Obsolete Policy

University Honors Program

This policy statement was recommended by the Academic Senate on February 17, 2000
and concurred in by the President on February 22, 2000.
(This policy statement supercedes Policy Statement 82-09.)

The University Honors Program exists to meet the needs of high-performing students who want an enriched undergraduate program. It offers three options.

General Honors Plan I (minimum of 30 units) is designed for entering freshmen and consists of a minimum of 21 units of lower- and upper-division General Education courses (which include UHP 100 and UHP 150), UHP 300 (a non-General Education course), and a culminating 6-unit senior thesis/project in the student s major (UHP 496, Research Participation, and UHP 498, Senior Thesis/Project).

General Honors Plan II (minimum of 18 units) is designed for upper-division transfers from community colleges and consists of nine units of upper-division General Education courses, UHP 300 (a non-General Education course), and a culminating 6- unit senior thesis/project in the student's major (UHP 496, Research Participation, and UHP 498, Senior Thesis/Project).

Honors in the Major (minimum of 9 units) is designed for students who elect not to take General Education courses as a part of the University Honors Program or who decide to enter the Honors Program too late to do so; Honors in the Major consists of a minimum of one upper-division Honors-specific course in the student s major department and a culminating 6-unit senior thesis/project (courses in the major department equivalent to UHP 496 and UHP 498).  Students in General Honors whose major department offers an Honors in the Major Program may apply to participate in both programs, in which case the General Honors thesis requirement would be satisfied through the Honors in the Major option.

Admission. Admission to the University Honors Program is based upon high school grade-point average, SAT or ACT scores, community college or CSULB grades, and faculty recommendations, as appropriate. Admission standards are designed to restrict participation in the program to the top 10 percent of CSULB students. Students who fail to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 will be withdrawn from the program. Also, students who fail to register for courses in the University Honors Program for two consecutive semesters will be withdrawn from the program.

Approval of Courses. The identification and staffing of courses to be offered as a part of General Education for students taking General Honors Plan I or Plan II are decisions made by the Director of the University Honors Program, following consultation with the Honors Advisory Council. Proposals for Honors in the Major ­ the creation of Honors-specific courses and the management and staffing of the senior Thesis/Project ­ must be approved by (1) the department curriculum committee and department chair; (2) the College Curriculum Committee; (3) the Director of the University Honors Program, following consultation with the Honors Advisory Council; and (4) the University Planning and Educational Policies Council.

Definition of Honors Courses . Honors courses ­ whether sections of pre-existing General Education courses modified to meet the needs of students in the University Honors Program or special courses created for use with Honors in the Major ­ are different from most undergraduate offerings both in content and in the way they are taught. Honors courses are designed to be more demanding; they include a heavier emphasis on theory and address more complex issues. The assigned readings are normally scholarly works, both books and articles, rather than textbooks. Class time is devoted to discussions designed to give students the opportunity for independent interpretation and analysis. The emphasis is on written papers or projects, not standardized testing. Assignments are constructed to accommodate individual student interests and concerns. In short, the presumption is that students in the University Honors Program are able to embark on more challenging and creative assignments, are less dependent upon the assistance of their instructors in understanding assigned readings, and are motivated to function at a more advanced stage of critical analysis when considering the validity of a given work.

Definition of Senior Thesis/Project. The senior thesis/project is intended to provide the opportunity for personal intellectual growth. It can take the form of an original research effort or it can be a deeper exploration of a subject or topic a student wants to know more about, for example, an author, an historical event, a political or social movement, or a public policy. It can also be a project that is demonstrated, performed, or exhibited. Accordingly, the form that the research/preparation (UHP 496) and
writing/demonstration/performance/exhibition (UHP 498) may take will vary with the student s major. The end product may be either a fairly lengthy paper (literally, a senior thesis) or demonstration, performance, or exhibition accompanied by a briefer explanatory statement. The Director of the University Honors Program will determine the appropriate format for the senior
thesis/project in consultation with the faculty member supervising the student's work.

Advisory Council. The University Honors Program shall have an Advisory Council composed of the Director (ex officio, non-voting); eight members of the faculty, two from the College of Liberal Arts and one from each of the other colleges, selected by the respective college councils, preferably from among faculty who have taught in the program or supervised senior theses/projects; and two students, one seeking General Honors and one seeking Honors in the Major, selected by the faculty members of the Advisory Council. Terms shall be for two years in the case of faculty and one year in the case of students, and
members shall be eligible for re-appointment. The Advisory Council shall conduct a minimum of one meeting each semester.