Undergraduate Education
Mission Statement
The mission of the Division of Undergraduate
Education is to promote academic excellence
through collaboration with colleges and support
units across the University. The mission is
realized through both administrative
supervision and support of premier
undergraduate programs and academic support
units for students and faculty, as well as
administrative leadership for curricular reform.
Central to this mission is campus leadership on
issues pertinent to student retention, curriculum
reform, and innovation in teaching and learning.
My Priorities
Get to Know Division
Respond to External Review
Pick-up Loose Threads
– Dual-Credit Degree Programs
– Central Support for Transfer Students
– Foster Continued Success of UK Core
Initiatives for Retention and Success
– “The Study North” at the King Library
– Strengthen Voice for central programming and
college collaboration
Honors Program
Majors in 11 UK Colleges
Agriculture
Arts & Sciences
Business & Econ
Communications
Design
Education
Engineering
Fine Arts
Health Sciences
Nursing
Social Work
UG Studies
College
Agriculture
Arts & Sciences
Business & Econ
Communications
Design
Education
Engineering
Fine Arts
Health Sciences
Nursing
Social Work
UG Studies
Totals
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Total
%
16
22
9
17
20
18
102
6.67%
131
115
102
96
82
122
648
42.38%
21
17
13
17
13
14
95
6.21%
7
4
8
8
7
8
42
2.75%
6
7
2
4
1
6
26
1.70%
2
4
4
3
4
6
23
1.50%
43
37
35
48
43
80
286
18.71%
11
5
3
3
4
4
30
1.96%
4
8
2
1
0
6
21
1.37%
3
6
2
5
2
6
24
1.57%
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0.07%
63
41
29
36
21
41
231
15.11%
307
266
209
238
197
312
1529
100.00%
Key Dates in Recent Changes
to University Honors
2004: “Honors Program – Reform and
Expansion Call for Proposals”
Spring 2010: Proposal for Interdisciplinary
Honors Program (rejected)
Fall 2010: “Report of the ad hoc Honors
Evaluation Committee,” Honors Program
Evaluation Committee, November 9, 2010
March 8, 2012; Senate approves new
curriculum
Why Neoteric?
UK has redoubled
its emphasis on
undergraduate
education
100 more Students
in Freshman
Honors Cohort
Target of 10% of
UG Population
Our Neoteric Curriculum
21 Credit Hours of Requirements
Spread Over Four years
– 15 Credit Hours of Traditional Coursework
Classes can be in Honors (HON) or in an
academic department (H-sections, H-options)
– 6 Credit Hours of Honors Experiences
Education Abroad
Service Learning
Undergraduate Research
UK Honors Curriculum
Sample Four Year Plan
First Year
Second Year Third Year
6-9 Credit
3-6 Credit
3-6 Credit
Hours
Hours
Hours
3-6 Hours
One Honors One Honors
UK Core
Course
Course
3 Hours
One Honors One Honors
Comp&Com. Experience Experience
Fourth Year
3 Credit
Hours
HON 398
Senior
Capstone
Honors Support and Mentoring
Honors Courses
HON courses
– Seminars, limited to 20 students
– Interdisciplinary, geared toward UK Core
– 300 level Proseminar
H-Sections
– Carry the prefix of the department or school
– Small class format preferred: seminars or breakout
sections
– Taught by full-time faculty
– Open to all honors students; instructor may choose to
allow other students to enroll
H-Options
Freshmen 2012:
By the Numbers
310
142
82
1171
144
32
50
Students
4.0 GPA in HS
Valedictorians
AP Classes
GSP, GSA
ACT Median
National Merit
Finalists
Students from 21 States
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
AL AR FL GA ID
IL
IN MD MI MO MS NY OH OR PA TN TX VA WI WV
Student Success through
Engagement and Support
Access to personalized Honors advising
and staff support
Enrollment in Honors Courses
Priority registration in other courses
Access to UK’s most dedicated faculty
Membership in Honors Community
– Honors Program Student Council
– Living-learning community
– New Honors Dorm
What Honors Does For
Students….
