HANDBOOK FOR PREPARATION
OF THE HONORS SENIOR PROJECT
UNDERGRADUATE HONORS PROGRAM
SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY
3700 WEST 103RD STREET
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60655
2011 EDITION
CONTENTS
Page
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INTRODUCTION
SECTION I
Rational and Expectations for the Senior Project
The Senior Project Mentor
The Senior Project Proposal
Developing and Completing the Project
Presenting the Project
Coordinating the Project with Projects in the Major
Credit Hours
General Guidelines for the Manuscript
Expenses
Timetable
Miscellaneous Information and Reminders
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SECTION II: FOR FACULTY MENTOR
General Overview of Mentor’s Role
Specific Responsibilities of the Mentor
Compensation and Other Rewards
Tips for Honors Project Mentors
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SECTION III: APPENDIX
Senior Honors Project Proposal Form
Sample Proposals
Mid-Year Progress Report Format
Sample Mid-Year Progress Reports
Sample Abstracts
Sample Title Page
Approval Page
Planning Sheet
Honors Senior Project Topics, Class of 2003-2012
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INTRODUCTION
This handbook provides Honors students with specific guidelines and procedures for
their senior research/creative projects, and also provides advice to help them avoid some
of the common hazards and pitfalls involved in completing a project of this scope. We
welcome the suggestions of Honors students and faculty project mentors for making this
handbook more useful. We welcome any other advice or recommendations about the
senior project process that should be included to aid future Honors students and faculty
engaged in this exciting stage of the program.
The handbook is primarily for the student’s use, but it also contains information of
particular interest to faculty and one section addressed specifically to faculty mentors.
Each student and faculty mentor should therefore read the handbook with care, taking
specific note of his/her part in the process. The handbook is divided into two sections,
followed by an appendix.
The first section articulates guidelines, expectations and stages of the senior project
process. It begins with two letters from the Honors program director: one written to
students explaining reasons for doing a Senior Project, and another addressed to both
students and their mentors describing expectations for the project in terms of length and
quality. Section One then provides specific guidelines for selecting an advisor, writing a
proposal, and working in HONOR 352/53 and with the faculty mentor to develop, revise,
complete and present the final product. We have tried to use specific examples to clarify
some of the problems students commonly encounter, and (at the risk of sounding
preachy) have added cautionary notes throughout.
The second section is addressed primarily to faculty mentors, describing their role,
responsibilities, potential rewards and frustrations, what they should expect of the
students they advise, and their compensation.
Finally, the appendix contains various key documents for the senior project process:
model proposal forms, a sample title page, approval page, contents page, abstract, and
progress report. Samples of completed senior projects are archived in the Honors
Program Room; Honors students are encouraged to browse through them.
If after reading this handbook, the student or faculty advisor still has questions
concerning the senior project process, please contact the director of the Honors Program,
Dr. Judith Hiltner.
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SECTION I
RATIONALE AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE HONORS SENIOR PROJECT
A Letter from the Honors Program Director to Honors Student and Mentors
The designers of the Saint Xavier University Honors Program anticipate that the senior
Honors Projects will be a source of growth and pride for students and faculty involved.
We hope that students will present their projects at state and national professional
meetings and that the process will better prepare students for the challenges of graduate
or professional schools and for the demands of their future careers. The Honors Program
hopes to establish a tradition of high quality in the research and creative work of its
graduates.
TO THE STUDENT: Why do a senior project?
The project is both an opportunity and a challenge. Certainly the completion of this work
looks good on a resume and provides an apprenticeship in professional knowledge and
skills that will have its pragmatic benefits later. But the work is important and worthy
first of all for the intellectual and creative process in which it engages you personally.
Choosing a topic to which your curiosity and ambition have led you, working closely
with a professional expert, doing sustained work of significant scope and substance,
learning more about your subject, but also about your own capabilities—all make this
experience unusual and rewarding. To ensure that this work is the best it can be, we hold
out high expectations, support you along the way, and celebrate your results. But the
main responsibility is obviously on you. The more serious your effort, the greater your
satisfaction will be.
TO THE STUDENT AND THE MENTOR: How good does this project have to be?
The Honors student undertaking the senior project is aiming for an Honors Diploma upon
graduation, a distinguished academic award. Thus the student’s work should be
conceived, executed and measured according to the faculty’s strongest standards for
assessing academic work. A student must earn an “A” or a “B” for the work in order to
graduate with Honors.
The student should bring her or his own highest standards for performance to bear on the
project as well. The growth experience during the project may open to the student new
possibilities of achievement undreamed of previously. It may be important, therefore, to
keep revising ambitions and standards upwards.
