PCC Honors Program Summit

1. PCC Honors Program Summit January 31, 2009

2. Purpose The Honors Program at PCC will provide a clear path for capable and motivated students to challenge themselves and to prepare for successful transfer to university programs--whether they will transfer immediately or at some point later in their lives. “No one rises to low expectations” --Vincent Trinto, Syracuse University (UT Austin)

3. Guiding Principles • The Honors Program must be student centered. • The Program must provide avenues for a broad range of students to participate at multiple levels. • The Program must embrace a well-defined commitment to diversity. • The Program must extend beyond PCC to address the local and global community.

4. The Path • The mature program will offer: • An Introductory course exploring interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge acquisition, information literacy, leadership skills, and navigation of a student’s own educational experience, • Designated courses across a range of subjects focused on inquiry and mastery of complex materials, • Contract courses designed by students and faculty together in order to meet the student’s individual interests and needs, • A Capstone experience designed to demonstrate each student’s academic, leadership, and community development. • A standing Honors Council whose members possess the ability and charge to ensure students understand how to meet their goals within the structure of the academic community—including building and maintaining transfer articulation agreements,

5. Transfer Articulation Agreements Highline Community College’s Transfer Relationships

6. Full Program:Sample Distribution Intro 2 cr Designated Course 4 cr Designated Course 4 cr Designated Course 4 cr Designated Course 4 cr Contract Course 4 cr Capstone 2 cr 24 Credits Total for Honors Distinction Courses will be marked HON on transcript; diplomas carry a clear designation. Special recognition will be made at graduation. Designated courses will fulfill gen ed requirements CTE programs may design designated courses to enable their students to complete the program.

7. Partial HonorsParticipation • Designated Honors courses and Contract courses will be open to all PCC students who meet minimal requirements and their participation will be encouraged. Joining an Honors course will have significant impact for any student. For example: • Honors Courses on any transcript aid in transfer and scholarship consideration—particularly in a student’s chosen discipline. • Succeeding in an Honors course will increase a student’s confidence and self-efficacy.

8. Honors Programs in Community Colleges The National Collegiate Honors Council registers approximately 110 Honors Programs in our Region. Fifty-two of those are at community colleges. PCC’s 2007 IPEDS Peer Comparison includes 37 community colleges; 29 of these have honors programs. In 2005 “more than one-third of the nation’s 1,157 community colleges [had]…honors program[s]” (Padgett 61). “…over a third [of surveyed Texas CC students] are first-generation college students and almost 30 percent come from families with incomes under $20,000 annually” (UT Austin).

9. Leveling the Playing Field • Increasing tuition at the university level has forced many students to reconsider their educational path. More students are selecting transfer programs rather than attending universities. Many of these students are highly motivated and well prepared. An Honors Program is the logical extension to meet these students where they are. • An Honors Program at PCC allows nontraditional and first-generation students the opportunity to prepare themselves to compete at the transfer level with students following a more traditional path. • Students who are motivated and capable, but find themselves underprepared due to other life circumstances, will build an invaluable sense of worth from successes gained in an accessible Honors Program offering provisional admission such as PCC’s.

10. Benefits for Students • Creative, rigorous coursework with enthusiastic faculty. • Membership in a community of peer/scholars in the classroom and in the college community. • Close interaction with dynamic faculty in classroom, for mentoring, and advising. • Customized library training and support. • Better preparation to qualify for scholarship opportunities. • Increased opportunities for off-campus learning and capstone experiences. • Involvement in leadership activities and community service projects. • Clear articulation agreements with local and regional colleges and universities.

11. Benefits for PCC • Visibility of student success and a clear paradigm for access to success. • Attraction and retention of motivated students otherwise on a four-year track. • Improved and articulated relationships with four-year colleges. • Potential for increased retention among the cohort. • An increased interest in completing the diploma. • A space for testing alternative instructional delivery methods.

12. Likely Cost • Initially, a fully-functioning Honors program would require: • One half-release for a director • 10-15 hours per week of administrative support • A standing, committed Honors Council • Office and storage space

13. Pilot Program • We are seeking approval for a pilot program to run 2010-2011 • Eight courses • Four Campuses • Intro Course Spring Term • Temporarily relaxed admission criteria.

14. After the break: • Admissions and Recruiting • Curriculum • Pedagogy Works Cited Padgett, Tim. “An Ivy Stepladder.” Time. 4 April, 2005: 61. UT Austin. High Expectations and Strong Support Systems Boost Community College Student Success, Survey Says. 19 November 2008. 30 January 2009. http://www.utexas.edu/news/2008/11/19/ccsse_support/