The overarching purpose of the Honors College is summed up in the single ancient Greek word, areté (highest excellence), which the students and faculty of the College have taken as their motto. In working to achieve this purpose, the Honors College shares the university’s goal “to excel in undergraduate education, always striving to enrich the quality of learning and teaching.” The program is directly involved in “actively recruiting, challenging, supporting, and motivating students to achieve academic success.”
The Honors College is an integrated set of courses, seminars, colloquia, independent study projects, and other events designed to add unique dimensions and depth to the capable student’s university experience. The college is supervised and evaluated by the Honors committee. The committee recommends admission and retention standards, plans the Honors Colloquium, and reviews proposals for departmental and school honors independent studies. The committee is responsible to the University Academic Council. A faculty member is named by the president to serve as Honors College Director and to chair the Honors Committee.
Objectives of the Honors College:
- To identify students who have unusually high academic ability and interest as Henderson State University Honors College Scholars;
- To provide these students with special advising while they are in the Honors College;
- To involve the Honor Scholars with faculty members who are dedicated to the goals of honors scholarship and who provide challenging and rewarding opportunities for study and dialogue;
- To offer a measure of recognition to students who participate in a minimum number of Honors courses, colloquia, seminars, and independent studies.
- To encourage participating students and faculty to continue to excel in their scholarly and teaching vocations;
- To contribute to the enrichment of the university’s academic climate;
- To enhance the ability of Henderson Honor Scholars to deal successfully with the challenges of their vocations and lives beyond the university by placing particular emphasis on nurturing in each Scholar those capacities enumerated in the Henderson State University Mission Statement:
- To think logically and critically;
- To communicate effectively;
- To appreciate the complexity and diversity of world cultures;
- To understand the physical universe;
- To participate as a concerned, intelligent citizen;
- To acquire mastery of a particular field of study;
- To mature intellectually, emotionally, and physically; and
- To discern appropriate uses of technology.
