Spring 2

Eng 11A (C3) Bio 10H (B1) Sociology 1H (D1)

The Literary Experience Basic Biological Concepts Intro to Sociology

Five of the above courses will make up the ‘Honors Seminar:’ Hrs 21, Phil 4, Phil 6, Eng 11A and Hrs 105—fulfills E1, A3, C3, C4, and C2.  The seminar uses courses in Humanities, Philosophy, and English that fulfill GE requirements but have general titles so that instructors may offer a survey of texts. All Honors faculty will make a list of 20-30 books each year that they think all college students would benefit from reading; these lists will be discussed and revised  to a final list for that cohort’s sequence. In consultation with the departments and Honors committee, the Honors program may include different courses within the seminar sequence, but the curriculum itself will remain conceptually the same. Honors students will not be allowed to petition to waive any of the courses that make up the Seminar sequence.

History:
Hist 50, 51—fulfills C1.

The History series will provide historical context to the texts studied in the seminar, a general familiarity with world culture and history, and a strong background in essential factual knowledge for all other humanistic study. These classes will also use primary texts, including writings that are emblematic and important in cultural and historical periods (i.e. reading sections of the Rig Veda in studying India in the Vedic Age); great historians like Thucydides, Ssu-Ma Ch’ien, and Gibbon; and original documents, such as letters of Jefferson and John and Abigail Adams, as well as possibly modern works by current historians. Assignments in these classes will be research papers that require substantial independent library work. Honors students will not be allowed to petition to waive the History sequence.

Secondary seminars in society, culture, and ideas:
Thea 30, Govt 1, Anth 2H, Soc 1—fulfills A1, D1, D3

These classes will offer extra opportunities to become familiar with different cultures, their ideas, writings, and other expressions of culture. The Government 1 class will cover American political institutions and include great works of American Political Thought, including the Constitution, the Federalist Papers, Lincoln’s and FDR’s speeches, etc. as well as the development of the understanding of ‘rights’ and ‘democracy’ through Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Cesar Chavez. In keeping with the global approach, the class will also examine American institutions and political processes in comparison with those of other countries. The Theater 30 Honors class will cover great plays and speeches of the world. Anthropology and Sociology will allow students to broaden and deepen their understanding of cultures around the world through encounters with primary source material in those cultures as well as works of great social science that provide the conceptual apparatus with which to critically study those cultures.

Science and Math:
Bio 10, Math 1 or 30, a Physical Science with lab, Phil 125—fulfills B1, B2, B3, B4, B5

Students in the program will take an intellectually demanding higher math course, and laboratory-centered science courses, as well as a philosophy of science course that will draw upon and highlight the significance of scientific practice and discovery.        

Culminating semester(s):
Hrs 105, Phil 125, Govt 116—fulfills C2, B5, D2

In the fall semester of their junior year or perhaps in two consecutive semesters, students will take a final set of seminars in which they will reflect on their studies in the humanities, sciences, and social theory, and relate them to the present day and its issues. Honors students will not be allowed to petition to waive these culminating classes.

Friday afternoon discussion:

In order to build a community and to encourage students to think of education as extending beyond the clear-cut divisions of the classroom, the Honors program will institute a special weekly informal event. Every Friday, there will be an additional social gathering centered on a discussion about current events, a movie, a short article, a short story---a grab-bag of things that might include Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, Orwell’s Language and Politics, or recent articles in the New Yorker. This will be a chance for the students and faculty to interact more informally, to build cohesion, and to make students more comfortable with bringing a thoughtful approach to all parts of their world. Preferably, a comfortable environment should be provided, along with soda and snacks.

COURSE STANDARDS

The CSUS Honors Program will have carefully articulated objectives, focused on providing outstanding liberal arts preparation for gifted students. Its small class sizes will provide challenging learning experiences, more intensive study of the liberal arts, individualized attention from committed professors, closer interaction with other able and highly motivated students, active participation in their courses, and opportunities for collaborative learning with other students. The program will promote oral communication, written communication, critical thinking and analytical interpretation, research skills, ability to access printed and electronic resources, collaborative exploration of problems, and cultural literacy.

All the Honors courses will be organized as “seminars” with enrollments of 25-30 students; seminar enrollments should not fall below 20 students. Students will be expected to contribute to learning in these seminars. They must be “self-reflective” and active learners, and become conscious of their own role in the learning process. Students will be encouraged to strive for excellence and further the process of self-discovery that is an essential ingredient of a university education.  The emphasis in an Honors course will not be quantity of work but the quality of learning.

