SAU Honors College

The SAU Honors College was founded in 2003 by Dr. David Rankin, president of SAU. Dr. Lynne Belcher served as founding director and is retired from SAU. The Honors College seeks and admits qualified students who seek to pursue a serious academic program with equally gifted peers and committed teachers. Honors classes are small and provide academically enriching opportunities for students and the faculty who teach them. Currently, SAU enrolls nearly 170 honors students and graduates about 66% of admitees in four years or less. Anyone interested in applying to the Honors College or seeking further information should contact the director, Dr. Edward P. Kardas at epkardas@saumag.edu or at 870 904-8897.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Dawson, Stephanie. (2009). Honors Teachers Requirements

As outlined in the Basic Characteristics of a Fully Developed Honors Program, the staff who teach the honor classes must be “carefully selected,” capable of teaching advanced students, and able to provide them with “intellectual leadership.” Southern Arkansas University has not only met this criterion, but is also seeking to go beyond it.

Because the Honors College is new to SAU, the list of honor classes is short. For now, however, this is a positive thing as it shows the thoroughness of teacher selection. Not all teachers are capable of teaching advanced students who want to, not only get by, but to excel and get the most out of their time in college. Teaching alone is not nearly enough. Teachers must work with students on coursework as well as teaching them how to it applies to everyday life and how to rise above the norms of a typical college student. Selecting teachers for this task can be difficult, as there are few at SAU currently who meet these requirements. However, the teachers who do teach honors are excellent at what they do. Moving at a swifter and more advanced pace, current they allow their students freedom in the classroom to voice their opinions and grow as students.

With the expansion of Honors College courses comes the recruiting of teachers. The upcoming meeting: “So You Think You’d Like to Teach Honors” will be a way for prospective honors faculty to become informed of what is expected and also to decide if they are capable of achieving the requirements and what is expected of them by both the school and the students. Instead of merely wanting to expand the honors program for show, SAU seeks to expand the college in a way that can provide the most benefit for the student. Southern Arkansas University has met this demand of a fully developed honors program.

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