Honors program ramps up

Michael Hackman, professor, Communication, is searching for the best and brightest. The director of the new UCCS Honors Program is scouring southern Colorado and the Western U.S. recruiting the program’s first wave of UCCS honors students.

The program begins in just 10 short months and Hackman and the Honors Program committee are focusing on students who fit the designated criteria and also working through the final details of the program.

Although many colleges and universities currently have honors programs, the UCCS program is unique and rare in two distinct ways.

“Clearly in building an Honors Program from the ground up we are most concerned with developing a distinctive program that will challenge our highest potential students. Honors education is not one size fits all and we hope to create a program that will be meaningful to our student population at UCCS and will attract attention from prospective students throughout Colorado and the country,” Hackman explained.

How will the UCCS program differ?

First, the UCCS Honors Program targets a population of students not frequently identified by other honors programs, first-generation college students of high ability. These students are typically from rural and historically under-represented population bases.

Second, UCCS Honors students are required to not only perform at high levels in their course work, but also participate in cohort first-year and senior experiences that center around experiential learning. These students will be required to participate in various types of community service such as service-learning courses, internships, leading campus or community activities, or serving as an ambassador from the campus to other constituencies.

The Honors Program, structured as a minor, has a minimum of 18 credit hours of honors- designated work. Those accepted into the Honors Program will:

• work with selected faculty in smaller class settings, encouraging students to engage in a collaborative, vigorous intellectual life that prepares them for admission to and success in graduate and professional schools;
• enter as a cohort, taking a special section of Freshman Seminar;
• enroll in at least 15 credits of honors-designated courses in the sophomore and junior year; and
• return for a senior-level Honors Seminar to reflect upon their experiences, discuss their plans for the future, and develop a seminar project.

In addition to the Freshman Honor Seminar and the Senior Honors Seminar, there are also two types of honors courses. Dedicated Honors Courses are multi-section courses reserved for honors students and Designated Honors Courses are courses students take for honors credit after requesting permission from the faculty member teaching and by arranging distinctive course requirements.

For additional specifics about the Honors Program such as selection criteria, eligibility, curricular requirements, please visit the Honors Program website at: www.uccs.edu/honors

Members of the Honors Program Committee Include:

• Edith Greene, professor, Psychology
• Lesley Ginsberg, associate professor, English
• Al Schoffstall, professor, Chemistry
• Al Ramierz, professor, Education
• Katherine Kaukinen, associate professor, School of Public Affairs
• Jugal Kalita, professor, Engineering
• George Woodward, assistant professor, Business
• Rex Welshon, associate professor, Philosophy

 

“Honors education is not one size fits all and we hope to create a program that will be meaningful to our student population at UCCS...”

 

“UCCS Honors students are required to not only perform at high levels in their course work, but also participate in cohort first-year and senior experiences that center around experiential learning.”