It is our belief that all academic programs in the university will benefit from the Honors Program, since one of its goals is to provide more rigorous academic training for its participants, whatever their major.

The courses offered in the Honors Program will meet standards set by the Honors Committee, including:

1. A focus on critical thinking and analysis as demonstrated through class papers and projects. Honors courses should emphasize “depth rather than breadth,” a critical analysis of texts and primary sources appropriate to the subject matter rather than the standard “nuts and bolts” textbook coverage used in most lower division courses.
    

2. Small class size (enrollment limit of 30 students with a minimum of 20) to maximize student interaction with fellow students and with the instructor. Students will advance their oral communication skills by requirements of discussion and critique, and advance their collaborative skills by working together on projects. Instructors should use innovative teaching techniques when appropriate.
    

3. A common interdisciplinary Honors approach, i.e., broad, humanistic, theoretical, historical, cultural, “philosophical” approach to the subject matter. Instructors will stress connections among different ideas and disciplines. For example, an Honors Math course might treat the evolution of a certain aspect of mathematics over a period of time with attention to the cultural and social ramifications and significance of the subjects covered.  A History course will not concentrate on just chronology and other factual data, but on the patterns and significance within the subject and the light that insights from related disciplines cast on the historical process.
    

4. The humanities and social science courses will take a global perspective, not one circumscribed by a single geographical area.
    

5. All Honors faculty will make a list of books each year that they think all college students should read. The books that appear on the most lists will be adopted as the core of the program.
    

6. An exacting writing requirement, whose objectives reflect those stated in the English Department’s composition program. Instructors should communicate high expectations to their students. To improve their writing, students should receive frequent and timely feedback from their instructor.
    

7. Instructors will operate on the understanding that students in the Honors program are academically highly qualified and that a standard bell shaped grading curve is not appropriate.

With sufficient support through Learning Enhancement funds, instructors could provide significant out-of-class learning experiences such as speakers, retreats, and out-of-town trips.

HONORS FACULTY

Recruiting of qualified faculty with a genuine interest in Honors teaching will be indispensable to the success of the program.  Both senior and junior faculty will be sought out.  Participating faculty will attend periodic workshops to discuss effective teaching techniques in Honors classes; meet regularly with other members of the Honors faculty to share teaching experiences and to review admissions applications; help counsel Honors students; and remain open to discussion and suggestions from the Honors Director.  Honors faculty should visit one another’s classes.

Prospective faculty must be given sufficient motivation to participate.  The opportunity to participate in an interdisciplinary community of teachers and students will be persuasive in itself.  Honors faculty should also have tangible incentives such as a small stipend (see Budget section), public recognition of Honors faculty in a forum such as the university Bulletin, and occasionally assigned time for course preparation.

GOVERNANCE

Since the CSUS GE Honors Program is a university program, it will reside in the Office of Academic Affairs. It will be administered by a University Honors Committee and an Honors Director under the supervision of the University Director of General Education.

The university should initially commit six units of assigned time for the Director. He/she will work in conjunction with a University Honors Committee composed of interested faculty members from participating departments and one representative from Enrollment Management.

The Director of General Education will select the Director in conjunction with the Honors Committee. The Honors Committee will help the Director conduct admissions screening, oversee expenditure of the Honors budget, determine the Honors curriculum, collaborate with the Director in selection of Honors faculty, work together in advising Honors students, and provide strong moral support for the program,

It will be a challenge to identify and recruit a suitable director. The director, the “heart and soul” of the Honors Program, will have to be an entrepreneurial individual dedicated to the program; his/her functions will be academic, administrative, public relations and the “bully pulpit.”

Important functions of the Director will be to recruit qualified faculty from participating departments, to oversee the performance of these faculty members, to communicate clearly the goals and standards of the program, and to ensure that they are being met. Participating faculty will attend periodic meetings where they will discuss the goals and objectives of the program and pedagogical approaches appropriate to an Honors program. The Director should also seek outside grants to support the program.