Complements: “Thread” Honors classes with
major requirements and UK Core
Deepens: Through upper-level courses or
research in a major
Broadens: Multi-disciplinary HON Seminars,
Classes with the best students from across
campus
Enriches: Through specially-designed
assignments, education abroad, service
learning
What Honors can do for
Departments/Colleges
Offers faculty a way to teach Honors
students in departmental courses (HSections; H-Options)
Opportunity to recruit Honors students to
your majors and minors
Encourages advanced undergraduate
research
We should examine the potential to link
distinction in majors to Honors
Neoteric Policies and
Procedures
Curriculum is new; policies still being formed
and written
Honors staff will work to ascertain demand for
different types of courses
Honors staff will work with colleges and
departments to identify H-Section courses
Students should be able to graduate with
multiple honors: Honors Program and in
major
Impact of new VBB process still to be
determined
What can we do with the
Honors Curriculum
Leave the choice of courses entirely
flexible (Michigan State)
Provide coherence and community
through
– certificates (Texas A&M)
– “commendations” (U. Iowa)
– clustered courses tied to living-learning
programs (Maryland College Park)
Constellations:
Fixed & Flexible
Ursa Major
The Plough
The Wain
Septarshi (7 Sages)
Otava (Salmon Wier)
3 Hunters Pursuing the Great
Bear
Coherence and Community
through “Constellations”
A “constellation” is a groups of 3-5 courses
based on a multi-disciplinary theme
Themes emerge from student interests
and faculty research/teaching
Themes linked to campus dorms, livinglearning communities
Some Suggestions for Course
Constellations
Honors Humanities/Great Books
Sustainability
Entrepreneurship (iNET)
Copy Culture: Replication
Society, Economics, and Disease
Chellgren SLC Coordinators
Identify a general theme around which to
organize a cluster;
Recruit a small team of faculty colleagues to
serve as members of the SLC;
Schedule and lead planning sessions of the
SLC;
Submit a brief outline by Dec 10 that
summarizes the proposed cluster.
Each coordinator will receive a $ 1000
research/travel stipend for their leadership
during the fall 2012 semester.
Honors Program
Strengths
Responsiveness to fill identified gaps in
student services, initiatives that enhance
student support and enrichment (Academic
Enhancement noted in particular), and
supporting ideas of and collaborating with
campus partners to improve undergraduate
education. Valuing excellent service,
accessibility of services, and efficiency. UK
Core Curriculum. New Undergraduate
Studies identity.
Weaknesses or Concerns:
De-centralized support staff. Lack of dedicated
space for Undergraduate Education services.
Lack of sustainable budget and inadequate
number of personnel. Lack of IT support. Lack
of fiscal development opportunities. Need for
ongoing support of transfer students. Campus
advising infrastructure and unevenness of
advising services across colleges. Authority of
Dean of Undergraduate Studies relative to
deans of other undergraduate colleges. Timely
and consistent communication. External review
of Career Center recommended.
Opportunities
Enhanced data collection and exploration. Colocation of additional Undergraduate Education
programs. Potential creation of University
College and Interdisciplinary Undergraduate
Certificates. Evaluation of the workload across
positions to ensure equitable distribution.
Increased funding through development efforts.
Stronger advising infrastructure across
campus. Expansion of transfer student support.
Restructuring of division according to primary
constituencies and functions to reduce
redundancies and increase efficiencies.
Challenges
Creation of University College during current
economic times. Inadequate recurring funds
and sustainable budget resulting in challenges
for planning and timely implementation of
initiatives. Organizational disconnect with
university assessment office and coordination
of related efforts. Expectations for expansive
communications across campus. Multi-prong
focus of responsibilities and multiple
constituencies, including students, faculty, and
administrators.