Section M - The Honors College

Palm Beach State Honors College Mission

In keeping with the mission of Palm Beach State, the purpose of the Honors College is to provide a challenging and supportive academic environment in which students are encouraged to think critically, demonstrate leadership, and develop ethical standards. Honors pursues an interactive learning experience where students acquire a creative and comprehensive understanding of concepts in an interdisciplinary and global context. Palm Beach State honors students and faculty share a commitment and civic responsibility that extends beyond the classroom to local, national, and international communities.

Honors College Program Outcomes

Honors College students at Palm Beach State College will:

• Demonstrate breadth and depth of knowledge in the arts, humanities, mathematics, and the natural and social sciences. (Scholarship)
• Apply the required skills to formulate reasoned decisions and informed judgments. (Critical Thinking)
• Communicate an understanding of cultural competency and evaluate ethical issues from multiple perspectives. (Global Awareness)
• Demonstrate scholarly research and information literacy skills to apply critical insight of current knowledge in designing and creating a well-informed, intellectual research project. (Research)
• Construct, support, and communicate complex ideas and arguments in speech, writing, and emerging media. (Communication)
• Prepare for community and civic engagement through leadership participation in campus life and in communities at-large in support of the College’s mission, vision, and values. (Civic Engagement & Leadership)

Academic Policies for Honors College

The following academic policies govern student admission, retention, and graduation within the Honors College at Palm Beach State.

1. Admissions Policy:
   1. Students wishing to be admitted to the Palm Beach State Honors College must complete an Honors College Application or be invited to join.
   2. Students with less than nine (9) credit hours of college coursework must hold an unweighted 3.5 high school GPA and have college ready test scores or meet the following test scores for admissions:
      1. SAT combined score of 1170 (verbal and math)
      2. ACT average score of 24 (English, math, and reading)
      3. College Ready Pert Scores
         1. Students with at least nine (9) credit hours of college coursework must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or greater but no more than 42 college credits hours.
         2. Transcripts that are older than five (5) years will not be used to determine honors eligibility.
2. Provisional Honors Student:

   A student who meets the honors college eligibility requirements and does not yet wish to enter the honors college may take honors course for a semester only as a provisional student with permission from the Honors College Manager. After the term ends, students who wish to continue will need to apply to the Honors College to be fully accepted.

3. Retention Policy: Grade point averages (GPA) are reviewed every semester. Academic standing in the Honors College will be determined based on the following criteria:
   1. 3.4 and above = “In Good Standing”: To remain “in good standing,” an honors student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.4.
      1. Students should note that the maintenance GPA is lower than the admission GPA. The reason for this is because the Honors College does not want to discourage students from taking challenging courses for fear that their GPAs will drop below 3.5. Risk-taking in intellectual ventures should be fostered.
      2. While maintenance GPA is 3.4, students should remember that the graduation GPA remains at 3.5. Any student whose GPA is below 3.5 will not be eligible for graduation in the Honors College.
   2. 3.0 – 3.39 = “Not in Good Standing”: An honors student whose cumulative GPA falls below 3.5 but is at least 3.39 will be retained in the program as an honors student “not in good standing” for a semester.
      1. Honors students will have one semester to raise their GPA to a current 3.4 and may be dismissed from the honors college.
      2. Honors students who are not in good standing will remain honors students and will be able to register early. However, students who are not in good standing cannot enter into honors contracts.
      3. Students who are not in good standing will not be eligible for Palm Beach State honors scholarships and will not be recommended for transfer scholarships.
      4. Honors students who are not in good standing may not represent Palm Beach State at honors conferences.
      5. An honors student who is not in good standing shall retain status as an honors student even if his/her cumulative GPA is below 3.5 so long as his/her term GPA is at least 3.5 for each subsequent semester at Palm Beach State.
      6. The loss of good standing in the Honors College is not intended as a punishment; it is a precautionary measure so that a student may focus attention on raising his/her GPA and returning to good standing in the program.
   3. Below 3.3 = Academic Ineligibility: An honors student whose cumulative GPA falls and does not return to a 3.4 after a semester or falls below 3.0 will be academically ineligible to continue in the Honors College. Student will be notified via email of their dismissal. The student will be encouraged to reapply once his/her cumulative GPA is at least 3.5.
4. Graduation Policy: There are two tracks to Honors Graduation:
   1. Honors Silver: Students who satisfy the following requirements will be eligible for the Honors Silver:
      1. Complete 12 credit hours honors work consisting of at least two (2) honors courses. No more than six (6) credit hours can be in honorized classes.
      2. Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5;
      3. Earn at least a “B” in each honors class or honorized class.
      4. Earn at least 20 points on the Honors Points System,
   2. Honors Gold: Students who satisfy the following requirements will be eligible for the Honors Gold:
      1. Complete 21 total credit hours of honors work, of which
         1. Three (3) credit hours must be IDH2105, “Knowledge Through the Ages”;
         2. No more than six (6) credit hours can be in honors classes.
      2. Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5;
      3. Earn at least a “B” in each honors class or honorized class;
      4. Earn at least 40 points on the Honors Points System
   3. Purpose /scope of tracks: The Honors Silver track provides flexibility for students who want the honors experience but who may not be able to complete the requirements of the Honors Gold track. The Honors Gold track is intended for students who want a more intense honors experience and is especially recommended for students who plan to transfer to an upper-division Honors College or Honors Program.

