Honors Course and Honors Contract Guidelines

Honors Courses and Honors Contract Courses at Emporia State University Guidelines for Instructors 

Vision Statement: The Honors College at Emporia State University aspires to be recognized as a significant catalyst for the improvement of communities in Kansas and beyond. 

Mission Statement: The Honors College at Emporia State University will prepare students to be agents of change for the common good in their respective communities. 

Characteristics of an Honors Education The following document provides a brief review of the characteristics and objectives of Honors courses at Emporia State University and is intended to serve as a guide for faculty who wish to design and teach Honors courses. The Honors College Vision and Mission Statements presented above should be considered as courses are proposed, designed, and taught. While all instructors should have flexibility in designing and teaching courses, including Honors courses, and while academic freedom is a cherished value at ESU, a common understanding of what an Honors course is and how it differs from other courses is important as the Honors curriculum expands. It must be understood that an Honors course is NOT simply a harder version of a regular course, nor is it a regular course with simply more work piled on. According to the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), an Honors education is characterized by in-class and co-curricular activities that are: 

1) measurably broader, deeper, or more complex than comparable learning experiences typically found at institutions of higher education; 

2) include a distinctive learner-directed environment and philosophy;

3) are appropriately tailored to fit the institution’s culture and mission; 

4) occur within a close community of students and faculty. 

There are two kinds of Honors courses offered at Emporia State University: 1) Honors courses and 2) Honors contract courses. An Honors course is a specially designated and pedagogically enhanced section of a regular undergraduate course. It is listed as an Honors course and generally requires the permission of the instructor to enroll. Contracting an Honors course, on the other hand, is an option that allows almost any regular course to be converted into an Honors course. The student and instructor agree to meet outside of regular class time for an enhanced educational experience. Honors courses are ideal for general education courses and for upper-division courses with a multidisciplinary focus and appeal. Honors contract courses are ideal for upper-division courses in the student’s major program of study. See Application for Creating an Honors Course, AND Application for Contracting an Honors Course for more details. 

Objectives of an Honors Course and Honors Contract Course The Honors College Dean at Emporia State University, in consultation with faculty and students, has determined that Honors courses should: 

1) be measurably broader, deeper, or more complex than comparable courses; 

2) promote community engagement, civic leadership, and/or the pursuit of the common good; 

3) include a distinctive learner-directed environment and philosophy; 

4) help students develop effective written, oral, and/or interpersonal communication skills; 

5) help students become independent and critical thinkers; 

6) develop collaborative relationships between students and faculty AND students and each other; 

7) result, if feasible, in the production of a scholarly or creative product suitable for sharing with others outside of class through some scholarly venue. 

While it is not reasonable to expect each Honors course to satisfy each of the seven objectives listed above, it is expected that instructors design and teach courses in such a way as to include as many of them as appropriate for the course. It is expected that all courses will address Objectives 1 and 2, and at least 2 other objectives as deemed appropriate by the instructor. 

Instruction of an Honors Course or Honors Contract Course 

The NCHC provides the following description of honors instruction: The finest instructors are those who are “willing to share the responsibility for teaching and learning with their students. The key is not the intelligence of the students or the subject matter of the course, but the attitude and approach of the instructor.” Instructors must not only be cognizant of their “attitude and approach” towards teaching and learning but be mindful of where their students are at as well. Most students are products of educational environments that did NOT empower them to take charge of their educations or give them voice in its process or outcomes. Enabling students to “share the responsibility” will be a challenge with both disappointments and successes along the way. Keep in mind that a passive approach to education has worked well for many of these students and a new model of shared responsibility may push them beyond their comfort zones. Be gentle, expect some resistance, adapt as necessary, but don’t quit. 

Assessment of Honors Courses and Honors Contract Courses 

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 Courses and Honors Contract Courses 

Honors Courses: 

Creating: Instructors will be compensated for creating an Honors course. Compensation is paid when the course is taught and amounts may vary based on budgetary constraints and Honors College needs. Instructors will be compensated only once for creating a course. Contact the Honors College office for more information. 

Teaching: Instructors will also be compensated each semester they teach the course. Compensation amounts may vary based on budgetary constraints, enrollment in the course, and Honors College needs. Compensation will be adjusted proportionately for creating and teaching courses with fewer than 3 credits, or more than 3 credits and based on enrollments. Contact the Honors College office for more information. 

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 $250.00 per credit hour for offering an Honors contract course 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. These funds are intended to compensate instructors for the extra work required for instructing Honors contract courses. 

Revised: 5-29-2024