Tubbs, Chardai. (2009). Not Quite Honors College Yet

Southern Arkansas University has developed and sustained an elite Honors Program. It offers numerous honors-level courses, provide top-notch housing, and challenges the IQ’s of all accepted. I am not convinced, however, that it can be called an Honors College just yet.

The first and most important differentiating factor between the SAU Honors program and any Honors College is the fact that SAU does not employ an Honors College Dean. Having a full-time dean is one of the criteria for an Honors College. While SAU does have an Honors College Director, because he is not full-time and does not have the title of Dean, the program cannot be classified as a college.

Another separating factor is that at SAU, the Honors Program is not credited as an equal collegiate structure. Its name does not stand among the ranks with the College of Business, Science and Technology, and all the other ones. Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that the SAU Honors Program is fairly new. Until the Honors Program can be just as significant as all the other colleges at the multi-collegiate university that SAU is, it cannot have the Honors College title.

The last lacking characteristic in the Southern Arkansas University Honors Program is alumni. Because the SAU Honors Program is so new, there is not an abundance of alumni for support. It takes awhile for any program to grow and flourish and with time, the SAU Honors Program will gain the alumni that it needs to satisfy this criterion of an Honors College.

All in all, the SAU Honors Program, although very satisfactory, cannot be called an Honors College. While it does meet many of the goals of a full Honors College, it lacks completion of some of the bigger ones. Given time, I believe the SAU Honors Program will grow and be able to stand among the best. Maybe then will it be able to be call SAU Honors College.