Aside from the quality of research and creative work that goes into the project, the
finished product should represent high quality in terms of organization, writing, and
format. The projects may serve as models for future students and should not contain
mechanical errors or present a shoddy appearance. Outstanding projects will be
catalogued and archived in the Saint Xavier University Library. The work should be
something of which both student and mentor can be intensely proud.
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.How fresh and “state of the art” should the project be? Mentors in some disciplines,
especially where the student is working on a highly specialized or focused topic, may
insist that students know the salient literature of the field and contribute something new
to it. But in most cases, faculty mentors will permit topics that are not completely new,
acknowledging that the chief value of the project lies in the expansion of the student’s
frontier rather than the frontier of collective human knowledge. In all cases, however, the
student should make effective use of previous scholarship in the area of the project.
How “creative” should a creative project be? The project can take whatever form suits
the subject. It can be a “traditional” research paper in the humanities or social sciences,
the results of lab experimentation as would appear in scientific publications, the products
of applied research in professional disciplines, or a creative composition (poetry, short
stories, novel, play, film/video/photography/graphics, painting, sculpture or other
artwork, a performance, recital, etc.) Projects in the fine arts require originality but also
provide further apprenticeship in skills. Students proposing a creative project in Art or
Music should be majoring in those disciplines. Students proposing a senior project in
creative writing or film also should have completed coursework in these areas and should
prepare a portfolio of their work in order for the prospective mentor to ensure that the
student is qualified by talent and training to undertake and execute the project. The
project itself should be of sufficient challenge and worth to merit the Honors credit to be
given, and progress on the project will be monitored in the same way as for a standard
academic project.
How long and complex should the project be? The answer depends on the discipline.
Students are being awarded six credit hours (which may include both hours in the
discipline and Honors Senior Project hours) for the project, and these six hours are spread
over two semesters. This is roughly equivalent to one fifth of their senior year’s work. In
all cases, students should expect to submit a written paper. Students working on research
projects culminating in a paper should anticipate submitting an Honors thesis of 30-50
pages. Students working on senior projects with an applied component will be writing
shorter papers to accompany their primary product--a portfolio, website, power point
presentation, etc. Students working on creative senior projects must also produce a
written component to accompany their creative projects—exhibits, recitals, videos,
novellas, short stories, poetry, film scripts, etc. Papers to support applied or
creative projects will typically run 15-20 pages and include a description of the
project itself; an explanation or narrative of the process involved in developing the
project, including key choices among competing alternatives, pitfalls, and problemsolving strategies ; the objectives or goals for the project; its significance; a critical
assessment of the outcome from either a subjective point of view or a disciplinary
perspective. The appropriate length should be determined in consultation with the
senior project coordinator.
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THE SENIOR PROJECT MENTOR
In the course of their junior year, as part of the requirement for their Fieldwork Seminar
(Honor 350/51), students will do preliminary reading, thinking and research in a topic
that interests them, in order to formulate their Senior Project Proposal, and they will
select an appropriate Senior Project Mentor. Unless the Honors Program Director
approves of an exception, all projects must be formally mentored by a full time member
of the Saint Xavier University Faculty who teaches in a discipline directly related to the
topic of the project. Co-mentors are permitted where appropriate. A student with a
history major, for instance, may want to examine literary responses to a particular
historical period, crisis or transition. In such a case the student could have a primary
mentor from History and a co-mentor from English. The mentor should be a person
knowledgeable about the area the student wishes to explore and, in the best case scenario,
one who has had the student in class, and with whom the student has a good working
relationship.
A student may know the general topic he or she wishes to explore and will search for a
mentor who is an expert on that topic. Or, a student may wish to work with a particular
mentor, whatever the topic, and will ask that person for guidance in selecting a specific
topic. Some faculty members may be unwilling to direct a project for a student whom
they have not had in class. The faculty mentor will help the student develop the Senior
Project Proposal during the junior year, and must approve the proposal for it to be
accepted by the Honors Program Director. Students will present their approved proposals
in their Honors Fieldwork Seminar (Honor 351) during the final weeks of the spring
semester of their junior year.
CAUTIONARY NOTE: Students must stay in close contact with the project
mentor during the research and writing process. No more than two weeks should pass
without contact between a student and mentor—in person or by phone or e-mail—
regarding progress on the thesis/project. Even if students have nothing to “show” the
mentor as far as written work is concerned, they should at least tell the mentor what they
are reading, what kinds of problems they are encountering, etc. The mentor is not a
person who comments occasionally and signs off on a finished project, but a person who
truly advises and directs the student’s work. That person can provide the student with
valuable resources, can sometimes lend books, can serve as a sounding board for ideas,
can challenge the student in numerous ways, and can comment on subject matter,
research methods, writing style, organization, and any other aspect of the project.
