Honors colleges and programs

Public universities Higher education policymakers in state governments overwhelmingly support honors programs not only to better serve exceptional young scholars but also to attract and retain them in their respective public education systems. Private universities One notable early honors program at a private institution, that exists today, is that of Swarthmore College, founded in 1922 by its then President Frank Aydelotte and initially modeled on the tutorial system of Oxford University. The more recent increase of honors programs at private institutions, beginning around the start of the 21st century, is somewhat a response to the success of honors programs and colleges of public universities. Smaller private institutions, in particular, are desirous of increasing admission yields of exceptional undergraduate scholars being lured by other competing institutions, public and private. Interinstitutional and multinational Global Honors College, an exemplary model of an and multinational honors program, was organized by Waseda University (Tokyo). The college convenes faculty and undergraduate students from universities worldwide to conduct joint, structured, and sustained investigations of enduring and emerging global issues. Students from public and private institutions, including Columbia, Harvard, MIT, Yale, Peking, Korea, Waseda, and others, participate in a Global Seminar – an annual, summer-long intensive course on Earth sustainability matters ranging from food and agriculture to natural disasters. == Institutional objectives ==

Recruiting exceptional students Recruiting exceptional students is an impetus for offering Honors programs. In a study of graduation rates by Alexander Astin, 66% of the variation in retention rates between institutions can be explained by differences in the quality of entering students. And, to some extent, honors colleges and programs attract students who contribute to higher retention rates. Student retention But, from another perspective, engineering educators Phillip Wankat and Frank Oreovicz assert that offering honors programs (and merit societies) during the first year, or early in the second year is critical, when losses in enrollment is highest, particularly in rigorous academic disciplines such as engineering. Wankat and Oreovicz insist that any sort of extra attention – athletics, clubs, informal socials, small first-year seminars, eating meals with professors, visiting professors homes, and the like – helps retain students who have the makings of good scholars. In the case of undergraduate engineering, extra attention – including offerings of honors programs for undergraduate engineering majors – also helps keep potential engineering majors from changing majors. Along with Wankat and Oreovicz, there is an ongoing debate on how social media plays a role in the retention of honors students. Corinne R. Green at Purdue University attests that "in the face of new technologies, honors faculty and staff should begin understanding the way their students interact with these technologies to apply them appropriately within the honors experience". Green believes that within the future of honors colleges and programs, there needs to be a push and effort to integrate social media in a way that not only shows off the honors colleges in a good light but also can be properly applied to the curriculum without limiting learning. Green has also taken from others to say that the debate is at a stand-still due to some believing that social media can be incorporated beneficially. Enrichment vs. acceleration Research that supports pedagogical approaches are mostly based on empirical evidence and theory. Providing great education and experiencing it is not an exact science. While many successful institutions of higher learning share consensus on a number of pedagogical approaches, they are not always uniform. For honors colleges and programs that offer exclusive accredited coursework and labs for participants, the style often places less emphasis on testing and more on personable interaction, such as small seminar-styled classes and mentoring and academic apprenticeship. Usually, the objective is to cultivate a more learning experience. But enrichment is not the objective of all honors colleges and programs. Engineering, technical fields, undergraduate sciences, and pre-med, for instance, might place more focus on acceleration, in lieu of enrichment, with the goal of taking the student further. In accounting and engineering, for example, professional accreditation is paramount and the academic coursework required is great. For fast and efficient learners, acceleration might be more ideal. Moreover, accounting and engineering degrees represent professional education. Students on professional tracks likely aspire to start careers as soon as possible. Outside honors colleges and programs, not all liberal arts oriented institutions avoid acceleration. Reed College, for example, internationally known for its liberal arts, offers acceleration for its fast learners – for various reasons. In many cases, concerns over enrichment vs. acceleration are moot because students at the collegiate level can determine their workload by the classes they choose. Economic influences on enrichment vs. acceleration The balance between enrichment and acceleration can sometimes fluctuate, correlated to the economy and job market. In a poor economy, enrichment, for those who can afford it, might be more desirable. Why rush to be in a bad job market? Or the reverse correlation can occur: an extended period (a decade, for instance) in a weak economy with a poor job market can serve as a for liberal arts programs, even those of international rank, swaying academicians and students to surrender liberal arts enrichment in favor of professional education. Funding requirements of enrichment vs. acceleration From a funding perspective, enrichment is often more expensive than acceleration. The logic being that, with acceleration – for math and engineering, as an example – professors simply cover more advanced material at a faster pace – using resources in hand and curricula already developed. By contrast, enrichment often requires extra materials and resources, particularly during a launch phase. == Considerations and criticism ==

Funding Inadequate funding of honors colleges and programs can lead to a system of borrowing faculty members from elsewhere within an institution, which, on one level, has the effect of undergraduates who are not in the program. Along with that, since money is such an important factor when it comes to honors colleges, they try to attract donors to help with said inadequate funding. This donor funding may be either through donations (whether it be alumni, celebs, or other), or fundraising in direct support to the honors colleges specifically. he cited the value of public university honors colleges and programs and recommended books by John Willingham, who evaluated honors colleges for many years. == Ratings ==

''Peterson's Smart Choices: Honors Programs & Colleges published its fourth edition in 2005. Several liberal arts oriented institutions, including Reed College, have strongly rejected the validity of ratings, namely those of US News & World Report,'' arguing that, among other things, the ratings lead to data-driven educational policies that, in turn, cause institutions to alter programs at the expense of quality – simply to look more appealing. They have asserted that, with respect to liberal arts programs in particular, ratings are insufficient and can be misleading. ==See also==

Notes References Ratings references