Honoring the 21st
Century Student
Through an
Honors College
Innovations Conference
March 3, 2014
SLIDE 1
Welcome
•
•
•
•
Lone Star College System & LSC-Tomball
National Context for Honors College
Local Context for Honors College
Observations about successful
implementation
• Questions & Answers
SLIDE 2
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
SLIDE 3
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
SLIDE 4
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
SLIDE 5
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
SLIDE 6
A little about us…
• Mostly female
• Growing Hispanic population
• Most students under age 24
SLIDE 7
A little about us…
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A little about us…
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A little about us…
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A little about us…
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A little about us…
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A little about us…
SLIDE 13
National Context for
Honors College
SLIDE 14
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.
SLIDE 15
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 postsecondary education leaders
Conducted
November/December 2011 by
Hart Research Associates
Funded by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation
SLIDE 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 postsecondary education leaders
Conducted
November/December 2011 by
Hart Research Associates
Funded by the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation
SLIDE 17
National Context for
Honors College
“Six out of 10 students entering community
colleges must take remedial courses to make up
for knowledge and skills they did not learn in high
school.”
SLIDE 18
National Context for
Honors College
SLIDE 19
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.”
SLIDE 20
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.”
SLIDE 21
Why an Honors College in a
Community College?
BENEFITS TO THE COLLEGE:
• Context for Honors 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
SLIDE 22
Why an Honors College in a
Community College?
BENEFITS TO THE STUDENTS:
• Context for Honors College
• 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
SLIDE 23
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.
SLIDE 24
Local Context for
Honors College
2012 – 2015 Strategic Plan
Strategic Goal 1
Increase completion and achievement
of all students.
SLIDE 25
LSCS Honors
College - Past
•
•
•
•
Decentralized
Lack of consistency in standards
Difficulty recruiting
No branding or recognition
SLIDE 26
The Transition
August
2012
July 2013
Recommendation
s submitted to
Executive Council
Committe
e Formed
September
2013
August
2013
Committee
Meetings
began
System-wide
Honors
College
implemented
SLIDE 27
One Honors College
SLIDE 28
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.
SLIDE 29
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
SLIDE 30
LSCS Honors
College - PRESENT
SYSTEM STRUCTURE
Vice Chancellor
Academic Affairs
Executive
Director
Honors Program
Director
Honors Program
Director
Honors Program
Director
SLIDE 31
Honors Program
Director
Honors Program
Director
Honors Program
Director
LSCS Honors
College - Present
ELIGIBILITY
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
SLIDE 32
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
SLIDE 33
SLIDE 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.
SLIDE 35
Mechanisms for
Engaging Faculty
Honors Faculty Spring 2014
Speech 1318 – Interpersonal
English 2328 – American Lit
History 1302 – US History >1877
Economics 2302 – Macroeconomics
English 1302 – Comp & Rhetoric II
Biology 1406 – Biology II, Majors
Government 2389 – Internship
SLIDE 36
Friesen, C.
Veselis, A.
Prewitt, S.
Davia, R.
Carter, K.
Simcik, B.
Haysley, V.
Mechanisms for
Engagement
Honors Cohorts
• English 1301 –
Composition & Rhetoric I
• Education 1300 – Student
Success Course for
Honors
• Speech
SLIDE 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.
SLIDE 38
The Culture of Honors
SLIDE 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
SLIDE 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
SLIDE 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
SLIDE 42
OBSERVATIONS
– Identity matters. Find space that is
dedicated to Honors.
• Classroom
• Student study area/lounge
• Provide signage
SLIDE 43
OBSERVATIONS
– Outreach matters. Find target populations of
students.
•
•
•
•
Dual credit
Home school
Advanced Placement students
Non-traditional students
SLIDE 44
OBSERVATIONS
– Faculty input matters. Include faculty in
the planning and implementation.
– Administrative support matters.
Commitment of resources makes a
difference.
SLIDE 45
OBSERVATIONS
– It takes time. Allow some small
enrollment classes to make in the
beginning.
SLIDE 46
Honors College FUTURE
• Should community colleges offer Honors
Programs? Why?
• What does the future hold?
• How can they grow and attract more
students?
SLIDE 47
Honors College FUTURE
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.
http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/
SLIDE 48
Honors College FUTURE
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.
http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/
SLIDE 49
Honors College FUTURE
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.”
http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/
SLIDE 50
Honors College FUTURE
What’s the Point of an Honors College, Anyway?
“Like all third places, honors colleges are neutral
ground, separate from departments and yet in the
business of serving them all; as such, they
provide an ideal space for the kind of “in
between” collaboration required by
interdisciplinary work. Honors colleges are where
team-teaching—that activity we all say we should
do more of but can’t because of departmental
restrictions—really can happen.”
http://chronicle.com/article/Whats-the-Point-of-an-Honors/144227/
SLIDE 51
Honors College FUTURE
• National professional organization
of undergraduate Honors programs
• Last year, 167 community college
members (13% of total
membership)
• National honors society for
community college students
• Last year, 43.5% of chapters
reported their institutions had an
honors college
•
2-Year Honors Boom: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/02/04/honors
SLIDE 52
Questions?
Dr. Susan E. Karr
President
Susan.E.Karr@Lonestar.edu
Dr. Lee Ann Nutt
Vice President of Instruction
LeeAnn.Nutt@Lonestar.edu
Dr. Lisa Morales
Dean – Academic Initiatives & Partnerships
Lisa.R.Morales@Lonestar.edu
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