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Leadership Academy: Fostering Honors Faculty Growth Through Peer-To-Peer Learning, Chelsea Redger-Marquardt, Doug Stucky, Cindi Mason, Bobby Berry, Samantha Gregus, Kimberly Engber

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Discusses the Lead for Tomorrow program at the Cohen Honors Leadership Academy at Wichita State University, fostering honors faculty growth through peer-to-peer learning.

Leadership And Change From Within: An Honors College And Ctl Partnership, Connie M. Schroeder, Hilary K. Snow

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Scaling sustainable change in teaching and learning is an institutional priority in higher education, yet often it is elusive, given the decentralized and siloed academic landscape. Most colleges and departments lack the necessary expertise to design and implement scaled change or the critical organizational structures to sustain change. Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) seek to advance improvement in teaching and learning and highlight improving institutional culture as part of their mission. Reliance on traditional programming and consultations, however, primarily targets individual change versus scaled or sustainable change.

The successful process of change at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Honors College …

The Brief Life Of A Students-As-Partners Model For Improving General Education, Rick Fisher, Janel Seeley

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

A Students-as-Partners (SaP) model has significant potential for meaningful relationships between centers for teaching and learning (CTLs) and honors programs or colleges. Honors programs and colleges are excellent partners in that they often have flexibility in course offerings and students interested in non-traditional learning opportunities. Too often, education planning and assessment are done to students rather than with them. Having students conduct scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) on university-wide initiatives not only provides the institution with valuable information about its teaching and learning efforts but also offers applicable research experience for students that can meaningfully impact future programming.

A Faculty Inquiry Group For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In Honors, Kevin Sackreiter, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Christine Larson, Evren Celik-Wiltse

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

This chapter details a collaboration between the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College and the Center for Professional Enrichment and Teaching Excellence (CPETE), formerly known as the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), at South Dakota State University (SDSU). This collaboration launched an Honors Faculty Inquiry Group (FIG) on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). Greater philosophical themes, such as the desire to normalize scholarly emphasis on teaching and learning and how honors faculty can serve as teaching leaders on campus, will be explored in addition to the practical details and outcomes of the collaboration.

From Classrooms To Communities: Integrating The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Into Honors Education, Megan Mcilreavy, Pamela L. Martin

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Embracing the United National Education for Sustainable Development (SDG) framework empowers students to reflect on their actions and understand current and future social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues from local and global perspectives. Inherent in the concept of lifelong learning, these values should resonate with our next generation of students (Gen Z) who, studies show, are making career choices that contribute to making real changes on our planet. Leveraging different institutional strengths, honors programs and colleges can tailor their education within the framework that SDG provides to accommodate various needs that will benefit the institution itself.

Oregon Institute Of Technology: Program Profile, Christopher J. Syrnyk

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Located in southern Oregon, the Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) was founded in 1947 and is Oregon’s public polytechnic university. Its main residential campus is in Klamath Falls, OR; its other locations include an urban campus in Wilsonville, OR; an online campus; and additional sites in Salem, OR, and Seattle, WA. Oregon Tech’s mission is to provide professionally focused applied degrees. It offers forty-nine bachelor’s degrees, eight master’s degree programs, one doctoral program, and several certificates. As of fall 2023, 1,976 students were enrolled at the main campus in Klamath Falls: 51% were male, and 49% were female. Approximately …

Keeping Company: Genuine Conversation As A First-Year Honors Seminar Pedagogy, Richard Badenhausen

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Despite the challenges of a conversational approach to the FYS, the pedagogy has become engrained enough in the gateway seminar to the Westminster University Honors College that it would be hard to imagine adopting another strategy. Faculty tend to improve over time at leading such classrooms and regularly focus on the conversation-based features of their classes in their end-of-term self-reflections, as two teaching partners did in the following comments about the honors core course Global Welfare and Justice: “The strength of the class was the group dynamic and constellation of voices. It was an incredibly engaged class. Students challenged and …

College Of Charleston: Program Profile, Trisha H. Folds-Bennett, Jesslyn Collins-Frohlich, Robert Maynor

