Higher Education Commons^™

Advising To Support Meaning Making And Purpose: Helping Honors Students Focus On Priorities And Evaluate Opportunities Through Intention Setting, Kristy Spear, Ron Cahlon, Katherine Mccall

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Section headings:

What is an intention?

The value of setting an intention

Setting an intention with honors students

Ron’s intention

Katherine’s intention

Final thoughts

The experiences provided are just two examples of how, with the guidance of an advisor, honors students might formulate and incorporate an intention into their lives. This simple yet profound technique is a useful addition to the advisor’s toolbox; it presents the opportunity to help students examine their values, who they are, who they want to be, and how they want to live their lives. This critical reflection can result in a clear focus and systematic …

Exploring The Relationship Between Mindset, Mental Health, And Academic Performance Among College Students, Eileen Makak, Douglas A. Medina, Harmony D. Osei

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

In recent years students’ mental health has been one of the most discussed topics at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Brad Wolverton (2019) notes in The New York Times that students are facing anxiety and depression at alarming rates. More than 60% are suffering from “overwhelming anxiety” and over 40% feel “so depressed they [have] difficulty functioning” (Wolverton, 2019). In this chapter, we explore how mental health impacts one’s academic performance and mindset, and vice versa. It is important to acknowledge that the first drafts of this chapter were written prior to 2020, and therefore it does not …

Oxbridge And Core Curricula: Continuing Conversations With The Past In Honors Colleges, Christopher A. Snyder

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The American honors college, as it exists in the twenty-first century, is idiosyncratic and an amalgam of centuries old European traditions in higher education with pedagogies and practices that have emerged only since about the 1980s and are particular to America. These disparate influences coexist—sometimes uneasily—in American universities, and yet American honors colleges have continued to have conversations with the past in order to seek wisdom for dealing with contemporary issues such as the democratization of higher education, social justice and diversity, the use of instructional technology, and the controversy between vocational training and liberal learning. Because, unlike departments, an …

Should We Start An Honors College? An Administrative Playbook For Working Through The Decision, Richard Badenhausen

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The last two decades have seen significant growth in honors colleges, though the transition to that model takes many forms. This essay lays out crucial questions for stakeholders considering such a move. While highlighting material advantages that may accrue from the transition, the chapter also notes reasons for not starting an honors college; and it explores some of the new challenges that recently founded honors colleges will face. Above all, the essay frowns upon the so-called “switch out the sign over the door” approach to institutional change in favor of deliberate, thoughtful, and strategic processes that involve many stakeholders and …

Characteristics Of The 21st-Century Honors College, Andrew J. Cognard-Black, Patricia Joanne Smith

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Today, honors education can be found in almost every corner of U.S. higher education. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, there also has been significant growth in the number of honors colleges in the United States, but there have been limited data to describe with any precision how fast that growth has been. Sederberg (2005, 2008) was among the first to document the emergence and growth of a distinct honors college organizational form and to identify unique characteristics that distinguish honors colleges from honors programs, but further growth within the organizational field of higher education necessitates an updated profile …

The Role Of The Honors College Dean In The Future Of Honors Education, Peter Parolin, Timothy J. Nichols, Donal C. Skinner, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

In this chapter, four honors deans reflect on the unique aspects of the honors dean's role. The authors argue that by being responsive to the challenges, opportunities, and responsibilities they face daily, honors deans can enable honors to deliver on its promises to students and to serve the whole university community. Attentive to changing dynamics in honors education nationwide, the authors address how deans must confront myths about honors that bear the legacy of past realities while actively tending to justice in the admissions process, to recruiting and serving diverse populations, and to supporting an honors environment that addresses the …

“It Is What You Make It”: Opportunities Arising From The Unique Roles Of Honors College Deans, Jeff Chamberlain, Thomas M. Spencer, Jefford Vahlbusch

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Grounded in the shared experiences of three current honors college deans and in comprehensive interviews with another two dozen honors deans at diverse institutions of higher education across the U.S., this chapter argues that the uniqueness of honors college dean roles and work can—and indeed should—lead to innovative and transformative change and improved student experiences, outcomes, and success, not only in honors colleges and within the scope of honors education, but across entire institutions. Ultimately the chapter contends that, while there can be manifold frustrations in running an honors college, the position of honors dean is one of the best …

Honors Colleges As Levers Of Educational Equity, Teagan Decker, Joshua Kalin Busman, Michele Fazio

