The Honors Program

The Honors Program will be coordinated according to the following guidelines:

  1. Students in all disciplines will be eligible to earn honors credit.
  2. The core feature of the program will consist of individualized projects, not separate courses.
  3. Honors work will be accomplished by completion of an approved project paired to an appropriate course in which the student is enrolled. All courses offered for College credit are considered appropriate with the exception of Independent Study. Students may not attempt more than one honors project per semester, except by special permission of the Honors Coordinator(s), Mentors, and appropriate Department Heads.
  4. Projects will be devised and completed by students under the guidance of a faculty Mentor who teaches the course for which the student hopes to earn honors credit. Prospective Mentors must be willing to sponsor the project and serve as Mentors. This decision is entirely voluntary on the part of the faculty member.
  5. To complete their honors work, a student must satisfactorily complete the project AND earn a grade of B or better for the course with which the project is paired. “Satisfactory completion� of the project will be determined by the Mentor. This evaluation will be based upon whether the honors candidate has successfully accomplished the stated purpose and objectives of the project as set out in the project proposal.
  6. Entrance Requirements and Procedures
    1. Students will only be allowed to begin an honors project if they:
      1. have been in attendance at MVCC for at least one semester,
      2. have a GPA of 3.0 or better and have earned a minimum of 12 credits
    2. A letter of recommendation from a faculty member documenting the student’s special abilities and talents is encouraged.
    3. A prospective honors student will fill out a copy of the Honors Proposal Form and submit for review one copy each to the prospective Mentor, the Honors Coordinator(s), and Head of the Academic Dept. in which the course is offered. Submission of the proposal must occur no later than the end of the second week of classes in the semester for which the project is proposed.
    4. The Department Head should announce the presence of the proposal to Dept. faculty who then have an opportunity to review it. Discussion of the proposal at an early Dept. meeting is recommended. Suggested modifications of the proposal should be referred to the Mentor.
    5. Final approval of a project must occur no later than the end of the third week of classes. To indicate final approval, the proposal will be signed by the Honors Coordinator(s), the faculty Mentor, the appropriate Dept. Head, and the student. Comments may be appended to the proposal before it is signed.
  7. Presentation of Work At the end of the semester (13th or 14th week), students will be required to present their work at a forum hosted by the Academic Department in which the work was undertaken. If feasible, the Honors Coordinator(s) will arrange to have all presentations made at one forum, otherwise every effort will be made to ensure that presentations in different Departments do not conflict. All members of the College community will be invited to attend. Recommendations made at the forum by audience members may then be incorporated into the final report at the discretion of the Mentor and student.
  8. Final Report The final report will be submitted to the Mentor no later than the last day of the semester.
  9. Honors Recognition To “Graduate with Distinction� a student would have to accomplish the following:
    1. Complete a minimum of 9 credits of honors work
    2. Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5
    Note: Students graduate “with honors� if they have earned a cumulative GPA of at least 3.75. This designation existed prior to the creation of the Honors Program and is not related to the completion of honors projects.
  10. Students do not have to pursue “Graduation with Distinction� in order to do honors work. Any student could accomplish honors credit for one or more courses following acceptance and successful completion of a project.
  11. Indication of Honors Work on Transcript
    1. The letter H will be placed on the student’s transcript for each course in which honors work was successful. In the transcript key, it will say: H - student completed honors work in this course
    2. The faculty Mentor will write a letter of recommendation for the student who completes an honors project satisfactorily as described above. This letter will be on file in the relevant department office.
  12. Additional Enrichment for Honors Students The Honors Coordinator(s) will schedule at least one cultural/academic enrichment event per semester for honors students to participate in. Participation by honors students in these events is voluntary. These events will be scheduled in coordination with Phi Theta Kappa and they will be open to all persons in the College community. A social event will be held in recognition of the honors students following the oral presentations.
  13. Faculty Needed for the Program
    1. Honors Program Coordinator(s) Duties:
      • To ensure that the program is advertised on campus
      • To recruit faculty as Mentors
      • To advise students about the program
      • To approve honors projects prior to their initiation
      • To monitor the progress of, and counsel, honors students and Mentors
      • To help organize the Honors Forum at the end of each semester
      • To arrange cultural and academic special events for honors students
      • Honors Coordinator(s) reports to the Vice President for Learning and Academic Affairs
    2. Mentors
        Mentor is defined as “An experienced and prudent advisor�. In that spirit, the Mentor’s responsibilities include:
      • Guide the completion of a written proposal by the student to fit the criteria of an honors project.
      • In cooperation with the Honors Coordinator(s), sign the proposal to indicate approval
      • Guide the work of the student on an as needed basis. Weekly meetings between Mentor and student are suggested at a minimum. Meetings should not interfere with the faculty member’s other responsibilities, including office hours.
      • Grade the student’s completed project. This should be done with strict reference to the proposal (i.e., Has the student met the stated objectives and if not, why, and by how much?).
      • Only faculty with at least two years of full-time experience are eligible to be Mentors, except by approval of the Honors Coordinator(s) and appropriate Department Head.
      • Mentors may not sponsor more than one honors project per semester.
    3. Honors Committee
      • This committee will have advisory oversight for at least the first few years of the program. The program will be monitored for its effectiveness and changes will be proposed, discussed and approved before they go into effect. If major changes to the program are proposed, then a recommendation from the Honors Committee will be forwarded to the Curriculum Committee for further discussion and approval.