Students must understand that the faculty mentor is responsible for evaluating the
final product and must sign off on it by completing a written evaluation, assigning a
letter grade, and by actually signing the approval page on the project itself. Students
who have not stayed in touch with the mentor throughout the various stages of the project
should not be surprised if the mentor is reluctant to approve the resulting project.
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THE SENIOR PROJECT PROPOSAL
The senior project proposal is the formal document which sets forth succinctly (usually
no longer than 2-3 pages) the parameters of the intended project. Care should be given to
both its content and appearance. The proposal should be carefully proof read (no
sentence faults or misspelled words). It should clearly articulate the purpose, anticipated
scope and methods to be employed in completing the project. It should reflect a carefully
thought out approach to the subject with sufficient elaboration to enable the student’s
project mentor and the Honors Senior Project Coordinator to know just what it is the
student intends to do. It should demonstrate the student’s familiarity with the research or
creative project design conventions of the discipline in which the student is working. The
student’s mentor and guest faculty speakers in the junior year Fieldwork Seminar (Honor
350-51) will offer guidance in senior project proposal design. The Faculty Mentor and
the Honors Program Director must sign the proposal to for it to be formally approved.
See the Appendix to this handbook for sample senior project proposals. Senior Project
proposal forms are available in the Honors Program Room and also in the office of the
Honors Program Director. Samples of completed senior projects will be archived in the
Honors Program Room and available for students to examine as models. Those projects
which receive the “Outstanding Senior Project” award at the annual Honors Conference
are catalogued and archived in the Saint Xavier University Library.
DEVELOPING AND COMPLETING THE PROJECT: HONOR 352/53
During the fall and spring semesters of their senior year, all Honors students enroll in
Honor 352/353 (Honors Senior Project Seminar) for 1-3 credit hours (see section on
Credit Hours below). This course, taught by the Honors Senior Project Coordinator, is
designed to guide students through the process of researching, writing, revising and
presenting their senior projects. The class meets periodically to monitor student progress,
and to provide the forum in which students critique and make suggestions regarding each
other’s work. Throughout the course, students share frustrations and breakthroughs;
benefit from peer support in revising, editing and proofreading their work; learn how to
draft the abstract required with the final project; and prepare to present their projects at
the Senior Honors Conference and to serve as respondent for another student’s project.
Students will also be expected to meet on an individual basis with the Senior Project
Coordinator. Specific course requirements will be described in the course syllabus
distributed at the start of each semester.
Throughout the senior year, the student continues to meet regularly with her/his
project mentor for individual supervision regarding the content and development of
the project. The course is NOT designed to supply substantive direction for each
student’s specific project. Rather, it is designed to enable and facilitate their smooth and
successful progression through the process.
At the end of the fall semester, each student presents a Mid Year Progress Report (see
Progress Report Form in the Appendix) to their Honor 352 class. The report summarizes
work accomplished so far, any changes in direction the project has taken since the
original proposal was drafted and reasons for the changes, obstacles confronted and how
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the student is attempting to surmount them. Students also outline their plans for
completing the project by the deadline the following spring. The student’s mentor should
be present for the class report, and should sign the copy of it that is turned into the
Honors Senior Project Coordinator following the in class presentation. Students are
asked to turn in with the Progress Report an annotated bibliography that lists six to ten
sources that the they have found most relevant and useful. They write a note for each
source summarizing it briefly and explaining how it is related to what they are doing.
(This requirement may be modified – but not eliminated- for students engaging in
creative or laboratory research projects.)
Any student whose Mid Year Progress Report indicates insufficient progress will be
discouraged from enrolling in Honor 353 and from continuing the project. By
“insufficient progress” we mean that the mentor and senior project coordinator do
not believe that the student has progressed far enough in the project reasonably to
anticipate its earning an A or B by the spring deadline for final drafts.
The grade for the Honor 352 course is based on the extent and quality of the student’s
progress on the senior project and on the student’s attendance and participation in the
class meetings. The Mid Year Progress Reports and advice from faculty mentors will
contribute to this assessment. The grade will be assigned by the Senior Project
Coordinator.
During the spring semester, students in Honor 353 complete their projects, draft their
abstracts, share drafts with peers for critique and suggestions, revise their drafts and
produce the finished product. They prepare to present the results of their projects at the
annual Honors Conference, and to serve as respondent to another student’s presentation
of her/his project. The grade for Honor 353 is based largely on the grade for the final
product, as assigned by the faculty mentor. But the student’s conference presentation,
performance as respondent, and attendance and participation in the class meetings also
are factored into the final grade for the course, which is assigned by the Senior Project
Coordinator, who teaches the course.
PRESENTING THE PROJECT AT THE ANNUAL HONORS CONFERENCE
Students present the key results of their projects at a one-day conference near the end of
April, to which all members of the Saint Xavier Community, family and friends are
invited. Presenting and defending your work at the annual Honors Conference is an
Honors Program requirement. Students have 15 minutes to present the most salient
aspects of their work and may wish to use visual aids or multimedia techniques to enliven
their presentations. Advice and direction is supplied by faculty mentors and the Senior
Project Seminar Coordinator in the Honor 353 class.
