Honors Faculty and Staff FAQs

An Honors Seminar is a 1 credit, 8 week long class that you get to develop and teach.  For fall and spring semesters, the Honors program will offer either two or three classes.  The first will start in week one, the second at midterm, and if a third is offered, it will begin after the 4th week of the term.  Summer sessions follow the summer calendar for early and late start classes.  Summer instructors have the option of picking either 8 weeks or 4 weeks – so long as the contact hours are met.

An email request for proposals is emailed to faculty early in Fall for Spring proposals, late Fall for Summer, and early in Spring for the following Fall term.  The proposals are reviewed by the Honors Committee, and recommended Seminars are forwarded to the instructors Dean for final approval. Preference is given to instructors who have yet to teach an Honors Seminar. Three important questions to address in your proposal are:

• The title of your Honors Seminar
• A short description of your Seminar
• How your Seminar will address issues of equity and inclusion

The content is up to you.  What are you passionate about? What do you think your students would love to know more about? How can you address issues of equity and inclusion in your field?  Finding a topic that will excite both you and your students can be a challenge. Below is a list of some recently offered seminars:

• Qualitative Research Design "The Lived Experiences of Marginalized Groups"
• How to plan your successful learning projects and life situations
• Video for Social Media
• Understanding Racism & Microaggressions
• Using Personal Storytelling for Self Advocacy
• Identity America & Personal Narrative
• Sports Communication
• Visual Narratives & Communication
• Beethoven, Beyonce, Porgy & Bess Intersection of Black Music

Delivery method and times are up to you.  However, we have found during the pandemic the fill rates for asynchronous classes has been higher that other modalities. You may offer face-to-face, online, hybrid etc.  and select the time for your class if that fits with your chosen meeting method.

• Include Course Option/Contract in your syllabus or d2l page.
  • Add a short statement that you are willing to work with Honors Students on Course/Options Contracts
• Share the Honors Program Invitation with Students in Your Classes.
  • Every semester you will receive a list of students in your classes that have been invited to join the Honors Program. Please encourage these students to work towards their full potential and take advantage of the opportunity.
• Give a grade of HA to any student who has gone Above and Beyond in your class.
  • If a student has performed so well in your course that you wish NHCC had an A++, you might consider giving that student a grade of HA.  This will carry the same weight in the Honors Program as a Course Option/Contract and count towards their requirements. 

You may announce to your class that you are open to offering Honors Course Option/Contract or students may ask you directly.  The student will provide a worksheet (add link to worksheet) that includes the following:

The instructor and student will first discuss the Honors project for their class. This can be a project the student proposes and develops with the guidance of the instructor OR a project the instructor has already developed. This does not have to be an additional project, but may be an existing project that is explored in more depth. Please feel free to use this form as a draft for your submission.

All projects must include the following: Research (e.g. peer reviewed journals, Internet, library, interviews), Writing (no less than three pages - length MUST be indicated) and a Presentation (e.g. virtual/Online, another public forum, to instructor). Please indicate the length of the presentation (10 minutes class presentation/video, 15 slides PowerPoint, etc.).

The instructor will provide the student the following information: how the project will be graded (e.g. a rubric, criteria, standards, etc.),the project due date, and meeting/progress dates

Upon completion of the worksheet, the student will submit the first half of the Course Option/Contract Form (link) and you will receive a link to fill out the remainder of the form.

Here are some ideas for topics or projects bearing in mind the required components of Research, Writing and Presentation:

• Have the student go deeper with a regular writing assignment. 
• Have them take a topic you are teaching and do a presentation to the class. 
• Have them go deeper on a regularly assigned project.  If it’s a group project they could be the project manager. 
• If they are reading a book, they could lead the class discussion, or if they are to write a synopsis of the book, they could be directed to go deeper and broader on a specific aspect of the book. 
• If they have a strong interest in one topic that has been discussed, have them go deeper and present to the class their findings. 
• Have them be a peer tutor in their class. 
• Student Research 
• Attend a Professional Conference and either make a class presentation or write a paper about the experience.  
• Perform an independent project. 
• Utilize different applications of new methods (e.g. Accounting) 
• Extemporaneous speaking in class. 
• Integrate Access and Excel  
• For global and international students – have them participate in getting feedback research on their transition into the US educational system – have them become ambassadors to others to assist in that transition and present their findings to the campus. 
• Do a public performance. 
• Have a publication. 
• Have a great books seminar. 
• Attend a community lecture and report/integrate into the classroom. 

Please follow this link to the Honors Program Sharepoint page where you can find additional information and forms.  If you have more questions, please reach out to David Mantini at david.mantini@e3fe.com.