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

While higher education is widely imagined as a tool for social mobility, the realities of enrollment, retention, and professional trajectories betray the conservative mechanisms through which higher education too often reproduces the status quo of inequality. Honors colleges can and should strive to act as levers of equity in this scenario of entrenchment, but the nature of this project varies depending on the institution’s own class position vis-à-vis its students. Elite, highly selective institutions may advocate for enrollment strategies that target student populations that do not typically attend those institutions, but other institutions likely already enroll such students in large …

Fostering Student Leadership In Honors Colleges, Jill Nelson Granger

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The architecture of student leadership in honors colleges is a formative decision that affects students’ experience and development. Through a broad view of student leadership structures across U.S. honors colleges, four common modalities are identified and described: governance, programming, mentorship, and ambassadorship. Relevant models, variations, combinations, and specializations are provided. Student leadership, as a hallmark of honors education, is one way in which honors colleges distinguish themselves both within and outside the university. As intentional learning communities, honors colleges incorporate student leadership into the nature of honors education, as part of mission, and as a defining outcome of the honors …

Promoting The Inclusion Of Lgbtq+ Students: The Role Of The Honors College In Faith-Based Colleges And Universities, Paul E. Prill

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

An estimated 11 percent of students at faith-based colleges and universities, identify as sexual-minority (LGBTQ+). Many of those students come from religious backgrounds and attend universities where they have heard and continue to hear that their sexual identity is in fundamental tension with their faith identity, leading to problems with mental health and, at times, physical health. On many such campuses, sexual minority students have become more vocal, asking that the university acknowledge their presence and provide services to help them succeed and thrive in college. Some of the schools have moved in that direction. Others continue to balk at …

Who Belongs In Honors? Culturally Responsive Advising And Transformative Diversity, Elizabeth Raisanen

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Despite a rich body of scholarship that engages with university honors advising, advising to support diversity in higher education, and the overall need for better attention to diversity within honors, the literature has not fully explored the vital role that advising plays in supporting diversity and fostering belonging within honors programs and colleges. This essay brings together the too-often disparate threads of advising, honors, and diversity to advocate for a practice of culturally responsive advising within the honors environment in order to pursue truly transformative diversity. Holistic academic advising and related programming must play a central role in any honors …

Honors Liberal Arts For The 21st Century, John Carrell, Aliza S. Wong, Chad Cain, Carrie J. Preston, Muhammad H. Zaman

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

We argue that honors colleges can deploy the power of the liberal arts to emphasize diversity, equity, global citizenship, ethical leadership, and empowerment by combining liberal arts and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and medicine) fields in interdisciplinary approaches to global challenges, from climate change to the pandemic to forced displacement. As the honors colleges at Texas Tech and Boston University work to be at the forefront of pedagogical and curricular innovation, the twenty-first century has presented us with a student and faculty community becoming increasingly aware of historical, racial, gendered, and socioeconomic disparities, which were further exacerbated by the COVID …

Honors Colleges, Transdisciplinary Education, And Global Challenges, Paul Knox, Paul Heilker

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The authors contend that the most significant comparative advantage of honors colleges is the combination of gifted and motivated students from every academic discipline and interdisciplinary curricula that train students to integrate diverse perspectives. The authors discuss how to harness this advantage to provide a truly transdisciplinary education through collaborative, project-based learning, both on campus and beyond. They assert that honors colleges are in a unique position to circumvent the siloed structures of academia by convening multidisciplinary groups of students guided by faculty from a wide range of disciplines. Doing so can help reimagine undergraduate education to address urgent and …

Introduction To Honors Colleges In The 21st Century, Richard Badenhausen

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

This chapter introduces Honors Colleges in the 21st Century, a volume containing the work of 56 authors representing 45 different institutions, many of which are at the forefront of innovation in honors education. In addition to offering a brief overview of the nineteen chapters that make up the book, the introduction reviews the historical growth of honors colleges along with research on that trend, including Peter Sederberg’s seminal The Honors College Phenomenon (2008). The essay accounts for the recent vigorous growth in honors colleges by suggesting that they are able to address some of the most pressing needs of …

2023-January-01-Clemmer College Offers Free Counseling Services To The Community, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Clemmer College is offering counseling and mental health support to students, faculty, staff and members of the community through the Department of Counseling and Human Services’ Community Counseling Clinic (CCC). There is no cost to utilize these services. 

