Faculty Resources

The Honors College staff is available to answer questions and support faculty teaching Honors courses. Please consult our Honors College resources page for more information about the Honors College students, mission, goals, requirements and resources.

Honors professor leads archaeology class, gesturing to bones arranged on a table as students look on

Creating an Honors Seminar

The Honors College invites faculty to create new Honors seminars. Honors seminars are one-semester courses (typically 3 units) designed to enable students and faculty to examine special topics. Honors seminars should encourage undergraduate research, interdisciplinary perspectives, critical thinking, and global awareness.

Enrollment in Honors seminars is limited to a maximum of 20 students. Honors seminars may be taught during any term (including summer and minimester).

Faculty are eligible to receive $500 in course development funds after their Honors seminars are approved by the Honors College Curriculum Committee. The Honors College is especially interested in offering Honors seminars that also provide Core curriculum credit.

Faculty are welcome to meet with the faculty director to discuss ideas for Honors seminars. For more details see our Seminar Proposal Guidelines (PDF) and the Honors College Course Criteria (PDF).

Advising Honors College Students

Most Honors College students must complete 24 Honors units to graduate from the Honors College. For more details see the Honors College Curriculum page. Advising resources are also available to all Honors College students and advisors on our Forms, Syllabi & Online Resources page.

Assessment of Honors Courses

All Honors College courses are evaluated by students each term. Students answer Honors-specific questions as part of their one-time online course evaluation. Faculty are given a summary of the results at the end of the term. A sample of the online student evaluation form is available in the Honors College Faculty Handbook.

Faculty teaching Honors seminars that carry Core Curriculum credit must complete assessment reports according to the Honors College assessment plans. Assessment data is collected at the end of each semester.

Honors College Curriculum Committee

The Honors College Curriculum Committee consists of faculty appointed by the rector of the Honors College in such a way as to assure that the six degree-granting colleges of the university are represented. The rector will also appoint an Honors College student representative. In addition, the rector of the Honors College will serve as an ex officio member. The duties of the Honors Curriculum Committee are the following:

  1. To evaluate for approval proposed Honors courses
  2. To evaluate for approval changes to existing Honors courses
  3. To inform the University Course Approval Reporting Committee of such action
  4. To forward approved proposals to the registrar