After members of each conference panel have presented their projects, time will be
allotted for questions about, or responses to, your presentations from members of the
audience. The questions should not “stump” you, since by that point you will know more
about your topic than anyone else in the room.
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COORDINATING THE HONORS PROJECT WITH SENIOR
PROJECT/SENIOR SEMINAR REQUIREMENTS IN THE STUDENT’S MAJOR
Students who are required to complete a senior project or a senior seminar paper for their
majors may expand and shape those projects to satisfy the Honors Senior Project
requirement. Since students receive up to 6 semester hours credit for the Honors Senior
Project, we are assuming they will produce a substantial research paper or creative
product, beyond the scope of what typically satisfies a 3 semester hour seminar paper
requirement or a one to three semester hour senior project requirement. If students
choose to expand work completed for a senior project or seminar requirement in the
major, they can credit the hours they have enrolled for the project/seminar in the major
towards their 6 hour Honors Senior Project requirement. Faculty mentors and the
Honors Senior Project Coordinator will help the student decide how to enlarge the scope
of the smaller project to meet the requirements of the Honors Senior Project. Students
must submit to the senior project coordinator a written plan describing how they
will expand the work they are submitting for their major, in order to meet the
requirements of the Honors Senior Project.
CREDIT HOURS
Honors students must enroll for at least one credit hour in Honor 352 in the fall of their
senior year and one credit hour of Honor 353 in the spring of their senior year. These
credit hours are for attending, participating in and completing all requirements of the
Honors Senior Project Seminar, which meets approximately one hour per week. Honors
students typically are expected to enroll in two additional credit hours of Honor 352 and
two additional credit hours of Honor 353 during the fall and spring. These four credit
hours are for researching, writing, revising and presenting the Honors Senior Project.
However, in the case of students who are expanding projects completed for senior
seminar or senior project requirements in their major, credit hours awarded for working
on those projects in the major are subtracted from the four credit hours typically awarded
for completing the Honors project. (This is to assure that the student does not receive
course credit twice for the same work.)
For instance, if an English major chooses, for her senior Honors Project, to expand her
English Senior Seminar paper that counted for two thirds of the total grade for the 3
credit English Senior Seminar, she is only able to register for 2 more credit hours from
the Honors Program for completing the expanded Honors project. (The assumption is
that the student already is being awarded two credit hours for the portion of the work
completed for the major requirement.) The Honors Program director and the Senior
Project coordinator work closely with each student who is expanding a project
completed for their major requirement, in order to ascertain the appropriate number of
credit hours to register for Honor 352/53.
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GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE MANUSCRIPT
1. Margins and Pagination: employ the standard margins and pagination conventions
stipulated by style guides in your discipline (e.g. MLA, APA).
2. Figures (illustrations, tables, charts, photographs, maps, etc) should be referred to in
the text before they appear, and should be captioned.
3. Number of Copies: You must submit one copy of your final revised draft of your
project to your faculty mentor, one copy to your peer respondent and one copy to the
Honors Senior Project Coordinator by the date stipulated on your Honor 353 course
syllabus. This date generally is around the first of April, but it is never any later
than two weeks before the project is scheduled for presentation at the annual
Honors conference. The copy submitted to the Honors senior project coordinator
must be bound. Guidelines for the binding are discussed in the seminar. Do not have
any copies bound until you have received final approval from your mentor and the
Senior Project Coordinator.
4. Title Page, Approval Page and Abstract: Your project must contain a title page (see
format in the Appendix to this Handbook), an approval page (see sample in the
Appendix) and a one page Abstract of your project, succinctly describing your
project—what you have undertaken, your methods, and conclusions. Your Senior
Project Seminar Coordinator and your Faculty Mentor guide you in drafting and
revising your abstract.
5. Documentation of sources and notes: You are expected to follow all conventions
for citing and listing the sources that you use in your project stipulated in the most
recent editions of the standard style guides of your discipline (e.g. APA, MLA,
Chicago). Also follow the conventional format stipulated for substantive notes, which
usually appear after the main body of your text. As in all academic work requiring
the use of sources, representing the work of others as your own, or failing adequately
to acknowledge the sources of your information, is considered plagiarism. Any
student who submits plagiarized work in the final version of the senior project will
receive a failing grade for the project and for Honor 353, and is subject to the
additional penalties for academic dishonesty stipulated in the Student Handbook.