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Founded in 1770 and located in historic Charleston, South Carolina, the College of Charleston (CofC) is a public comprehensive university with a curriculum grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. Academic offerings include 67 majors, 81 minors, 20 master’s degree programs, and 9 graduate-level certificate programs. The College of Charleston had 10,660 undergraduate students enrolled in fall 2023, along with 1,069 graduate students. Of those enrolled students, 68% identify as female, and minority students comprise 19% of the student population. Nearly a third of the undergraduates live on campus in residence halls, and 53.2% of the students are SC residents. …

Disrupting Privilege: Community Engagement In The First Year, Trisha H. Folds-Bennett, Jesslyn Collins-Frohlich, Robert Maynor

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

In the opening essay for an issue of JNCHC focused on this question of risk-taking in honors, Cognard-Black posits that the problem of students’ apparent rejection of risk may be the structure of honors programs themselves. He challenges honors educators to consider how the structure of their programs perpetuates an elitism that causes honors students to maintain their focus on status and external reward, which are potential barriers to deeper and more critical engagement with ideas (6). In this chapter, we take up Cognard-Black’s challenge and use our experiences creating the first-year seminar at the College of Charleston to argue …

Flourishing In The First Year And Beyond: Promoting Personal Wellbeing And Mindfulness In An Honors First-Year Seminar, Christy Tyndall, Jacqueline Smith-Mason

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Describes students’ experiences in the Virginia Commonwealth University Honors College’s first-year seminar course, Flourishing: The Applied Science of Wellbeing.

Know Thyself: A Model For Integrating Gifted Research Into The Honors First-Year Seminar, Jodi Meadows

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

As this monograph demonstrates, numerous first-year honors seminars exist to address the various needs of honors first-year students. Each institution has its own curricular goals and emphases. The FYS example from the Gordon & Judy Dutile Honors Program at Southwest Baptist University is one way to create a student-focused, research-based seminar that encourages growth in metacognition, connections within the honors community, and instruction in research skills by integrating gifted education research regarding the academic, psychological, and social concerns of gifted students. Regardless of the setting, honors educators have a rich resource in gifted education research that can be used to …

West Chester University Of Pennsylvania: Program Profile, Kevin W. Dean, Zachary Wooten

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Founded in 1871, the institution, which eventually became West Chester University (WCU) of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, transitioned in 1927 from a Normal School to a State Teachers College. In 1960, the institution introduced a liberal arts program, turning the one-time academy into a comprehensive college. Finally, in 1983, the institution attained university status. Located in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley in Chester County, WCU sits 25 miles west of Philadelphia and 17 miles north of Wilmington, Delaware. WCU is a public, comprehensive institution offering undergraduate education and graduate programs. In fall 2024, the university enrolled …

Reflection In First-Year Honors Courses: Why We Can’T Take It For Granted, Kevin W. Dean, Zachary Wooten

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Existing scholarship suggests that intentional reflection, during or shortly following an event, can impact future vocational choices and generate memories that participants can recall years after the undergraduate experience. Inspiring accounts of reflection, decades following honors City as Text experiences, demonstrate the influence that reflective experiences played in vocational formation (Daniel; Schock). Given the community focus of an honors FYS, studying the long-term impact of that experience on alums would be interesting.

Developing Peer Mentors As Co-Educators For The Honors First-Year Seminar, Kimberly Baldus, Gerianne Friedline, Ann Torrusio

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Our decision at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) to develop a peer mentor program in the Pierre Laclede Honors College (PLHC) First-year seminar (FYS) began in a spring 2014 campuswide FYS committee meeting. Having previously developed three essential cornerstones that all variations of the FYS on campus would need to include—campus connections, academic engagement, and development support—university leaders decided that best practices in FYS courses demanded the inclusion of peer mentors in all versions of the course. As honors faculty, we had frankly never contemplated this addition to our fully developed and successful academic FYS program. In fact, without …