Documents:

All documents can be found in the Honors College Web page- www.pbsc.edu/honorscollege

Appeals: A student may appeal any decision concerning admission to, retention in, or graduation from the Honors College. Appeals must be in the form of a letter addressed to the Palm Beach State Honors Advisory Council; the letter should explicitly address any mitigating considerations. In addition, the student is encouraged to attach relevant documents supporting his/her case. Appeals should be filed with the Honors College Manager within 30 days of the initial decision. The Honors College Manager will arrange for the appeal to be heard by the Honors Advisory Council during the next regularly scheduled meeting. If necessary, an electronic voting system will be used to decide matters of appeal.

Honors Courses – Policies

General Guidelines

The distinction between an honors course and a non-honors course is qualitative, not quantitative. An honors class is not more work; it is different work. In teaching and developing honors classes, creativity is the measure. Inspiring creativity in students begins by thinking creatively about materials, approaches, techniques, and evaluation.

Honors Course Development Guidelines

No course may be developed as an honors course without the approval of the Palm Beach State Curriculum Committee and Honors Advisory Council. Honors courses should adhere to the following requirements and recommendations.

1. Requirements: Every honors course must:
   1. Address and integrate the goals of the Honors College mission and the Honors College Program Learning Outcomes into course instruction;
   2. Emphasize individual interpretation and analysis;
   3. Encourage creative and critical thinking;
   4. Examine questions from an interdisciplinary context;
   5. Delve more in-depth into the subject matter than the non-honors course version; honors courses should introduce students to the theoretical disputes and historical development of the discipline;
   6. Foster the ability to analyze and synthesize a broad range of materials and concepts;
   7. Stress the importance of effective oral and written communication skills;
   8. Promote teamwork and collaboration;
   9. Acquaint students with discipline-specific research skills;
   10. Encourage students to become active, self-motivated thinkers who will take greater responsibility for their own learning.
2. Recommendations: Honors courses may:
   1. Incorporate different instructional materials other than the non-honors version; primary source materials (i.e., literature, works of art, official documents, film, diaries, statistical data, etc.) are preferred over textbooks; scholarly journals should be used where appropriate;
   2. Be conducted in a seminar-style classroom setting, with an emphasis on discussion;
   3. Apply theories to real-world situations; the social, cultural, and political context of classroom activities and course material should be considered whenever possible;
   4. Promote learning outside of the formal classroom;
   5. Provide opportunities for publication, public presentation, and peer review of student work;

Honors Course Development Procedures

Faculty wishing to develop an honors course should follow the procedural path outlined below.

