Tye Daniel. (2009). Honors Dorm and Other Facilities

Though the Honors College has its own dorm in name, and an office with the title Honors College on the door, there is much needed when considering suitable quarters and facilities for the program. According to the National Collegiate Honors Council’s list of basic characteristics of a fully developed honors program, “The program should occupy suitable quarters constituting an Honors center with such facilities as an Honors library, lounge, reading rooms, personal computers and other décor”. None of these are in actuality provided specifically for the Honors College, and by not doing so Southern Arkansas University cannot claim to have a fully developed honors program.

To begin, the idea of the Honors College currently having any of its own facilities or a reasonable office must be refuted. Honors students must share their dorm with the leadership college as well as other students outside of the honors college. Consequently, honors students must compete with other students for facilities such as the computer room, study space, and lounge area. This is particularly hard on honors students carrying a large workload. The thought of typing papers and conducting Internet research in a space with music blasting and loud conversations has caused some honors students to migrate to the library to compete for computer space in the quiet lab, or to deprive themselves of sleep by working on papers in the wee hours of the morning. Study rooms in the Honors College are on a first come, first serve basis resulting in many honors students having to find other places to study when students outside of honors occupy these rooms. This makes some members of the Honors College feel that the university isn’t taking them into consideration. The current Honors College office is not located in a central part of campus; rather it has a cramped office in Peace Hall without enough space for honors staff and the honors director.

The Honors College is in need of certain living quarters and facilities in order for it to continue its development. To begin, honors students are in need of full possession of their dorm, which would solve the issues of study space, living quarters, and computers. A suitable space for an honors lounge is necessary to the further development of the Honors College. This would provide needed entertainment and camaraderie among honors students, and perhaps develop enough morale to make students considering transferring to another college’s program desire to stay instead. Honors College is also in need of an office in the Reynolds’ Center or some other central location on campus capable of being comfortably visited by honors students. This central office would make the Honors College feel less segregated from the rest of campus. It would also make faculty and staff more aware of the Honors College.

In conclusion, the Honors College is in need of improvement when concerning quarters and facilities; however, these improvements are quite possible and within the capability of Southern Arkansas University.