The Director will have to work closely with Admissions and Outreach to publicize the program in Area schools and to recruit qualified students. The program must have a brochure and a website. The Director will also be advisor to the students enrolled in the program; with the assistance of an Honors adviser in the Academic Advising Center, he/she will help students plan their programs, decide who will be invited to continue after the first year, advise students on selection of their majors, etc. The faculty member recruited for the job should receive 3 units of assigned time in spring 2006 to prepare for the fall 2006 start up.

The program should also have a half-time clerical assistant to run the office and support the director, the faculty and the students. The program should have an office and a social/meeting room for students and faculty interaction; if large enough, this room might also serve as a dedicated classroom. An adviser in the Academic Advising Center should be assigned to Honors students.

The Honors Program should also consider forming an Advisory Board composed of interested community members.

BUDGET

Since the Honors Program will be a university program, the Office of Academic Affairs will provide most of the financial support. Participating colleges will also support the program in proportion to their participation. The needs of the program will be approximately as follows:

• Six units of assigned time per year for the Director. $10,000
   

• At least half-time clerical support ($12,000); two peer mentors for 10-20 hours per week. $6000 per semester at $10 per hour.
   

• An Honors Advisor in the Academic Advising Center.
   

• At least two office rooms; and a classroom (near the program office) dedicated to Honors classes for 2-3 class periods per week.
   

• Sufficient OE to support operation of the office (mail, telephone, newsletter, etc.) and travel monies for students. $10,000
   

• Two up-to-date computers: one for the office and one for student use.
   

•  Funds to provide stipends to participating departments and instructors: at $500 per class perhaps $5000 will suffice for the first year: and with two cohorts $10,000 for the second year.
   

•  Additional funds (Learning Enhancement) to support out-of-classroom activities of Honors students.
   

• Sufficient funds to support brochures, websites, travel to high schools and community colleges, and other recruiting and publicity activities; also funds for on-campus Honors Newsletter and other means of communicating with Honors students; perhaps also for extra supplies in science and art courses.
   

• To facilitate admissions and retention, scholarship monies (see below).

A fair estimate for the annual cost of the program to Academic Affairs, not including scholarship funds, is $71,000 to Academic Affairs.  We hope to be able to supplement general fund support from the university and the colleges with special funds from ASI, the CSUS Foundation and other outside sources.

The university, the colleges and the departments will all support the program in their own way. As indicated, the university (Academic Affairs) will provide the lion’s share. The Colleges will support lower enrollment in the Honors sections. The Honors Program will provide a stipend to participating instructors to support their  efforts, e.g., learning new pedagogical techniques, and attending workshops and periodic meetings of the Honors faculty.

RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS AND RETENTION

Aggressive recruitment of incoming freshmen is indispensable. We will need a committed “cohort” of 25-50 students to make the program work. To get that number, we will have to admit at least 100 students. There will presumably be 25-50 students in the program the first year, and then 50-100 in the second due to the presence of both a freshman and sophomore cohort. The size of an individual cohort might be doubled in size in subsequent years if the program is successful.

Automatic freshmen eligibility standards will be a 3.5 GPA or a 1200 SAT. Currently about 600 students every fall enter with a 3.5 GPA.  Giving eligibility to all students with a combined SAT score of at least 1200 will add about another 60. Additionally, students of exceptional ability, enthusiasm, and commitment would be able to apply for special admission if they cannot meet the above requirements for special reasons, which could be attested to by a longer ‘special admissions form.’ Such attributes count as much as traditional academic qualifications in making for a successful Honors program. To enroll in the program, students must have passed CSUS’ EPT and ELM tests or be determined to be exempt from those requirements.

Admissions will be decided by the faculty members on the Honors Committee. Aside from grade point average and standardized test scores, the committee should also consider Advanced Placement courses, National Merit semi-finalists, an essay, etc. Students who enter the Honors Program will be designated “Honors Admissions” based upon the above criteria. Required essays are reported to be useful. The director will have to identify, contact and recruit candidates, and will make every effort to ensure diversity among the Honors students (ethnicity, age, income, etc.). Provision will have to be made for students who have received prior academic credit for General Education in courses taken in programs such as Advanced Placement, Accelerated College Entrance, etc.