University Of Mary Washington: Program Profile, Kelli M. Slunt, Mara N. Scanlon

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, situated between the nation’s capital and the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public, co-educational, and predominately four-year liberal arts and sciences institution. The university is committed to the shared values in our ASPIRE principles: accountability, scholarship, personal and institutional integrity, respect and civility, and engagement. Founded in 1908, UMW has evolved from a normal and industrial school for women to a university that offers 48 majors, 44 minors, and 3 graduate programs. In fall 2023, UMW enrolled 3,611 undergraduates and 197 graduate students. Fifty-five percent of the …

East Carolina University: Program Profile, Todd Fraley

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The mission of East Carolina University (ECU), which is located in Greenville, North Carolina, is to be a national model for student success, public service, and regional transformation. As of fall 2023, ECU serves over 26,000 students and offers 85 bachelor’s degree programs, 68 master’s programs, 13 doctoral degree programs, and various other certificate and advanced programs. Current enrollment includes nearly 20,000 full-time students (17,104 undergraduates, 2,700 graduate students, 591 in the School of Medicine, and 207 in the School of Dental Medicine). Almost 90% of these students are from North Carolina, with the remaining students coming to ECU from …

Colorado School Of Mines: Program Profile, Lauren Schumaker, Carrie J. Mcclelland, Toni Lefton, Sarah Jayne Hitt

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) was founded in Golden, Colorado, in 1874, two years before Colorado became a state. Mines is a public four-year university specializing in applied science and engineering, offering 21 undergraduate and nearly 40 graduate degrees. In addition to strong education and research programs in traditional fields of science and engineering, Mines is one of the few institutions in the world with broad expertise in resource exploration, extraction, production, and utilization. A total student body of about 7,600 (5,800 undergraduates, 1,800 graduate students) allows for an average student-faculty ratio of 17:1. About 56% of Mines undergraduates …

University Of Maryland, College Park: Program Profile, Christine A. Jones

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) is the state’s flagship university and one of the nation’s preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, UMD is home to 14,000 faculty members and staff and has nearly 400,000 alums. In 2023, UMD enrolled more than 30,000 undergraduates (76.3% are Maryland residents, and 20.0% are first generation) and almost 11,000 graduate students (35.5% are international). The racial/ethnic makeup included 39.5% White, 23.8% Asian, 12.9% Black or African American, 10.6% Hispanic/Latino, and 4.9% Two or More Races. The gender makeup included 49.2% female, 50.7% male, and a number …

Eastern Kentucky University: Program Profile, David Coleman

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) is a public comprehensive university in Richmond, Kentucky, with around 15,000 (primarily residential) students. The university offers 80 undergraduate majors, 36 master’s degrees, and four doctoral programs. Approximately 40 percent of undergraduates are first-generation students. EKU traditionally draws many students from its 22-county service region across southeastern Kentucky, but the university also recruits heavily in the larger metro areas of the region.

Honoring The First-Year Seminar: Exploring High-Impact Learning Experiences For The First Year In Honors: Front- And Backmatter, Anton Vander Zee, Trisha H. Folds-Bennett

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Front-and backmatter from Honoring the First-year Seminar: Exploring High-impact Learning Experiences for the First Year in Honors (Lincoln, Nebraska: National Collegiate Honors Council, 2025).

Honoring The First-Year Seminar: Exploring High-Impact Learning Experiences For The First Year In Honors: About The Authors

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Honoring the First-year Seminar: Exploring High-impact Learning Experiences for the First Year in Honors: About the Authors

Bringing The Idea Of Ideas To Life, Christopher J. Syrnyk

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Discusses the development of the First-year Seminar and Honors Program at Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech).