1. A Palm Beach State faculty member will present a request to the Honors Advisory Council for a specific course to be developed as an honors course. If it is decided that the course fits into the honors curriculum and fulfills goals and priorities set for the program, approval for course development will be given.
2. The Palm Beach State faculty member will take the proposal to the discipline cluster and resolve all issues related to the honors version of the course.
3. Once the cluster has affirmatively voted on the course proposal, the matter will return to the Honors Advisory Council. Only that portion of the proposal which deals with honors pedagogy will be considered. After discussion, the Honors Advisory Council will vote on the proposal.
4. Once approved by the Honors Advisory Council, the course will go to Curriculum Committee. Both votes – from cluster and the Board – will be reported to the Curriculum Committee.

Scheduling/Staffing of Honors Classes

To maintain the integrity of the Honors College, all honors classes will be scheduled by each campus with the guidance of the Honors College Manager/Honors Faculty Liaison. Honors courses may not be scheduled for any other program without the Honors College Manager's knowledge and agreement. All honors courses will be staffed by full time faculty who are certified to teach honors courses. Honors-certified instructors are faculty who have successfully completed the CTLE Honors Certification Development Program or who taught at least one honors course within the past three (3) years. Honors College Faculty Liaisons will work with deans to coordinate classes to ensure courses do not conflict with each other and that a balanced distribution of honors courses are offered across the various disciplines and campuses.

Cancelation/Conversion of Honors Classes

Honors classes should not be canceled without consulting the Honors College Manager and/or the Dean of Curriculum. Where low enrollment necessitates the conversion of an honors course into a non-honors course, the honors section (and corresponding reference number) must be canceled and a new course and reference number generated. Otherwise, notational markers will remain on student records.

Special Note Concerning Canceled Classes

Any honors student –

• who is registered in an honors class before it is canceled and
• who reregisters for the non-honors version of the same class with the same professor at the same time and
• who satisfactorily completes an honors project in the class will earn credit for having completed an honors class for the purposes of the Honors Gold track.

Class Size

Honors classes at Palm Beach State are intended to simulate a graduate seminar environment and create a close-knit intellectual group. Accordingly, the maximum size for honors classes is set at 15 students per class. The minimum size for honors classes is 6 students per class.

E-Learning/Pure Internet Honors Courses

Honors classes at Palm Beach State are intended to simulate a graduate seminar environment and create a close-knit intellectual group. Accordingly, honors courses may not be offered via e-learning or as pure Internet. Honors courses may be offered as hybrid classes.

Honors Faculty

While honors faculty should reflect the make-up of the faculty at the college, they must exemplify excellence in the classroom and motivate the students to do the same. Honors faculty will:

1. Include the Honors Program Learning Outcomes in their course syllabus.
2. Allow their passion for their individual disciplines to shine through in their teaching;
3. Embrace teaching strategies that empower students to take ownership of course material and approach questions from interdisciplinary perspectives;
4. Maintain a record of substantive and continued scholarly achievement and campus enrichment;
5. Encourage students to learn independently from direct sources of knowledge, such as laboratory experiences, original documents and other primary sources, data collections, service learning opportunities, etc.;
6. Enhance the critical and creative thinking skills of their students;
7. Promote the active and interactive learning of their students through such techniques as coaching, mentoring, inquiry-based methods, supervised independent projects, and service learning;
8. Provide thorough, frequent, and constructive assessment of students’ written and oral work;
9. Be willing to involve students in their own research, scholarship, or creative activities;
10. Be widely available to students outside of class time and posted office hours for mentoring, conversation, guidance, and the general enhancement of the students’ academic experience and personal development;
11. Demonstrate a strong and ongoing commitment to promote excellence in honors education, being fully aware of the Honors College mission and helping to evolve the philosophy of the program as needed;
12. Be active and dedicated advocates of the Honors College on campus and off; this includes attending honors events, being willing to serve on the Honors Advisory writing letters of recommendation for honors students, attending honors conferences, recruiting new honors students, working with student groups, etc.