6. Order of pages: front matter, body, bibliography or works cited.
Title Page
Approval Page (to be signed by faculty mentor)
Abstract
Table of Contents (if more than one chapter)
Lists of Figures, Illustrations or Tables (if any)
Body of Paper
Substantive Endnotes (if any)
Bibliography of Sources or Works Cited List (The student may choose to include two
lists: Works Cited and Other Sources Consulted)
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EXPENSES
Researching, creating and completing a senior project can become expensive, especially
in some disciplines. Students are encouraged to make effective use of their junior year
Student Development Grants to cover spadework expenses and their senior year Student
Development Grants to cover expenses entailed in completing the project.
TIMETABLE
Below is a typical timetable for the completion of your work. If you adhere to it closely,
you should not run into great difficulties.
Junior year (part of your Honor 350/51 course requirements):
1. Research possible topics
2. Decide on a topic
3. Choose an advisor (must be from your major area of study, exceptions can be
approved by the Honors Program Director)
4. Write thesis proposal and obtain written approval of your faculty mentor and the
Honors Program Director
5. Begin background reading, thinking and research
Summer between junior and senior years:
1. Continue background reading, thinking, and research.
2. Prepare a report of your progress, and a list of questions for your first meeting with
your faculty mentor in the fall. Progress reports also will be expected in the first
meetings of the Honor 352 seminar.
First semester senior year: (Part of your Honor 352 course requirements):
1. Meet with faculty mentor at least every two weeks to show work in progress, discuss
problems, discuss readings, make any necessary adjustments in time table. Keep a
log of these meetings to share with the Senior Project Coordinator
2. Try to complete the research and a substantial portion of your first draft. (Although
this may seem early, remember that next semester you will be making a series of
necessary revisions requested by your faculty mentor, or suggested by your peers and
your senior project seminar coordinator. You also will be preparing to present the
project and to respond to the work of one of your peers.)
3. Prepare a formal progress report for presentation in November/December (during
the final weeks of your Honor 352 class). Arrange for your faculty mentor to attend
this presentation, and to sign your progress report, which you will submit to the
Honors Senior Project Seminar Coordinator
Second semester senior year: (Part of your Honor 353 course requirements):
1. Finish up loose ends of research
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2. Complete full draft of paper or project and submit to your mentor and Senior Project
Coordinator.
3. Make all revisions requested by your faculty mentor. Consult with faculty mentor
about revisions suggested by peers/coordinator in your Honors Senior Project
Seminar, and proceed accordingly. Make sure your faculty mentor reviews all
revised versions. Do not assume revisions will be only “cosmetic” or “mechanical.”
Some revision work may require additional research, rigorous rethinking or
substantial reorganization.
4. Prepare your abstract and submit final version of your project to faculty mentor, peer
respondent and Honors Senior Project Coordinator by date stipulated on Honor 353
syllabus (usually around April 1).
5. Prepare your conference presentation and your response to peer’s project
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION AND REMINDERS
1. Except under unusual circumstances, extensions or incomplete grades are not granted
for Honors Senior Projects or Honors Senior Project Seminar. DO NOT PLAN TO
GRADUATE AND THEN COMPLETE YOUR HONORS SENIOR PROJECT
AFTERWARDS ON THE GROUNDS THAT THE PROJECT HOURS ARE
NOT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION. THE GRADUATION WITH
HONORS NOTATION ON YOUR TRANSCRIPT WOULD NO LONGER BE
POSSIBLE.
2. Please allow for appropriate “turn around” time in submitting drafts and revisions to
your faculty mentor. For example, if you submit a first draft for his/her comments on
the day that the professor has received forty term papers from a class, you will
probably have to wait a few days for comments on your work. Please plan
accordingly.
3. THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS STUDENTS ENCOUNTER IN THE
COMPLETION OF THEIR WORK is not the level of difficulty, problems with
obtaining materials, or stressful relations with mentors (although all of these can pose
occasional problems); IT IS, INSTEAD, THE MISJUDGMENT OF TIME
AVAILABLE TO THEM. The time frame for completing the work often goes
askew, and work planned for fall semester doesn’t get done because of other pressing
demands, and the spring semester provides no catch-up time. This is why we
encourage students to try very hard to begin the background reading and basic
research during the summer prior to the senior year.
4. Matters of courtesy: Although it isn’t required, students should provide their mentors
with a bound copy of the completed project. It is also considered good form to say
“thank you” to the persons who help you along the way—especially to your faculty
mentor.
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SECTION II: FOR FACULTY MENTORS
GENERAL OVERVIEW OF MENTOR’S ROLE
The Honors Program owes a great debt to dedicated faculty members who agree to serve
as mentors for students completing the capstone stage of the program: The Honors
Senior Project. Faculty who assume this role will find their professional lives enriched
by a close working relationship with a motivated student pursuing research or creative
activity in an area of keen interest to the faculty member as well. The designers of the
Honors Program anticipate that successful projects not only will help launch the graduate
and professional careers of many students, but also will invigorate the scholarly and
professional development of faculty as well, will enrich their teaching, and thus will
enrich the academic experience of all students whom they teach.