Metallic Nanoparticles And Cosmetics: The Role Of Mitochondria And Premature Aging, Veronica Montesinos-Cruz, Justin Olmanson

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

The cosmetic industry has developed and commercialized numerous products using new technologies, making them increasingly appealing to the public. The use of metallic nanoparticles (MtNPs) as key ingredients in cosmetics has become more widespread due to their demonstrated benefits. However, the use of these products remains controversial, as some studies have shown that MtNPs can penetrate the deeper layers of the skin and disrupt homeostatic balance. It has also been demonstrated that the interaction between MtNPs and keratinocytes increases the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can lead to oxidative stress, a condition associated with premature aging. Mitochondria, as …

Why The Museum Matters To Honors, Mimi Killinger

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Using classroom displacement and pandemic pivoting during COVID as a touchstone, author presents ways in which museums complement and reinforce pedagogical goals in honors. Community and campus museums offer immediate and innovative teaching opportunities that require minimal technology, present diverse viewpoints and cultural perspectives, and foster visual and cultural literacies. Demonstrating how teaching within a museum aligns with the educational mission of her home institution, author suggests that these spaces can be creative, collaborative, and engaging learning locations for honors colleges and programs throughout the country. Detailed descriptions of curated collections are provided.

Honors Capstones And Self-Authorship: A Case Study, Chelsea Mckeirnan

Honors in Practice Online Archive

While self-authorship theory posits that students who actively define and articulate their values and goals are better positioned for post-collegiate success, little has been done to examine curricular opportunities for self-authorship in the context of honors education. This case study explores the potential for self-authorship development within an honors capstone preparation course at a southwestern regional university. Author observes that such a course provides students with opportunities for self-authorship development and self-efficacy by offering provocative moments and granting autonomy for decision-making. Results suggest that the design and structure of honors capstones can support the growth and development of honors students …

Sharing The Stage With The Future: Humans And Robots Together At Last, Donna L. Clevinger

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay presents a co-curricular collaboration bringing ancient comedy to a modern audience. Students and faculty at a large, public R1 university combine art and engineering to create a STEAM-based approach to theatrical production. The author describes how integrating classical text, creative expression, and transformational technologies demonstrates that collaboration between disciplines can produce gains for each, fostering advancements and human understanding that would be unattainable independently. Script writing, casting, stage production, and outcomes are presented.

Envisioning Honors As Complex Problem Solving, Pat Akos, Nathan Hicks

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors education can maximize student well-being and career-life readiness by integrating a range of wicked problems and design thinking. This approach fosters interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking, and the development of innovative problem solvers. The authors introduce student choice and design thinking throughout the first three courses of an honors interdisciplinary minor at a large, public R1 university and consider its pedagogical implications.

Campus Legends And Mysteries: Building Institutional Identity Through Campus Lore, Viktoria Basham

Honors in Practice Online Archive

This essay presents an honors course designed to help students develop a holistic understanding of institutional history and identity while engaging with university culture. Author describes how students conduct research on the history, traditions, and local lore of both their home institution and broader geographic region by using a variety of campus resources and archival collections. Strong and personal bonds with the university are the touchstone for creating projects (n = 17) that contribute to campus lore, thereby extending student narratives to add to, enrich, and preserve an evolving institutional identity. Author suggests that course offerings such as this can …

Applications Of Systems Thinking In Honors Education: The Justice Challenge, Rebecca C. Bott, Jonathan D. Kotinek, Timothy J. Nichols, Heidi Appel, Andrea Radasanu, Joy L. Hart

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors education has long been praised for its potential as a test bed for curricular innovation. A wide variety of high-impact practices have been employed to prepare honors students to think critically and tackle complex problems. Examination of the use of systems thinking within pedagogical practices in honors education is, however, nearly nonexistent in the literature. The authors present a brief introduction to systems thinking; review its use within honors curricula; and examine how a nationwide collaborative of honors educators equips students with systems thinking tools to learn about and engage with complex interdisciplinary problems. The authors characterize systems thinking …

Honors Thesis Proposal Course Components, Lynn Stallings, Anete Vásquez

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Completion of an undergraduate thesis can be a transformational experience for honors students because they learn that they can contribute original intellectual thought to the record of scholarly knowledge. This essay considers how the misconceptions and challenges of an honors thesis can discourage students from undertaking the task. Authors describe the design, delivery, sequencing, resources, and administration of a junior-level thesis proposal course aimed at abating student anxiety over and supporting faculty engagement of thesis work. The Hopscotch Model, a tool to help novice researchers thoroughly design qualitative research studies while learning the philosophical underpinnings of a particular form of …