Printer FriendlyFaculty Honors
Procedure and FAQs for Faculty Honors Program
Honors Contract Process and Forms
What is an Honors contract?
Honors contracts are written agreements between the you and the student in a non-honors section. A simple two-page form, the honors contract specifies honors-level objectives that you will ask your students to meet.
Where can I get the form?
Contract forms are available outside of the Honors Office, B203C (in the Career/Transfer Center), in front of office C202B, and can be printed out here.
Honors Contract Form
What is the deadline?
Forms must be signed by the students and the instructor within the first three weeks of the semester and then forwarded to the Honors Coordinator, Carmen Jay.
What happens after I sign the Honors Contract?
Drop off the Honors Contract in the Honors Coordinator's mailbox. Following approval by the Honors Coordinator, the Honors Contract will be forwarded to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Following approval by the dean, new course reference numbers will be generated by admissions and students will be automatically transferred to the new number. Instructors will receive new rosters and grade sheets with the word "Honors" in the course title.
Do I need to write a new syllabus?
Instructors need to submit a new syllabus (simply list honors objectives and assignments on a regular syllabus) by week six of the semester. Deliver to the Honors Coordinator's mailbox or office (C202B).
Please contact the Honors Coordinator, Carmen Jay , with any questions about the process.
Honors Course Proposal Process and Forms
The Course Proposal Process: Twice during each academic year, the District Honors committee sends out a call for new honors course proposals. Seminal ideas for new courses from our faculty (sometimes sparked by students) are submitted in a prescribed Honors proposal format to the District Honors committee for review and consideration. Honors committee members debate and evaluate the merits of each proposal and recommend selected courses for inclusion in the official class schedules of each campus. Budgeting, publicity, student recruitment, support of cultural events, and course evaluations all flow from the generation of that original idea for a classroom experience.
How do I offer an Honors Class?
The San Diego Community College District Honors Program has been highly successful, offering nearly 400 courses by well over 100 faculty in more than 40 departments spanning the last ten years.
The first step in offering an honors course is to develop an honors syllabus. A typical honors course has any of the following characteristics:
- high degree of student participation and involvement
- high standards of performance
- more independent reading and research
- enhancement of critical thinking
- greater flexibility in format and teaching methodologies
- increased use of primary sources
- selected field trips, guest speakers, opportunities to attend related cultural and social events
- greater depth or breadth of subject matter
- more opportunities for writing
Using your honors syllabus, you can then complete the Honors Course Proposal form. The proposal must be approved by your department chair and dean before it is submitted to the Honors Coordinator. The final step in the approval process is the evaluation of your proposal by the District Honors Committee. At this point, an interview or more information may be requested by the committee. This entire process takes place one year before the course will be taught. To propose an honors class, contact the Honors Coordinator, Professor Carmen Jay, for forms, sample proposals, and assistance in completing your proposal.
Flex Credit Requirements
Flex Time for Honors Contracts Flex credit is available for instructors who offer honors contracts. Faculty must sign the honors contract form, verify student eligibility, attach the honors syllabus and get their chair's signature by the honors contract deadline. A fixed number of hours (10 per honors contract student) will be awarded for each contract offered, with thirty flex hours as a maximum per semester.