As a trained scholar/teacher in the area of the student’s project, the faculty mentor has the
chief responsibility for maintaining standards of the discipline in which the student is
engaging. We rely on the mentor also to guarantee the honesty and integrity of the
student’s work. In Section I of this Handbook (pp. 2-3), the Honors Program Director
summarized the general expectations for a senior project, in terms of scope, quality and
length, and on p. 4 we addressed the important role of the Faculty Mentor, advising the
student to schedule regular appointments with the mentor for guidance in developing the
project proposal, recommendations for reading, and direction in completing the project,
and in making necessary revisions. Mentors should expect the student to take the
initiative in scheduling these appointments, and should work with the student to
formulate a timeline for each step of the research and writing project and for submitting
first and revised drafts of the final product. If a student consistently fails to meet with his
or her mentor for scheduled appointments, or to meet the agreed upon timeline and
deadlines, the faculty mentor has the right to withdraw from the project.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FACULTY MENTOR:
1. Advising at the Proposal Development stage
During their junior year, Honors students identify their faculty mentor for their Honors
Senior Project. They are advised to seek out a mentor who knows their work, and who is
knowledgeable in areas in which the student wants to work. No faculty member is
obligated to serve as mentor. If they choose not to mentor the project of a student who
approaches them, they may be willing to suggest other faculty who are interested in the
topic area.
A faculty member who agrees to serve as the student’s project mentor oversees the
student’s development of a 2-3 page project proposal, outlining clearly and concisely the
purpose, focus, and parameters of the project. At this early stage, the mentor is most
useful in helping the student identify key sources in the area, and also in helping the
student discover a focus and a scope that is viable and manageable, as well as
academically valuable for the student to pursue. The faculty mentor must sign the project
proposal for it to be approved by the Honors Program. The mentor’s signature guarantees
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that an expert in the field agrees that the project outlined in the proposal is “doable” for a
motivated undergraduate senior, and that the project is valuable enough to be worth doing
and doing well. Senior Project Proposals are presented by students to their Junior Year
Fieldwork Seminar during the final weeks of class during the spring of their junior year,
and faculty mentors are asked to attend the class in which the students they are mentoring
are scheduled to present their proposals.
2. Advising during the Project Development and Completion stages
As soon as possible in the fall of the student’s senior year, the student meets with the
faculty mentor to outline a timetable for executing each phase of the project, from
completing the research through completing the final draft of the final product. The
mentor meets with the student during the fall at intervals spelled out in the timetable in
order to oversee the quality of the research, the student’s progress, and to respond to
drafts and suggest revisions. Towards the end of November, students must present a
Senior Project Progress Report to their Honors Senior Project Seminar (HONOR 352/53).
Faculty mentors must sign this report, and if possible, attend the class meeting when
students with whom they are working present their Progress Report. The mentor’s
signature on the report verifies that the progress described is accurate and consistent with
the timetable agreed upon by the student and mentor. Students who have failed to meet
their timetable goals must work with their mentors to construct a revised timetable that
outlines what the student must accomplish, and by what deadlines, in order to complete
the project by the spring due date. Again, the mentor’s signature is required on the
revised timetable as verification that, with the student’s commitment and dedication, it
realistically can be completed by the spring due date for the finished project (around
April 1). If the mentor and Senior Project Coordinator do not believe sufficient progress
has been made for the student to earn an A or B on the project by the time final drafts are
due in April, they will discourage the student from enrolling in Honor 353 and from
continuing the project.
During the Spring of the senior year, the mentor responds to the student’s initial draft of
the project, and suggests and approves whatever revisions are required to make the
product strong enough to merit an A or B. Completed projects with grades of C or
lower will not satisfy the Honors Senior Project requirement. (Students who receive a
grade of C or lower on their Honors Senior projects still will be awarded credit for all of
the Honors course work they have successfully passed, but they will not receive an
Honors diploma.) Students may seek their mentor’s advice in drafting the abstract
required with the final version of their project, and also advice in summarizing the salient
points of their project for their 15 minute Honors Conference presentation, which the
mentor is encouraged to attend. Finally, following a timetable agreed upon by the mentor
and the Honors Senior Project coordinator, the mentor will submit a grade for and written
assessment of the final project to the Senior Project Coordinator. To verify the grade of A
or B, mentors are asked to sign the project approval form included at the front of the final
draft of the project.
