Honors College Procedures

Grade Point Average

A student’s standing in the program will be determined by the established Academic Policies. A student who is “not in good standing” or who becomes academically ineligible will be notified. The HC designator should be end-termed for students who are academically ineligible for the program.

Completion of Degree

Many students graduate but do not fulfill the requirements of the Honors College. These students must be maintained in an orderly fashion as well. For every student who has graduated:

1. Record graduation in the Honors database, noting term of graduation and whether or not the student graduated with Honors;
2. Change status in the database from “current” to “not current”;
3. End-term the HC designator; and
4. Send an e-mail congratulating the student on graduation and notifying the student the designators have been removed. Graduated students wishing to continue in honors classes should contact the Honors College.

Non-active students:

Students who have not taken an honors course or project at least once an academic year should be end-termed as honors students. Follow similar procedures for graduated students. Non-active students wishing to continue in the Honors College should contact the Honors College.

If these procedures are followed, the records on PantherNet should always yield an accurate account of the number of active Honors students.

Honors Graduation

A student who fulfills all of the requirements for Honors Graduation will have “Honors Graduate” noted on his/her transcript. A separate application must be completed for Honors Graduation. At least a month before commencement, the entire list of students planning to graduate with Honors should be sent to the graduation office so that “Honors College Graduate” may be noted in the commencement bulletin and on the name card that will be read at graduation. After the term is complete, the transcripts of those who applied for graduation should be checked. For each student, verify that the student completed the requirements for either the Honors Silver or Honors Gold. Students admitted to the program under the “Five Year Rule” must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 for all non-exempt coursework. Once the final list of honors graduates is verified, send the list to the graduation office requesting that “Honors College” be added to the graduation notes of each student.

Procedure for Scheduling Honors Courses

In scheduling Honors courses, the course designators H2 and HC should be added to each class. The Honors College Manager and Faculty Liaisons should double-check each term that the class information is correct on PantherNet.

PantherNet Path: ST CU CC MC

For each Honors class make sure that:

1. The Honors designators (H2 and HC) are on each Honors class;
2. “Honors” (or an abbreviation) is in the title;
3. The maximum class size is set at 15; and
4. The schedule note reads: “Honors Class: Students must be admitted to the Honors College to register. To apply, visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/honors. For more information, e-mail honors@palmbeachstate.edu or call 561-868-3895.

A general class query should also be run (ST CU QC QC) to make sure there are no non-honors classes with honors designators. In particular, remove the H1 or H3 designators from all classes, as these will erroneously show as honors classes when a student runs a PantherWeb search. The H3 designator (Honors Projects Option) will be placed on the class later to facilitate students who are doing projects; however, it does not need to be on the course during the registration period. The H1 designator is defunct and no longer in use.

Honors Project Contracts

Once the project is complete and approved by the instructor, the associate dean, and the Honors College Manager, the honors notation should be added to the student’s transcript. Procedures for adding honors notation to a student’s transcript:

1. First, verify the student earned at least a “B” in the course. If the student did not earn at least a “B,” honors credit cannot be granted. A notification letter should be sent to the student as soon as possible. The student may, if he or she chooses, pursue a grade appeal in the course. Ex post facto policy notwithstanding, the project will be kept open until the student’s appeal rights are exhausted.
2. Second, contact the registrar’s department to add the Honors Project Option designator (H3) should be added to the class. The PantherNet path for this is: ST CU CC MR. Enter reference number and set the maximum honors size depending on how many students completed Honors Projects in the class. Hit F11 and enter action “M” to add the H3 designator to the course. If you receive a message that says “invalid option,” it may have to be added to the course dictionary.
3. Third, the honors designator must be added to the student's class schedule. The PantherNet path for this is ST RG RG. Enter the Student ID and choose the term. This brings up the student’s schedule. In the far left column type “A”; in the third column (*Opt) type “H.” Hit enter.
4. After the above steps have been completed, notify the registrar’s office so the “Honors” notation can be added to the transcript. You will need to provide Student ID, term, course number, and reference number for the course in which the Honors Project Contract was completed. For ease of processing, the entire list for the term should be sent at one time and not piecemeal.
5. Last, congratulatory letters or emails should be sent to students.