Grading in Honors Courses

Intellectual risk-taking is a foremost value in honors education. Faculty should be sensitive to the ways that course evaluation thwarts experimentation and risk-taking. For this reason, course evaluation should be based on methods and measures that accurately assess creativity, imagination, and critical thinking. Mastery of course objectives should be stressed over accumulation of points and percentages. In this sense, a certain ‘artfulness’ comes to bear in assigning grades.

Beyond this, grading in honors classes should not force students into competition with one another for a limited number of “A” grades. In determining grades, faculty should compare the honors student to all students at the same level, not simply to honors students in isolation. At the same time, faculty must completely evaluate the student’s command of course material. Where course expectations are not met, there should be no hesitation to award a low grade.

Honors Project Contracts – Policies and Guidelines

Honors credit may be earned in any regular credit class at Palm Beach State through a process called “honorization.” The student and instructor enter into a contract that details the work that will be done in the class. When the terms of the contract are fulfilled, the honors credit is earned. A minimum grade of ‘B’ in the course is also required for awarding honors credit.

The work designated as honors must be over and above what is done in the regular course. Honors work should build upon techniques and methodologies taught in the course; however, the material and research should go beyond normal course instruction. For example, a student in “English Literature After 1800” might write a paper about a Yeats poem not covered in class. Or, a student in “Earth Science” might write a paper on the El Niño effect.

Honors Project Contract Process:

The process for “honorizing” a course through an Honors Project Contract is:

1. The student who wishes to do honors work approaches the instructor and asks if the instructor would be willing to oversee an Honors Project.
2. If the instructor agrees, the student and faculty member work together to define what the topic of the Honors Project will be and what model it will follow. The Honors College has established seven different models for Honors Projects:
   1. Traditional Research Paper
   2. Interview Model
   3. Web Page Model
   4. Teaching Model
   5. Product Creation Model
   6. Rhetorical Analysis Model
   7. Service-Learning Model
3. The general guidelines for all projects, regardless of model, are that they must:
   1. Be from 2,000 to 5,000 words,
   2. Include a cover page,
   3. Include a works cited or References page with documentation and citation in the body of the paper of all references listed (the number of references is dependent upon which model is followed),
   4. Use either Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychology Association (APA) style format (instructor's choice),
   5. Be error-free and presented in 12-point font.
4. Once the details are agreed upon, the student and instructor complete an honors contract with contact information, course information, and project information, including a tentative title, the model type, a description of the project, and an instructor’s statement that explains how the Honors Project exceeds the normal expectations of the course.
5. In the section titled “Signatures of Contract Agreement,” the student and instructor sign the contract.
6. At this point, the contract should be forwarded to the Associate Dean who will sign the contract and forward it to the Honors College (MS #29).
7. When the contract reaches the Honors College, it will be reviewed to verify that the student is eligible to do honors work. If the contract is approved, the Honors College Manager will sign the contract and notify the student and the instructor to proceed with the project.
8. As the term progresses, the student and instructor should meet regularly to discuss research and other matters relating to the project. At a minimum, three meetings should be scheduled to guarantee adequate oversight.
9. As the project nears completion, a mandatory poster session presentation will be required to complete the project.
10. Completed projects should be reviewed closely by the instructor for quality, grammar, and correct citation.
11. Once approved, the instructor signs the contract under “Signatures of Project Approval.”
12. The contract and project will then be submitted to the Honors College for review and processing.
13. The contract is deemed fulfilled; honors credit is granted; and an honors notation is added to the course on the student’s transcript.