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3. Collaborating with the Honors Senior Project Coordinator
The Honors Senior Project Coordinator teaches Honor 352/53 (Honors Senior Project
Seminar) in which students share and critique each other’s work and report periodically
on their progress, common obstacles and strategies for surmounting them. The Senior
Project Coordinator communicates regularly with the mentors, as a group and
individually as needed. All mentors receive a copy of the Honors Senior Project Seminar
syllabus at the start of each semester; the syllabus includes the timetable for completion
of major milestones in the senior project year. The coordinator may be in contact with
faculty mentors of students who appear to be struggling or falling significantly behind
their timetables and goals. The student’s grade for Honor 352 (fall semester) is based
largely on the Senior project coordinator’s assessment of the student’s progress and
success in meeting timetable goals. The coordinator consults with the mentor about the
Honor 352 grade. The student’s grade for Honor 353 is based largely on the mentor’s
grade for the final project, which the mentor submits to the Honors Senior Project
Coordinator.
4. Advising to expand a senior seminar paper or senior project completed to meet
requirements for the major.
As noted on p. 7, for their Honors Senior Projects, Honors students may choose to expand
work completed for a senior seminar or senior project undertaken to fulfill requirements
in their major. Mentors are expected to help such students discover ways to enlarge or
deepen the scope of their research in order to satisfy the expectations and scope of the
Honors Senior Project. Mentors collaborate with the student and the Honors Senior
Project Seminar Coordinator to help the student design a viable proposal that expands the
project, justifies the awarding of additional course credit, and satisfies the expectations of
the Honors Program.
COMPENSATION
Faculty who mentor Honors Senior Projects are awarded the standard compensation for
Independent Studies. If any single faculty member is mentoring related senior projects
for a large enough group of Honors students, it is possible to turn that group into a
research or senior seminar class, which would count as part of the faculty member’s
teaching load.
OTHER REWARDS
Although directing undergraduate research may involve frustrations as well as
challenges, most faculty report tremendous satisfaction in helping students develop into
independent thinkers engaged in synthesis, discovery and creation within their chosen
disciplines. This is the primary pedagogic outcome of the Honors Program at Saint
Xavier, and senior project mentors engage themselves in the most intense, sustained and
exciting consummation of this process. We cannot emphasize strongly enough that the
process must be initiated and fueled by the student’s own initiative, excitement and self
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discipline. The mentor should not function as the student’s sole “taskmaster” or
“inspiration” throughout the research and writing process.
TIPS FOR HONORS SENIOR PROJECT MENTORS
1. Keep an up-to-date edition of this handbook in your office for ready consultation.
2. Be wary of taking on a student as a favor if you are uncomfortable with your interest
level or expertise in the student’s area of interest.
3. Let the student know that you take the process very seriously, will be putting in a
good deal of effort and therefore expect a strong commitment of time and effort on
the student’s part. Help the student be realistic about the nature of the work. Supply
justified encouragement to competent students who sometimes lack confidence in
their ability to succeed in an extended research or creative undertaking.
4. Discuss with the student what it means to be a scholar or creative artist. In the
project, the student is shifting from being a student to becoming a scholar or artist,
from being a consumer of knowledge to becoming a producer of knowledge, from
performing assignments and exercises to developing and completing an individually
determined project. The students will spend months researching literature, working
on an experiment, or designing creative work. It may take considerable time just to
determine the final topic or direction of the work. But serious dialogue and
questioning in the initial stages almost always “pays off” in the end, as student efforts
are energized by clarity of focus and a stronger sense of purpose in their endeavors.
5. Spend a good amount of time helping the student develop the research design or plan
for creative work, much of this determined even before the proposal is submitted so
that it can be explained there. Although this process is frustrating and time
consuming, students must have a very clear idea of what they are going to do and
how they are going to do it.
6. Meet with the student regularly—at least every two weeks. Never let the student
leave your office without setting a specific date for the next meeting and specific
tasks to accomplish by that time. E-mail dialogue should help maintain contact. The
Senior Project Coordinator periodically asks students to provide an update of their
meetings with mentors.
7. Be flexible. Even the most industrious students cannot always meet the deadlines
they or you set. Be realistic in your expectations for undergraduate research.
This is not a masters thesis; these students have not taken masters level course work
in research methods and design, and at the outset, they are not yet familiar with the
key scholarship in the areas they are pursuing. Also, they are taking 12 other hours
of course work each semester of their senior year. One of your key roles will be to
help fill in the gaps in their understanding of their subject area and to direct them to
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the most useful sources (or to instruct them in how to find those sources on their
own.)
8. Keep careful notes. It is easy to lose track of what is going on with a project. A log
of conversations with the student is ideal for monitoring progress and recollecting
issues you have covered and deadlines and suggestions you have given.
9. Consider involving students in your own research. You may enjoy the project more,
you’ll do a better job of directing the project, and you may benefit in developing your
own expertise. Just be sure to give credit for any share the student has in your work.
10. Give the student a large measure of initiative, independence and responsibility. At
the same time, be constantly ready to offer suggestions and answers to questions.
