Objectives of the Honors Educational Experiences

1. Offer highly motivated students the opportunity to engage in scholarly work of greater depth, scope, and originality than the regular academic programs and courses.

2. Offer students who have demonstrated high academic achievement and ability, the opportunity to engage in scholarly work with other students of the same level of academic preparation.
3. Provide students the academic structure to acquire greater in-depth understanding of concepts, theories, and processes of inquiry and research, pertinent to their area of study.
4. Recognize students of outstanding academic achievement.
5. Provide students and faculty greater opportunities to engage in creative, divergent and critical thinking.
6. Provide a forum for intense collegial exchange of ideas and viewpoints.
7. Recruit -to Grossmont College- more students of higher academic achievement.
8. Enhance transfer opportunities for Grossmont College students.
9. Provide students who have demonstrated high academic achievement additional advisement in the areas of academics, transfer, financial aid and scholarships.
    

Student Requirements for Participation

1. Entering freshman must have a 3.2 high school GPA or higher.

2. College students should have a 3.2 GPA or higher after completion of 12 college transferable units.

3. All students must be eligible for ENG 120. Successful completion of the pre-requisite courses or passing the assessment tests demonstrates eligibility.

4. All students must be eligible for Math 103. Successful completion of the pre-requisite courses or passing the assessment tests demonstrates eligibility.

5. All students who intend to complete the Honors Program must submit a completed Honors Program Application Form to the office of the Honors Coordinator. (Students who meet the requirements but do not want to complete the program are welcome to register in honors classes).

Student Requirements for Honors Program Active Continuing Status

1. Maintain a minimum 3.2 GPA in all Grossmont College course work.

2. Complete a minimum of one Honors Course each academic year.

3. Complete an annual interview with a student academic counselor.

Honors Program Completion Requirements

1. Submission of all application materials.

2. Maintenance of a GPA of 3.2 or higher.

3. Completion of 18 semester units in honors classes.

4. Completion of a form of college/community service.

5. Completion of an associated degree or fulfillment of admissions/transfer requirements for a four-year institution.

Types of Honors Courses

1. Honors sections of existing courses: Regular courses with additional or appropriately substituted learning activities to make them honors level. (Each department decides the offering of honors sections of existing courses.)

2. Linked Honors Courses: Two or more courses linked, forming a learning community. Linked courses have the same students and the instructors coordinate the course syllabus and learning activities. (The offering of linked courses needs to be coordinated through Project Success. Contact Sue Jensen at 619-644-7493.)

3. Honors Seminar: A course devoted to intensive investigation of a single topic or problem.  To a greater degree than in regular courses, students are responsible for contributing to seminar dialogues, completing a reading list, and producing written work and/or special projects of superior quality.  Topics and instructors change every semester. (This type of course needs both department and curriculum committee approval.)  

The Honors Course Learning Experience

1. The honors student must participate in the regular learning experiences of an existing course. However, there are substitutes or side-by-side assignments of a more challenging nature. When designing the honors section learning experience, the instructor thinks in terms of greater depth and breadth. The emphasis of honors education is creative, scholarly work.

2. Examples of additions/substitutions for the learning strategies of an honors section include, but are not limited to, the following:

• more challenging reading material

• emphasis on current research reports instead of textbook summaries

• intensive creative writing experience

• reading logs

• new writing assignments that emphasize analysis, synthesis, and evaluation

• reaction papers to ethical dilemmas

• internship in the field of study, performing an expanded leadership position

• developing a research proposal

• conducting original disciplinary research

• developing an annotated bibliography

• presenting original work/research to the class, a student-faculty group, or at a conference