AGENDA ITEM BACKGROUND
TO: GOVERNING BOARD
FROM:
DATE
PRESIDENT
May 2, 2011
SUBJECT:
Honors Transfer Program
REASON FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION
INFORMATION
ENCLOSURE(S)
Page 1 of 4
ITEM NUMBER
E.5
BACKGROUND:

The Honors Transfer Program is now three years old. In this short time Cabrillo has built a
program that has grown from 60 to 240 students, and has attracted new students to Cabrillo
who may not have previously planned to attend a community college. Through enhanced
curriculum and additional outside activities, a growing number of students have been provided
an enriched intellectual and cultural learning experience here at Cabrillo. For our transferfocused, continuing students, this program provides a competitive edge in the university
admissions process – any Cabrillo student with a 3.3 GPA is eligible to join the program. Each
year since the start of the program, Cabrillo’s honors students have been selected to present
their research papers at the annual California Community College Honors Research
Symposium which alternates each year between Stanford University and UC Berkeley.

Our program is part of a reciprocal relationship with some of the finest baccalaureate-granting
universities in the country. Universities are looking for outstanding students who have
completed more than the minimum transfer requirements. As a result, competitive universities
actively pursue our honors students.

Last fall Cabrillo’s Honors Transfer Program was admitted to UCLA’s prestigious Transfer
Alliance Program (TAP) – the 48th California Community College to do so. Membership in this
program provides our honors students with an increased opportunity to transfer into UCLA’s
College of Letters and Sciences. In addition, being a member of UCLA’s TAP is an indicator to
students, families, and four-year universities that Cabrillo’s Honors Transfer Program has met
the rigorous standards set by UCLA’s program. It is the “gold standard” of honors programs.

The Honors Transfer Program is guided by an advisory committee composed of the program’s
director, key instructional deans, instructional faculty, counseling faculty, and students.
Outreach has continued both here at Cabrillo, and at comprehensive public, private, and
charter high schools in the county. Close ties have been developed with south county high
schools to develop pipelines into this program for students who have been historically
underrepresented in higher education. Those from Pajaro Valley and Watsonville High Schools
are applying in large numbers.
(continued)
Administrator Initiating Item:
Donna Mekis
Renée M. Kilmer, VP Instruction
Academic and Professional Matter
If yes, Faculty Senate Agreement
Senate President Signature
Yes
No
No
Final Disposition
Current Statistics
 200 students are currently participating in the program this spring 2011
 60 new high school seniors are expected to join the program in fall 2011
 35% of the students in the program as of fall 2010 have come from populations
underrepresented in higher education
 54% entered directly from a county high school
 45% were continuing Cabrillo students
 18 UC-approved honors courses are now part of Cabrillo’s curriculum
 20 Cabrillo faculty members have taught, or plan to teach, an honors course in the coming
year
Changes for 2011-12
The developer and director of the program, Donna Mekis, is retiring at the end of spring 2011 after 20
years at Cabrillo. This change required the college to review and revise the next stages in the
program’s development. The program goals that were established in the three-year start-up plan have
been completed. The next steps include:

Hiring a new Director for the Honors Program. A decision was made to combine the
Articulation Coordinator and the Honors Transfer Program Director into one full-time faculty
position. The work involved in articulation and honors are very closely related, and have been
since the program’s inception.

Designating an Honors Transfer Program Lead Faculty position. Applications were accepted
and Michael Mangin was recommended by the Honors Transfer Program Advisory Committee.

Identifying three counselors to serve as “designated honors counselors” – a requirement of the
UCLA Transfer Alliance Program. Counselors Jay Jackson, Rudy Puente and Marcy Wald
have volunteered to serve in this capacity.

Realign the Director’s responsibilities so that ongoing counseling is provided by the designated
counselors, an additional counselor assumes some of the outreach, and the Director provides
continued leadership and the admission of incoming students.

