Application for Contracting an Honors Course

Application for Contracting an Honors Course 

An instructor in collaboration with an Honors College student can transform a regular course into an Honors contract course. This option allows students to earn Honors credits while completing courses in their regular program of study. The student will attend the regular course while completing additional learning-based Honors activities as stipulated in the guidelines below. While any course can be contracted for Honors credit, the contracting option is ideal for courses in the student’s major program of study. 

Part I: Guidance 

Prior to preparing a proposal for contracting an Honors course, the instructor should carefully read Honors Courses and Honors Contract Courses at Emporia State University: Guidelines for Instructors, posted in the Honors College site. While it is not reasonable to expect each Honors course to satisfy each of the seven objectives listed on this document, it is expected that all courses will address Objectives 1 and 2, and at least 2 other objectives as deemed appropriate by the instructor. 

Part II: Application 

1. Provide the name and E# of the student(s) for whom the course is being contracted and the semester the course will be offered. 

2. Provide a copy of the regular course syllabus (along with the CRN for the course), the faculty's E#, department Chair, and Admin. Specialist. 

3. Provide a brief description of the role the instructor will play in supervising or mentoring this student.

4. Describe what the student will produce (e.g., paper, presentation, performance)? 

5. All courses must meet Objectives 1 and 2 from the guidance section above: 

• Describe the ways that you will make this course broader, deeper, or more complex than a regular course. 

• Describe how the experience will include either civic leadership, community engagement, or advance the common good. 

6. Identify additional objectives (at least two selected from Objectives 3-7 referenced in the guidance section above) and describe how those objectives will be met.

7. The application should be submitted from the faculty member by the end of the third full week of class during the semester the course is taught. 

Part III: Procedure 

1. Submit the application and the regular course syllabus to the Dean of the Honors College for approval: honors@emporia.edu 

2. Once approved, the department will be responsible for working with the Office of the Registrar to create an Honors section of the course that will be offered in tandem with the regular course. All Honors contract courses should be designated with section letter ending in Z (AZ, BZ, etc) and have the same number of credits as the tandem course. All Honors contract courses should be designated “instructor approval required.” The class cap should be set at zero, with students being added into it on an individual basis. The Office of the Registrar will assist in this process. After the course designation is created by the Office of the Registrar, student enrollees should be transferred from the regular course to the Honors course. 

3. Applications must be submitted electronically as early as possible but will be accepted until the end of the third week of class during the semester the course is taught. 

Part IV: Assessment 

All instructors of contract courses will be required to provide assessment data to the Honors College within 30 days of the end of the semester in which the course was taught. Data will be collected electronically through Compliance Assist. Data should measure course effectiveness in meeting the stated Honors College objectives listed above. Presently, there is no standardized rubric or other measurement instrument that instructors will be required to use; rather, instructors should use embedded assessments such as course assignments, tests, and other graded requirements. 

Compensation for Creating and Teaching Honors Contract Courses

If an Honors contract course is approved, instructors should proceed to create the course and work with department chairs to schedule the course. Instructors will be compensated during the semester the contract course is taught. Although compensation may vary based on budgetary constraints, the current established rate of compensation is $750.00 for offering an Honors contract course (3 credits) to an Honors student who requests it. If more than one student requests to contract the same course, instructors will be compensated $250.00 for each additional student up to a total of $1,500.00. Compensation amounts will be adjusted accordingly to courses with less than or more than 3 credits. These funds are intended to compensate instructors for the extra work required for instructing Honors contract courses.

Revised: 5-29-2024