Ex-Post Facto Contracts/Late Projects

Students may not begin the honorization process for a course after completion of the term. Deadlines for project submission are established at the beginning of each term. These deadlines should be adhered to as closely as possible. Under no circumstance will projects be accepted after the deadline unless special circumstances outside the control of the student.

Use of Copyrighted and Other Restricted Material

The use of copyrighted material must not exceed “fair use” standards established by the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. § 107-118. All copyrighted material, including direct quotes, photographs, lyrics, etc., must be properly cited. In addition, written permission from subjects must be obtained to publish photographs.

For further reference, please consult http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107.

Summer Term Honors Projects

Honors students may honorize one course during the 12-week summer term.

Faculty Payment

Each instructor who oversees an Honors Project Contract to completion will earn a $125 payment per contract.

Faculty Contract Limits Per Term

To ensure adequate mentoring, faculty are limited to overseeing ten (10) Honors Project Contracts per academic year.

Faculty Responsibility in Honors Project Contracts

The instructor is the most important link in the project chain. In the end, it is the faculty member who will determine if the submitted work is worthy of honors credit. As far as specifics go, faculty responsibility in the Honors Project Contract process is multi-faceted:

Syllabus

An instructor who is willing to do honors work with students is encouraged to put a note on his/her syllabus indicating this. The note might also refer the student to the Honors College Web page for more information.

Rejecting Honors Project Requests

The Honors Project process is collaborative and time-intensive. There are many valid reasons why an instructor may decide to deny a student‘s request to do honors work. Honors students are encouraged to be polite in entreaty and to accept “no” gracefully.

The Integrity of the Honors Project Process

Faculty are the guardians of the Honors Project process. From conception to completion, honors research should be original and closely supervised. Where recycling of prior work is suspected, instructors are urged to either cancel the project or take appropriate corrective measures. It is for this reason, also, that an honors project may not be based on the augmentation of regular coursework. Because the project process is intended to take the student into specific extra-curricular research, a longer or more research-intensive version of a course assignment unfortunately does not qualify for honors credit.

“Grading” Honors Projects

Technically, the honors project does not receive a grade. In terms of meriting honors credit, the project should be thought of as earning either a pass or a fail; that is to say, either the project is worthy of honors credit or it is not. When an instructor signs an honors contract indicating successful completion of the project, he/she affirms the following: “I certify that the above-named student has satisfactorily completed the Honors Contract in this course according to the standards of Honors.” The grade request on the contract form is for the final course grade. If this is not known at the time of project submission, please leave that blank.

If the faculty member deems that the submitted work is not honors level, then the contract should be regarded as not fulfilled and, therefore, not signed. The unsigned contract and the project should be submitted to the Honors College (MS #29) for filing. Pay/grade forms cannot be processed for unapproved projects unless the project is received in the Honors College.

Unfinished Honors Projects Contracts

About twenty to twenty-five percent of all signed Honors Projects Contracts are never completed. Understandably, there are various and predictable reasons for this. Instructors who know that an Honors Project Contract will, for whatever reason, not be finished should contact the Honors College Manager so that a note can be put in the database. Beyond this, instructors are urged not to hold the non-completion of an Honors Project Contract against a student in the calculation of the course grade. Honors work is superadded to regular course requirements. Thus, failure to complete Honors work should not be construed negatively.

Faculty Stipend

Projects forwarded to the Honors College that are either too short (less than 2000 words), that do not have the minimum number of secondary sources, that lack proper documentation, or that fail to comply with all published guidelines will be regarded as inadequately supervised. For this reason, the faculty stipend will not be processed for these projects.

The Associate Dean’s Responsibility in Honors Project Contracts

Because a payment is processed along with the project, the Associate Dean plays a key role in the Honors Project Contract process. During the contract approval process, the Associate Dean should review the contract from the instructional vantage. Will adequate oversight be offered to the student? Any doubts should be addressed and resolved at this point; if these concerns cannot be allayed, the contract should not be approved.

