Honors Learning Contracts

Application Procedures:

Honors Contracts should be submitted using the Honors Contract Form no later than the tenth day of of the quarter. Students and faculty should contact the Honors Director (hnrs@email.edcc.edu) for assistance in designing projects.

SUBMIT YOUR CONTRACT HERE

What is an Honors Learning Contract?

An Honors Learning Contract is an agreement between the student, their instructor, and the Honors Director in which the student agrees to undertake enriched, honors-level coursework and receive honors credit in any course.

Benefits:

• Exploration of a subject that you enjoy in greater depth through service learning, creative projects, library research, laboratory projects, consultative research in business, industry, or local governmental agencies
• A curriculum that is collaboratively designed
• “Honors” designation on your transcript

Assumptions:

• Honors student who exercises the Contract option is motivated to pursue the class topic in greater depth and intensity than she/he could in a regular class.
• Students undertaking Honors Contracts are willing to satisfactorily undertake the extra work and to expend the necessary energy to ensure completion, and do so in a manner which upholds the highest standards of academic integrity. Failure to fulfill the terms of the contract will result in its cancelation
• Contracted Honors work should reflect scholarly work beyond the ordinary class expectations
• No instructor will accept a contract unless they also are able to devote the necessary time and effort to supervise, guide, and examine the Honors Students work throughout the quarter

Suggested Criteria for Honors Learning Contracts:

The specifics of each contract will depend on the class and the interests of both the student and instructor. Contracts should be characterized , but are not limited, by the following:

• A higher degree of student involvement in the class coupled with higher standards of performance which demonstrate the enhancement of skills in critical thinking, analysis, and disciplinary/interdisciplinary interpretation. This could include more advanced reading and/or problem sets, and added writing and presentation or performance requirements
• Undergraduate Research or Creative Production in preparation of work above and beyond established course requirements for publication or presentation of work to an external audience (example: the Showcase of Student Learning)
• Community-based experiences contributing to academic exploration

Note: It is imperative that you contact your instructor and make these arrangements at (or even before) the beginning of the class. If you delay, not only do you risk being unable to complete the additional course work in time, but also the instructor may well decline to supervise a Contract at all.