The director should work closely with Admissions and Outreach to make sure the Honors Program is well known in Sacramento Area high schools. Another source of publicity and information on the Honors Program will be the Freshman Orientation Program run by the Academic Advising Center. Still another will be Professor Terry Thomas’ Accelerated College Entrance program (ACE), which brings in high achieving students to CSUS for advanced coursework while finishing their high school degrees. About one third of these students, who will be prime candidates for the Honors Program, enroll in CSUS. Data lists of junior high students enrolled in the Academic Talent Search Program (ATS) will be of additional use in recruitment. Geri Welch in Publications and Design and students and faculty in the Program of Design may also be very helpful in preparing brochures and other publicity materials.

The Honors Program will also be publicized through the Learning Communities Program administered in Academic Affairs. The Honors Program will be a kind of extended Learning Community with high admissions standards.

The program must have an ongoing recruiting program. In all recruiting activities, maximum use should be made of current Honors students, who could be paid as student assistants.

The Honors Committee will make every effort to ensure enrollment of a diverse spectrum of students in the program.

Allowance will have to be made for attrition as the “cohort” advances. To be realistic, the college must be prepared to support low enrolled classes of about 20 when necessary. The program should begin each cohort with 30 students and work diligently to ensure that enrollment in seminars does not fall below 20 students in the second year. Once the program is developed, a related program to serve non-Honors students who have performed well in their freshman year and selected transfer students will be developed.

SCHOLARSHIPS AND JOBS

The experience of other Honors programs indicates that scholarships are indispensable for recruiting gifted students and maintaining their commitment to the Honors Program. The university must provide significant scholarship support to some entering Honors students.

1. A “full-ride” Presidential Scholarship for outstanding students should be instituted. Membership in the Honors Program will be offered automatically to all students receiving President’s Scholarships. Participation in the CSUS Honors Program will be an additional incentive for students offered these scholarships to enroll at CSUS.
    

2. In addition to the “full-ride” President’s Scholars, smaller scholarships of $2000 should be awarded to a large number of students. The awards might be on a yearly basis and students would be invited to apply again for subsequent years. We could start with six of these, and then expand in the second year.
    

3. The University Develop Office will lead a fund-raising drive to provide scholarships to students participating in the Honors Program and majoring in departments in the College.
    

4. The university will also facilitate Honors students’ applications for financial aid (Financial Aid Office) and their search for jobs (Office of Career Development).

It is understood that few scholarship monies specifically for the Honors Program will be available at start up in fall 2006. The university must however endeavor to identify funding sources for Honors scholarships; the College of Arts and Letters and participating departments will make similar efforts.

BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF STUDENTS

How to persuade students to participate? “What’s in it for them?” How do we foster a sense of cohesion and working together?

1. The Honors Program will have an office and a meeting room/classroom as the focus of the program’s life.  There students may socialize among themselves, talk with their instructors, use Honors computers for word processing, internet research, etc.
    

2. The Friday afternoon discussion group will provide a place for students to build community and will form a bridge between their formal education and the broader world in which they live.
    

3. The academic achievements of the students will be showcased in annual meetings to give students recognition, or in a newsletter that publishes student work.
    

4. Recognition is indispensable. Honors students should be “honored,” perhaps in an Honors Convocation, with special regalia at commencement and with an “honors” notation on their diplomas if they successfully complete the program (wording will have to be distinguished from “graduation with Honors,” which means with a minimum GPA).
    

5. Special perquisites such as extended library borrowing privileges, priority registration, and free passes to cultural events in the Art, Music and Theater Arts Departments.
    

6. Publication of an Honors Newsletter to keep Honors students informed and to give them opportunities for publishing their best written work.
    

7. Students should travel to regional or national Honors conferences to deliver papers, participate in focused discussions, etc. The annual meeting of the Western Regional Honors Conference was recently held in San Francisco (Spring 1999).
    

8. Students will meet with an Honors adviser at least once a semester. The advising will be conducted by the Director, the Honors faculty and the Honors adviser in the Academic Advising Center. Students should receive both academic and career advising.
    

9. Students should have common social and cultural activities, such as attendance at campus cultural functions, trips to Ashland for theatrical performances, service learning activities where they act in groups, etc. These might be related to their courses.

CONCLUSION

CSUS will benefit greatly from a General Education Honors Program.  If the University General Education Committee approves the program’s development in the spring 2005 semester, it is possible that CSUS could admit its first Honors cohort in fall 2006.  The upper division Honors component could then be developed and put in place for fall 2008.

                                                                                                                        CSUS Ad Hoc Honors Subcommittee
                                                                                                                        January 28, 2005