The Honors College Manager’s Review in the Honors Project Process

The Honors College Director will review submitted projects to verify that they are of the required length, that they follow the chosen model guidelines, that citations are formatted correctly, and that they comply with all published requirement. Projects that fail to meet honors standards are returned for revision. The Honors College Manager will also read all projects with an eye towards possible inclusion on the Honors College Web page, for submission to Sabiduria, for consideration in the Portz Scholars competition, and for other various types of exemplary recognition.

Sabiduria

Each academic year, honors students will be invited to submit research papers and other items (poems, photography) for inclusion in the Sabiduria publication. The deadline for submission will be a date in the Fall semester determined by the Honors College Manager. Selected items will be published in a document to be submitted no later than the end of the academic year to the Faculty Advisor for Sabiduria and/or Honors College Manager for final review. The document will be produced in Word or Microsoft Publishing and posted to the Web, and a limited print run will be made.

Honors Councils/Travel Policy

Palm Beach State belongs to three Honors Councils: The National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), the Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC), and the Florida Collegiate Honors Council (FCHC). Each of these organizations holds an annual conference. The NCHC annual conference is in the fall of each year, late October/early November. The FCHC conference is held in the spring of each year, usually in February. Typically, the SRHC conference is in March or April. Past program budgets have provided enough funding for four faculty/staff and four students to travel to each of these conferences. Selection of attendees is made by the Honors Advisory. Travel arrangements are made by Academic Services. Travel policies are established by District; strict adherence to Board policy is mandated.

Honors Co-Curricular Activities

The Honors College Co-Curricular Activities is designed to encourage active participation in the Honors community, in the Palm Beach State College community, and in the national, local, and international communities to which we belong. Students pursuing the Honors Gold or Silver track are expected to earn minimum number of points. Such points include: Honors, Civic Engagement, Cultural, Leadership and Scholarly.

Honors Scholarships

The Honors College administers three scholarships: the Presidential Honors College Scholarship, the Honors College Merit Award, and the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College Scholarship.

Presidential Honors College Scholars

This scholarship is available once each year to recent Palm Beach County high school graduates. To be eligible to apply, the student must apply within the deadline through the financial aid department. Students who are awarded such scholarship will receive $6,000.00 per year. To maintain the scholarship student will need to:

• Seek the Honors Gold track and maintain a 3.5 GPA each semester
• Register for one semester in Honors SOW1051LR Community Based Learning
• Continuous full-time enrollment
• Successful completion of 24 credit hours per academic year (fall and spring terms only)

Honors College Merit Award and Honors College Scholarship

These scholarships are available twice each year, once in the fall and once in the spring. The amount of the award is $500.00. To be eligible, an honors student must:

1. Have successfully completed two honors course or Honors Project Contract during the semester of application and be currently enrolled in an honors course;
2. Be a full-time student (enrolled in at least 12 hours);
3. Maintain a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA; and
4. Submit the application by the deadline.
5. Seek the Honors Gold track

Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College Scholarship

This scholarship is available twice each year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Each graduate within the semester will be considered.

Transfer Scholarships/State College Honors Scholarships

The Honors College plays a vital role in the application process when an honors student applies for a State College Honors Scholarships at one of the state universities. However, these scholarships are administered by the separate universities; no guarantee about the availability of these scholarships should be made to Palm Beach State honors students.

Honors Advisory Council

The Honors Advisory Council is composed of faculty, staff, faculty honors liaisons, the Honors College Faculty Coordinator, one administrator, and the Honors College Manager. The Council meets monthly during the Fall and Spring semesters. Dates are established at the beginning of each term; committee members and relevant administrators should be notified well in advance of meetings. A published agenda should be distributed at least two days prior to each meeting. Minutes will be distributed and posted online.