Continuing to provide clerical and administrative support through the Office of Instruction in an
increased capacity.
The Creation and implementation of an Honors Transfer Program at Cabrillo has been a dream of
many faculty members for years. It has come to fruition with a strong foundation and exemplary
leadership; a program of which we can be proud. The word-of-mouth about the program in the
community is extremely positive and the response from faculty wanting to teach these courses has
been exciting. We look forward to the next chapter in another Cabrillo success story.
2
Cabrillo College
UC Approved Honors Courses
Course Number
Units Course Title
Sem. Offered Enrollment
1.
ANTHRO1H
3
Honors Intro to Anthro: Biological
F09
34
2.
ART HISTORY 11H
3
Honors Ancient Art
SP11
39
3.
COMMUNICATIONS 1H
3
Honors Public Speaking
F10
24
4.
ENGL 1AH
3
Honors College Composition
F08
17
F09
20
F10
27
SP10
23
SP11
25
5.
ENGL 1AMCH
3
Honors College Composition MC
6.
ENGL 2H
3
Honors Comp & Critical Think
7.
ENGL 2MCH
3
Honors Comp & Critical Think MC
SP09
24
8.
HIST 17AH
3
Honors U.S. History to 1865
SP09
12
9.
HIST 17BH
3
Honors U.S. History since 1865
F10
23
3
Honors Western Civ to 1648
F08
25
F09
23
SP09
22
SP10
18
10. HIST 4AH
11. HIST 4BH
3
th
Honors Western Civ 1648 to Late 20 Century
12. HIST 21AH
3
Honors Chicano History to 1865
13. HIST 21BH
3
Honors Chicano History since 1865
14. MATH 12H
4
Honors Elementary Statistics
SP11
14
15. PHIL 10H
3
Honors Ethics
F09
24
F10
30
F08
19
SP11
22
SP10
18
16. PS 1H
3
Honors Intro to Government
17. SOC1H
3
Honors Intro to Sociology
18. SOC 2H
3
Honors Contemporary Social Problems
Courses allowed for Honors Scholar designation (a maximum of 6 units of the following coursework may be used
toward the 15 unit requirement)
Course Number
Units Course Title
ENGL 46A
3
Major British Writers
ENGL 46B
3
Major British Writers
MATH 6
3
Intro to Linear Algebra
MATH 7
3
Intro to Differential Equations
ENGR 15 or 35
4/3
Circuits/Statics
PHYS 4B
5
Physics for Scientists & Engineers
PHYS 4C
5
Physics for Scientists & Engineers
CHEM 12A/AL
5
Organic Chemistry w/Lab
CHEM 12B/ BL
5
Organic Chemistry w/Lab
3
Cabrillo College Honors Transfer Program
www.cabrillohonors.org
Honors Transfer Program courses planned for 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013
Fall 2010
Spring 2011
English 1AH (M. Alancraig)
Honors College Composition
W 2:20-5:25
English 2H (M. Alancraig)
Honors Composition and Critical Thinking
W 2:20-5:25
Philosophy 10H (N. Brown)
Honors Ethics
M-W 11:10-12:30
Art History 11H (B. Legakis)
Honors Ancient Art
M-W 11:10-12:30
History 17BH (R. Brogan)
Honors U.S. History since 1865
T-Th 9:30-10:50
Math 12H (D. Viglienzoni)
Honors Elementary Statistics
M-T-W-TH 8:00-9:10
Communications 1H (S. Gentile)
Honors Public Speaking
M-W 9:30-10:50
Political Science 1H (R. O’Brien)
Honors Introduction to Government
T-Th 11:10-12:30
Fall 2011
Spring 2012
English 1AH (J. Carter)
Honors College Composition
M-W 12:40-2:00
English 2H (L. Scott-Curtis)
Honors Composition and Critical Thinking
History 4AH (M. Mangin)
Honors Survey of Western
Civilization to 1648
M-W 11:10-12:30
History 4BH (M. Mangin)
Honors Survey of Western Civilization
1648 to Late 20th Century
M-W 11:10-12:30
Anthropology 1H (K. Wilson)
Honors Introduction to Anthropology:
Biological
T-Th 11:10-12:30
Anthropology 2H (K. Wilson)
Honors Introduction to Anthropology:
Cultural
T-Th 11:10-12:30
History 21AH (E. Buelna)
Honors Chicano History
T-Th 12:40-2:00
Political Science 1H (R. O’Brien)
Honors Introduction to Government
T-Th 12:40-2:10
Fall 2012
Spring 2013
English 1AH or 1AMCH
Honors College Composition
English 2H or 2MCH (M. Alancraig)
Honors Composition and Critical Thinking
Philosophy 10H (N. Brown)
Honors Ethics
Art History 11H (B. Legakis)
Honors Ancient Art
History 17AH
Honors U.S. History to 1865
History 17BH
Honors U.S. History since 1865
Communications 1H (S. Gentile)
Honors Public Speaking
Psychology 1H (D. Douglas)
Honors General Psychology
4