11. Consider taking the student to a professional meeting and, in some cases, helping the
student prepare for conference presentation or publication in forums which feature
undergraduate research.
12. Enjoy! The students are interesting, and you will develop a fruitful relationship.
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SECTION III: APPENDIX
APPENDIX
Senior Honors Project Proposal Form
Sample Proposals
Mid-Year Progress Report Format
Sample Mid-Year Progress Reports
Sample Abstracts
Sample Title Page
Approval Page
Planning Sheet
Honors Senior Project Topics, Class of 2003-2010
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A-1
A-2
A-3
A-4
A-5
A-6
A-7
A-8
A-9
A-1: Senior Honors Project Proposal Form
Date: _______________
1. Name:
_______________________________________________
2. Local Address:
_________________________________________
Phone:
________________________________________________
E-mail:
________________________________________________
3. Major(s): _______________________________________________
4. Project Proposal
a. Title
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
b. Description
(Please attach your 1-3 page proposal and submit with this cover form; indicate in
your proposal if this project is an expansion of work completed for a senior
seminar or senior project in your major)
5. Faculty Mentor Approval
I agree to direct the Honors project described above.
___________________________________________________________________
Signature
Title
Department
Date
6. Second Mentor Approval (if required by the Project)
___________________________________________________________________
Signature
Title
Department
Date
7. Honors Program Director Approval
Signature
Date
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A-2: SAMPLE PROPOSALS
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A-3: Mid-Year Progress Report Format
Name of Student: ___________________________
Project Title: ___________________________________________________
Student’s Signature: ________________________________________
Faculty Mentor’s Signature: I have read this report and agree that it is an accurate
description of the progress made so far on this project:
_____________________________________________
Mentor’s Signature
Date
(Mid-year progress reports will be presented orally in your Honor 352 class and should
also be turned into the Honors Senior Project Coordinator who teaches the course. Your
mentor should be present for your report and should sign above before your report is
turned in.)
Attach to this form a 2-3 page report that briefly summarizes the stages of your research
or creative project that you have completed or are in the process of completing. Refer to
key findings or “discoveries,” explain any ways in which the project has evolved or
changed since your initial proposal, and mention the problems you have encountered and
how you have solved them. Explain what you plan to do next and your timeline, goals
and deadlines for next semester.
Also attach an annotated bibliography that lists six to ten sources that you have found
most relevant and useful. Write a note for each summarizing it briefly and explaining
how it is related to what you are doing. (This requirement may be adapted for students
doing creative or laboratory projects. See your Honors Senior Project Coordinator if your
project is not consistent with the creation of an annotated bibliography at this point.)
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A-4
SAMPLE MID-YEAR PROGRESS
REPORTS
21
A-5
SAMPLE ABSTRACTS
22
A-6: Sample Title Page
Saint Xavier University
Project Title (Full Title)
Honors Project
Submitted
In Partial Fulfillment
of the
Requirements of HONOR 352/53
and for Graduation with Honors
Spring 2004
By
Your Name
Mentor
Dr. (Mentor’s Name)
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A-7: Approval Page
Thesis written by
Student’s Name
Approved by
________________________________________________, Mentor
Accepted by
__________________________________________, Honors Program Director
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A-8: Planning Sheet
To assist you in planing, we have provided space below for you to write in
names/deadlines/phone/e-mail numbers, etc. as you complete your Honors Project.
Project mentor ____________________________ Phone/e-mail _______________.
Date Final Draft is due to mentor ________________
Date Final Draft is due to respondent _________________
Date of Conference Presentation
______________
Check list for review:
___ 1. Select mentor
___ 2. Select topic and write proposal
___ 3. Get mentor to sign proposal
___ 4. Present Proposal to Fieldwork class and submit copy signed by mentor for
Honors Program approval
___ 5. Draft Progress Report during fall of senior year
___ 6. Get mentor to sign progress report
___ 7. Present Progress Report to Senior Project class in November of senior year
___ 8. Submit copy of Progress Report signed by mentor to Honors Senior Project
Coordinator
___ 9. After completing necessary revisions suggested by mentor, Honors Fieldwork
Coordinator and peer readers, submit final draft of project to respondent and
mentor by due dates
___ 10. Prepare 15 minute conference presentation of your project
___ 11. Prepare your response to peer’s project which you are reviewing
___ 12. Present your project at Honors Conference, and respond to peer’s project
___ 13. Submit bound copy of final draft signed by mentor to Honors Senior Project
Coordinator for archiving in the Honors Program Library
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A-9
Honors Senior Project Topics
Class 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
This appendix includes a list of all Honors students’ topics from the class of 2003 to
the class of 2012. Copies of the projects are available from Dr. Hiltner, and some
are archived in the Honors Program Room as well.
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