Honors Student Advisory Council

The Honors Student Advisory Committee serves as a liaison to the college-wide advisory Council, representing the needs and concerns of honors students to the Palm Beach State administration.  Comprised of interested honors students committed to regular attendance and improving the quality of the program, the committee meets monthly each term.  A President, Vice-President, and Secretary will be selected from the membership.  One representative will be chosen to serve on the Honors Advisory Council.

Honors College Procedures

Applications

Honors applicants are reviewed to see if they meet eligibility requirements. Applicants who are not eligible are reviewed by the Honors College Manager and may be admitted provisionally for one term. If a student is accepted into the program, an honors designator is put on the student’s record: HC. The HC will allow the student to receive early registration and be designated as an honor student when registering for courses. Students without the HC designator are not able to register for honors courses unless there is a schedule override. The PantherNet path for adding designators to the student’s record is: ST AD AP SP. After the student designators are added, contact information and relevant academic data are entered into the honors database. The student is then notified of acceptance/non-acceptance into the program.

Monitoring Student Progress

At the end of each term when grades are posted, a status report for all students with the HC designator should be requested from the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness. The report should show GPA, current hours, last term attended, and whether the student has graduated from any program.

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.pbsc.edu/honorscollege. 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.

Honors Calendar

Each term, the Honors College Manager should establish the following due dates:

Honors Code of Ethics

The Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College at Palm Beach State College is a community of scholars founded on honesty and mutual respect. Members are expected to exemplify the highest standards of honor and academic integrity. Honors students are expected to adhere to the Palm Beach State College Student Code of Conduct which is found in the Palm Beach State College Handbook. Honors students in violation of the Student Code of Conduct may be subject to dismissal from the Honors College upon recommendation of the Honors Advisory Council to the appropriate Dean responsible for the Honors College. Students who appeal a decision for dismissal from the Honors College must follow the appeal process as indicated in the Palm Beach State College Handbook. Additionally, Honors students may be dismissed from the Honors College upon recommendation of the Honors Advisory Council for any actions, whether on-campus or off-campus, deemed to be contrary to the values of the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College. Student appeals to such a dismissal must be submitted in writing to the Honors Advisory Council which will consider the appeal and make its recommendation the appropriate Dean responsible for the Honors College.

Honors Councils

Institutional membership dues are billed annually. Palm Beach State also subscribes to two publications published by NCHC: The Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council and Honors in Practice. Subscription fees for these journals are billed with the annual dues and are paid out of the College’s institutional membership budget.

Honors- Academic Affairs Budget

Operational and staff budgets provide resources to the Honors College for recruitment, faculty travel, and any other needs for the Honors suite.

Honors Student Activities Budget

Honors student activities are funded from the District Student Activities account (org. # 25100000-200020-94). The Student Activities budget provides funding for student travel, honors graduation reception, poster sessions, and any other student activities (e.g., PantherFest, information sessions, etc.). Program-related food expenses must come out of the Student Activities budget. Budget requests should be prepared and submitted each spring to Student Activities District Funding Committee.

Panther’s Closet

Panther's Closet is run by Honors College students. Honors credit is awarded to students who enroll in this community-based learning course that teaches key entrepreneurial skills in management, sales and teambuilding. Panther’s Closet is overseen by the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College.

Marketing of the Honors College

Marketing of the Honors College includes but is not limited to:

Honors Fliers

When classes are finalized for the upcoming term, fliers that list Honors classes should be printed and distributed. These should be distributed to faculty, associate deans, and advising offices.

Email blasts and Text Messages

Before registration opens, current honors students and potential honors students should be emailed information on classes and other college news, with emphasis on recruiting new students to the program.

Honors College Web Page

The Web page should be checked regularly for broken links. Periodic update should occur as well. Specifically, the calendar page should be updated as soon as dates for the term are decided. Additionally, new course information should be added to the “Honors Classes” as soon as classes are finalized. Further, any change in program policies and procedures should be noted on the Web page.