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Honors Courses – Policies

General Guidelines
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.
  5. If the faculty member has not been certified as an honors faculty, he or she will have to attend and complete the requirements for the Honors College Faculty Certification Seminar.

 

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 Director with the support Honors College Faculty Coordinator and Honors Faculty Liaison.  Honors courses may not be scheduled for any other program without the Honors College Director’s knowledge and agreement. All honors courses will be staffed by full-time faculty and adjunct instructors who are certified to teach honors courses.  Honors-certified instructors are faculty who have successfully completed the Honors College Faculty Certification Seminar or who taught at least one honors course consecutively within the past three (3) years. Honors College Coordinator with the support of the Faculty Liaison will work with associate 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 only be cancelled if the class cannot be converted to a 12-week course and/or the honors faculty prefers an honors course without stacking it with another section. Prior to cancelling an honors class, the Honors College Director and/or the Vice President of Academic Affairs must be consulted.  Faculty member and students must be notified of the honors course section cancellation prior to a Workday notification being sent. Where low enrollment necessitates the conversion of an honors course into a non-honors course, the honors section (and corresponding reference number) must be cancelled, and a new course and reference number generated.  Otherwise, notational markers will remain on student records.  

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.  

Modalities of Honors Courses

Honors courses may be offered in four modalities: in person, hybrid, live online or hybrid live online classes.  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 as pure asynchronous/online.