Honors College

Honors College and NCHC

Modified: 2023-09-24 7:44 PM CDST

Honors education is easily understood but difficult to define. No two Honors Colleges or Honors Programs are alike despite sharing some basic principles:

closer contact with faculty
smaller courses taught differently (full honors)
interaction with similarly motivated students
undergraduate research
extramural internships and study
and self-directed community service.

Honors College students receive:

an additional stipend (currently $300/semester)
priority registration (mid-October and mid-March)
the opportunity to live in Honors North Residence Hall (first come, first serve)
field trips to educational and cultural venues
funds to travel to meetings to present scholarly work

SAU Honors College
- Staff
  - Director: Edward P. Kardas, Peace 109/Nelson 200, x4231 epkardas@saumag.edu
  - Assistant Director: Dr. Antoinette Odendaal
  - Administrative Assistant: Shaneka Crockett
  - GA: Showkath Shaik
  - Student Worker: Jonathan Parker, Nelson 200, x4375
- Courses
- Admission and Retention
  1. Students are admitted based upon a global assessment of academic potential.
  2. Automatic and expedited admission is available for students with ACT composite of 30 or higher and for Presidential Scholarship awardees. For those students the materials below (line 3) are not required.
  3. We ask for a separate online application, examine ACT or SAT scores and high school GPA, require two essays, two letters of recommendation, and assess other relevant information.
  4. Students must maintain a 3.25 GPA in order to remain in the Honors College.
  5. Current SAU students may apply if they have a minimum SAU GPA of 3.5. These students must also submit the essays and letters of recommendation. However, they do not submit ACT or SAT scores.
  6. In order to graduate with honors, students must complete a minimum of 24 honors hours.
- Technology or Special Equipment Purchases
  - Students who wish to purchase technology (e.g., tablets, laptops, wearables, or other such devices) should check their student account and use their stipend. Students may elect to keep the stipend ($300/semester) as well.
  - Students desiring tech devices will purchase them on their own.
  - Students may request the entire $600 to purchase specific equipment. Contact Kardas to make such a request.
- Honors 2+2
  - The Honors 2+2 program partners with the Arkansas State University-Three Rivers, SAU Tech, South Arkansas Community College and National Park College. Each of those two-year colleges have created their own Honors Programs. Students from those two-year colleges will now be able to earn honors credits at their own institutions and then transfer them to SAU. The 2+2 program will allow qualified junior transfer students to earn an honors degree at SAU, previously impossible because of time constraints.
- Goals for the Future
  - Send more students on extramural internships
  - Add two more schools to Honors 2+2
  - Increase inter-class community through Honors College activities (e.g., field trips and cook outs)
  - Name the Honors College
    - The price for that is $750,000 minimum, fyi
  - Raise $20,000 during each this year on 20th Anniversary Drive
  - Promote self-generated community service activities
  - Integrate Honors College more deeply into student government and student activities
  - Increase Honors College stipend to $1000/year
  - Resume extramural travel
NCHC
- The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) is:
  - the professional organization of undergraduate Honors programs and colleges; Honors directors and deans; and Honors faculty, and students."
  - Founded in 1966 it presently has nearly 900 member institutions (including SAU)
  - Every year it holds an annual conference. SAU students and faculty have been well represented on the programs of those meetings.
- NCHC Conferences
  - Features of Honors Education
    - The NCHC takes pains to define honors education, differentiate between Honors Programs and Honors Colleges, and serves as clearinghouse for all things honors.
- Evaluating the SAU Honors College
  - Is SAU really an Honors College according to the NCHC definition? See the link to the SAU Honors College Report Card below, then decide.
  - We will discuss SAU's status in class.
    - SAU Honors Report Card
- SAU Honors Accomplishments and Goals
  - Since 2009 the SAU Honors College has progressed mightily, but much remains to be accomplished. See the link below for what has been done and what yet remains.
- Honors Arkansas
  - Honors Arkansas
    - Honors Arkansas is an alliance of honors educators across Arkansas collectively working to enhance the scholarly, professional, and social experiences of high-achieving students.
  - Initiatives
    - Initiative 1: Pipelines to Honors from Two-Year Institutions
      - Honors Arkansas is working on creating and maintaining pipelines from honors programs in two-year institutions to honors colleges in four-year universities and colleges. Specific topics being addressed include advising, transfer credit, logistics, and communication.
    - Initiative 2: Honors Arkansas Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
      - Honors Arkansas is working collaboratively to build enrollments more reflective of our state’s diverse populations and exploring potential DEI partnerships among various institutions, both private and public.
    - Initiative 3: Reseach Teams
      - Honors Arkansas is working with the governor’s office to create research teams featuring students from multiple institutions grappling with pressing issues facing the state.
    - Initiative 4: Honors Arkansas Forum
      - Honors Arkansas is continuing to work on strategies for offering statewide honors seminars following the inaugural seminar:
      - Pandemic (2020)
      - Dissent/Protest (2021)
      - Bioethics (2022)
      - Privacy (2023)
      - Arkansas Voting Rights (2023)
  - Alumni Spotlights
    - Find SAU's alumnus on the link above
  - Member Institutions
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