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Honoring the 21 st Century Student Through an Honors College

Honoring the 21 st Century Student Through an Honors College. Innovations Conference March 3, 2014. Welcome. Lone Star College System & LSC-Tomball National Context for Honors College Local Context for Honors College Observations about successful implementation Questions & Answers.

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Honoring the 21 st Century Student Through an Honors College

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  1. Honoring the 21st Century Student Through an Honors College Innovations Conference March 3, 2014

  2. Welcome • Lone Star College System & LSC-Tomball • National Context for Honors College • Local Context for Honors College • Observations about successful implementation • Questions & Answers

  3. Today’s Outcomes 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

  4. A little about us… 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

  5. 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

  6. A little about us… 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

  7. A little about us… • Mostly female • Growing Hispanic population • Most students under age 24

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  14. National Context for Honors College

  15. 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.

  16. National Context for Honors College The Completion Agenda: Post-Secondary Education Leaders’ Perspectives On Issues Of/Strategies for Increasing Completion Rates: Key findings from an online survey among post-secondary education leaders Conducted November/December 2011 by Hart Research Associates Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

  17. National Context for Honors College The Completion Agenda: Post-Secondary Education Leaders’ Perspectives On Issues Of/Strategies for Increasing Completion Rates: Key findings from an online survey among post-secondary education leaders Conducted November/December 2011 by Hart Research Associates Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

  18. National Context for Honors College “Sixout of 10 studentsenteringcommunitycollegesmusttakeremedialcoursestomakeupforknowledgeandskillstheydid not learn in highschool.”

  19. National Context for Honors College

  20. Why an Honors College in a Community College? “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.”

  21. 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.”

  22. Why an Honors College in a Community College? • Context for Honors College • BENEFITS 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

  23. Why an Honors College in a Community College? • Context for Honors College • BENEFITS 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

  24. 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.

  25. Local Context for Honors College 2012 – 2015 Strategic Plan Strategic Goal 1 Increase completion and achievement of all students.

  26. LSCS Honors College - Past • Decentralized • Lack of consistency in standards • Difficulty recruiting • No branding or recognition

  27. The Transition

  28. One Honors College

  29. 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.

  30. 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

  31. LSCS Honors College - PRESENT SYSTEM STRUCTURE

  32. LSCS Honors College - Present 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 ELIGIBILITY

  33. LSCS Honors College - PRESENT 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

  34. 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.

  35. 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 – Internship Haysley, V.

  36. Mechanisms for Engagement Honors Cohorts • English 1301 – Composition & Rhetoric I • Education 1300 – Student Success Course for Honors • Speech

  37. Mechanisms for Engagement Honors Presentation Day • Campus-wide event each semester • Honors student present their research • Open to all faculty and staff Honors student John Colvin presents his comparison of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" and the Old Testament.

  38. The Culture of Honors

  39. 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

  40. What works. What doesn’t. • 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

  41. What works. What doesn’t. • Establishing Honors Studies • Leadership and support • Strategic planning/goals for the department • Recruiting • Admissions process • Funding and scholarships • Curriculum development • Honors faculty designation • Student experience – beyond the classroom • Maintenance and growth • Sense of community – internal and external

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

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

  44. OBSERVATIONS • Faculty input matters. Include faculty in the planning and implementation. • Administrative support matters. Commitment of resources makes a difference.

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

  46. Honors College - FUTURE • Should community colleges offer Honors Programs? Why? • What does the future hold? • How can they grow and attract more students?

  47. 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.

  48. Honors College - FUTURE http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/ What’s the Point of an Honors College, Anyway? • 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.

  49. Honors College - FUTURE http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/ What’s the Point of an Honors College, Anyway? “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.”

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