“Our team has been hard at work to get the doors to the CCC back open following the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’ve finally re-opened our doors last semester,” said Christy Oaks, director of the CCC. “Now, we are able to offer counseling services to community members who might not be able to access services otherwise. Having the opportunity to …

2023-January-01-Complete Financial Aid Documents As New Year Begins, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – As the New Year begins, officials at East Tennessee State University urge current and potential college students to make sure they are putting themselves in the running for financial aid opportunities.  

“We know the financial aid process can seem intimidating,” said Catherine Morgan, director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at ETSU. “That is why we have dedicated, caring staff who stand ready to help you and your family.”  

 

Why it matters 

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a student’s path to all federal financial aid, and it is also the first …

2023-January-01-Etsu Announces 'Three Emerging Writers' Event, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Several talented poets are coming to East Tennessee State University in early February as part of the “Three Emerging Writers” series hosted by the Bert C. Bach Written Word Initiative and the Department of Literature and Language.

The event is Wednesday, Feb. 8, on the third floor of the D.P. Culp Student Center. A roundtable discussion runs from 1:40-3 p.m., and a poetry reading and audience question-and-answer session starts at 4 p.m.

“This popular event offers both our students and the community the opportunity to engage with successful writers who are in an early phase of …

2023-January-01-Etsu Storytelling Presenting Story Slam, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University invites the public to the start of the new season of Re-Generation Story Slam at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) on Thursday, Jan. 26, in Johnson City.
 
Happening at The Down Home, located at 300 W. Main Street, this month’s theme is “expectations.” Participants are encouraged to share stories about yearning, anticipation, waiting or things working out in unanticipated ways.
 
“Each Re-Generation Story Slam is completely unique and exhilarating,” producer and graduate assistant Cory Howard said. “Listening to someone share a story from their life on stage, whether funny or profound, …

2023-January-01-Researchers Discover 'Horned' Turtle, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – The Gray Fossil Site, overseen by the Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology at East Tennessee State University, preserves a five-million-year-old ecosystem once home to rhinos, mastodons, red pandas and many more extinct species. Among the most common fossil animals found at the site are turtles.

Researchers have now identified an extinct species of painted turtle, one that is entirely new to science and unique to the Northeast Tennessee site. Scientists named it Chrysemys corniculata, or the “horned painted turtle.” The name comes from a conspicuous pair of pointy projections on the front edge of …

2023-January-01-Meet Kristen Surles, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

While growing up in McMinnville, ETSU doctoral student Kristen Surles became involved in community service through her church and school. While she didn’t know it at the time, the yard work she did for the elderly and disabled in her hometown and planting trees was the start of her journey toward a career in public health. Summer service trips with her church involving home repairs and other tasks led to a job for three summers with Group Cares, during which she traveled the country and worked on projects in 38 states. 

“That instilled in me the drive to help people …

2023-January-01-Local Trains Focus Of Etsu's Heritage Day, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Local lines will be the focus of this month’s Heritage Day, happening Saturday, Jan. 28, at East Tennessee State University’s George L. Carter Railroad Museum. 

The event runs from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. 

“The Lil’ Chicago name once was slang for Johnson City due to the rail traffic that once came through town,” said Geoff Stunkard, the coordinator of the Heritage Day program. “Both the Southern Railway and the Clinchfield had mainlines, small yards and industries they serviced here, while the original Tweetsie, the ET & WNC shortline, was headquartered here as well.” 

During much of the …

2023-January-01-American Folk Music Focus Of Talk At Etsu, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Kalia Yeagle, a musician and artist, will present “Tradition, Innovation and Power: The Women of American Folk Music” in a talk at East Tennessee State University early next month. 

The event, free and open to the public, is part of the “Women on Wednesdays” lecture series sponsored by the ETSU Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program. It takes place on Zoom (817 3675 0048) at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 1. 

“Women have always been central to old-time music – in the home and on the stage – and as instrumentalists and singers, preservers of this music, activists, …

2023-January-01-Campus And Community Events To Celebrate The Legacy Of Mlk Jr, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Numerous events are scheduled on campus and in the community to commemorate and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On-Campus Events

The following on-campus events are coordinated by ETSU's Mary V. Jordan Multicultural Center. For more information about events coordinated through the Multicultural Center, call (423) 439-5872 or email [email protected].

