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.
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 HONORS Cohort designator should be end-termed for students who are academically ineligible for the program and updated in the Honors College Database.
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:
- Record graduation in the Honors database, noting term of graduation and whether or not the student graduated with Honors;
- Change status in the database from “current” to “not current”;
- End-term the HONORS Cohort designator in Workday; and
Non-active students
Students who have not taken honors course each semester should be end-termed as honors students per policies of the acknowledgment form provided when student enter the Honors College. Follow similar procedures for graduated students.
If these procedures are followed, the records on Student Workday should always yield an accurate account of the number of active Honors students.
Honors Graduation
A student who fulfills all the requirements for Honors College Graduation will have “Honors College Graduate” noted on his / her transcript. A separate application must be completed for Honors Graduation by the student within the designated deadline given in the Honors Calendar. 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.
Graduates will have the seal of the Dr. Floyd F. Koch Honors College in their Associate in Arts degree.
Procedure for Scheduling Honors Courses
In scheduling honors courses, the course section tag “HONORS: HONORS COURSE” must be added to a create an honors section. Under the direction of the Honors College Faculty Coordinator with the support of the Honors Faculty Campus Liaisons, courses are double-checked each term that the class information and notes are correct on Workday.
For each Honors class make sure that:
- The Course Section Tag, “HONORS: HONORS COURSE” is added on each Honors class;
- “Honors” (or an abbreviation) is in the title of the course;
- The maximum class size is set at 15;
- The Eligibility Rule: Student is a member of the HONORS Student Cohort is selected and
- The schedule note reads: “Honors Class: Students must be admitted to the Honors College to register. To apply, visit http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/honors/. For more information, e-mail honors@palmbeachstate.edu or call 561-868-3895.
To ensure that honors course is listed correctly,
- Search: Find Courses and Register
- Click on the Course Tag, “HONORS: HONORS COURSE”
Honors College Communication
The Honors College communicates with students via the Honors College Canvas course, social media outlets, and Palm Beach State College email.
Honors Calendar
The calendar is used to identify deadlines for graduation and scholarships.
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/VPAA 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/VPAA 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. The Student Activities budget provides funding for student travel, honors graduation reception, poster sessions, and any other student activities. 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.
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.