HONORS COURSE PROPOSAL FOR HONR 350 (SPECIAL TOPICS)
TITLE OF SPECIAL TOPIC OR INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY:
FACULTY MEMBER:
PROPOSED TERM:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
(Please provide a catalog-style description. Please do not be specific about texts, etc.)
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
(Please include specific, measurable objectives that lead students to high levels of thinking, such
as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Optional: please indicate which General Education SLO
learning objectives would be fulfilled if you are interested in eventually offering this course to
meet a general education requirement.)
ASSESSMENT METHODS:
(Please include the techniques and approaches you will use as they relate to the objectives.
Please do not include a quantitative rubric or percentage distribution.)
OUTLINE OF TOPICS:
(Please include a list of possible topics and their order.)
DISTANCE LEARNING COMPONENTS:
If any distance learning component will be involved (e-mail, internet, videotape for distance
learning, etc.) and will deviate from the methods of assessment, assurance of
coherence/comprehensiveness, or contingency teaching plan specified in the Curriculum
Committee proposal, please specify that here.
GUIDELINES SPECIFIC TO HONORS COURSES:
Please indicate how your course will meet the following criteria. The "shalls" indicate
requirements. Not meeting a requirement would disqualify a course from consideration as an
honors course. The "shoulds" contribute to a higher evaluation in the rubric, but a lack of no
single "should" disqualifies a course.
For the 300-level Honors Special Topics course guidelines, the same guidelines as outlined for
the HNRS250 Special Topics course guidelines will apply, with additions for the 300-level in
bold:
1. Intellectual Rigor
A. Shall require student to apply domain knowledge gained in the course to higher level
intellectual processes including analysis, synthesis, integration, evaluation, such as independent
problem solving, critique of processes or arguments, teaching of others, etc.
B. Should expose students to multiple viewpoints on the same topic and require students to
integrate and compare those viewpoints and formulate their own.
C. Shall require students to engage in the reading, understanding, and application of
multiple theoretical perspectives
2. Scholarly or Professional Resources
A. Shall require students to utilize a variety of resources available through the campus library
and/or other third-party sources.
B. Should require students to acquire independent resources and to apply independent judgment
as to their authenticity, validity, and appropriateness.
3. Multi-faceted Learning Objectives
A. Should prepare students to engage in self-directed life-long learning activities germane to the
topic of the class.
B. Should provide opportunities for the student to consider the topic's personal and social
relevance.
4. Pre-requisite Knowledge
A. Shall not require any pre-requisites or specific foundational knowledge that would prohibit
students from other majors/divisions from fully participating in the class.
5.Communication
A. Shall require students to properly communicate in accordance to the standards of the
discipline.
6. Research
A. Shall require students to complete an original research project that integrates
disciplinary methodology, using a combination of primary, seminal, and critical source
materials in research