MLK Legacy Program

January 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 
Location: Alumni Bell Tower
Rain Location: Burgin Dossett Hall, 2nd Floor

Cake-Cutting Celebration

January 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 
Location: D.P. Culp Student Center, 1st Floor

Day of Service

January 16 from 9:00 …

2023-January-01-Award-Winning Chanticleer Coming To Etsu Feb, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY – Heralded by “The New Yorker” as the “world’s reigning male chorus,” Chanticleer is coming to East Tennessee State University next month.

Chanticleer

The concert is Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the ETSU Martin Center for the Arts. 

“Having this Grammy Award-winning ensemble come to the Appalachian Highlands is a true delight,” said Dr. Alan Stevens, chair of the Department of Music. “Get your tickets now for the group known around the world as ‘an orchestra of voices.’ ” 

Founded in San Francisco in 1978 by Louis Botto, Chanticleer quickly took its place as a prolific …

The Justice Challenge: Honors Endeavors Innovative Pedagogies Through The Grand Challenge Scholars Program, Jonathan D. Kotinek, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Leigh E. Fine, Joy L. Hart, William Ziegler, Paul Knox, Timothy Nichols, Susan Sumner, Heidi Appel, Mark C. Andersen, Mary Bryk, Andrea Radasanu, Joseph Cassady, Keith Garbutt

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors practitioners from fourteen colleges and programs across the country at land-grant, public, and minority-serving institutions partner with agricultural experts to secure a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Education Challenge grant focused on the themes of food justice, climate justice, and sustainable agriculture. Authors describe the program’s origin, objectives, and curricular outgrowths, highlighting its efficacy for empowering students in areas of systems thinking, career readiness, leadership in the service of addressing social needs, and learning through civic engagement.

Pedagogy Of Engagement, Innovation, And Reflection: Hackathons In Honors Education, Joy L. Hart, Rebecca C. Bott-Knutson, Heidi Appel, Jonathan D. Kotinek, Paul Knox, William Ziegler

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Honors practitioners from across the country help students confront pressing social problems and develop innovative solutions to issues related to food security. Authors present a cross-institutional hackathon as a flexible framework for teaching multidisciplinary teamwork, innovative and critical thinking, and an appreciation for diverse perspectives. Providing an engaging, relaxed atmosphere and concentrated time for the application and integration of knowledge, hackathons offer honors educators a pedagogical approach that is both transdisciplinary and transformative.

Environmental Justice Memoir Assignment, Seth T. Reno

Honors in Practice Online Archive

An environmental justice memoir assignment creates a reflective and research-based piece of writing for sophomore-level honors students to consider issues of race, class, and access in their communities.

Editor's Introduction [Volume19], Ada Long

Honors in Practice Online Archive

In her presidential speech at the 2022 annual conference of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Christina M. McIntryre set the tone for this volume of Honors in Practice. Titled “The NCHC’s Inclusive Mission,” the speech cites an honors alumnus who contributed to the Forum on “The Value of Honors to its Graduates” (JCHC 23.1, spring/summer 2022). McInyre summarizes Quimby Wechter’s essay (145–47) by noting his appreciation of “the value of engaging in course material through meaningful experiential learning; of becoming a part of a community of scholars that is nurturing, not competitive; of classmates focused on challenging each other and …

The Teaching Postdoc: What Four Early Career Scholars Learned From An Honors College, Rachel S. Gross, Kylla Benes, Lauren Collins, Holly Riley

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Authors examine the impact of honors education on four early career scholars who each spent two years in a postdoctoral position (2017–2023), highlighting how initial in-depth exposure to honors curricula and culture positively influences professional identity and teaching practice. Fellowships in a Teaching, Research, and Mentoring (TRM) Program offer nascent scholars from a range of disciplines the opportunity to work with students, extend curricular offerings, and launch career trajectories in a variety of ways. Accounts of these experiences should encourage honors program administrators to look to the ranks of early career scholars as desirable instructors.

A Pedagogical Methodology For Developing And Delivering An Honors Senior Seminar, Carolyn Matheus, Rietta Steffen

Honors in Practice Online Archive

Curricula in honors programs often include a blend of specialized courses and seminars, undergraduate research experiences, and a culminating senior seminar. Authors present a pedagogical approach for developing and delivering an honors senior seminar that can be adapted for delivery in person, online using a learning management system, or in hybrid format. Students evaluate, integrate, and thoughtfully discuss an array of constructs such as happiness, the meaning of life, passion and purpose, values, motivation, community, self-awareness, mentors, diversity, perseverance, leadership, and gratitude through a series of guided readings, videos, lectures, class activities, and assignments. A detailed overview of the rationale …