Honors Contracts

Copyright Jodie Childers

 

English Department

Tanya Zhelezcheva

Queensborough Community College provides the opportunity for exceptional students to be challenged by enrolling in an Honors class or by completing an Honors Contract, an independent study within a course. The English Department has been offering Honors Contracts.

 

Students are eligible for an Honors Contract if they have at least 9 QCC credits with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3. 00. Students who do not meet the above requirements, but have demonstrated exceptional abilities in the subject matter may also complete an Honors Contract if they are recommended by faculty. In an EN 101course, where most students have recently enrolled in QCC and have not completed 9 credit hours, the faculty may invite the student to complete an Honors Contract provided the student demonstrates outstanding abilities.

 

If a student signs an Honors Contract for a select class and completes it, he or she will receive an honors credit for the course which will be designated as a footnote in the transcript. Completing 12 honors credits and obtaining at least a 3. 40 GPA at the time of graduation allows the student to graduate with an Honors Certificate.

 

If a student signs but does not complete the requirements of the Honors Contract, the student may still finish the class and may receive an A for the course. The faculty are not obliged to sign a contract even though a student may request it.

 

If a student expresses an interest in working on a challenging project, the faculty needs to submit an Honors Contract (see Attachment B below). Except for the top portion of the Honors Contract, the remainder has to be filled out by the faculty. The document may be compiled after the student and the faculty have discussed their interests or the faculty may design the project without the input of the student.

 

Previous Honors Contracts from the English Department tend to include a substantial research component, a project or projects that demonstrate sophisticated thinking about a topic, and several meetings (one or two at the discretion of the faculty) between faculty and student to discuss the development of the student's ideas. These requirements also usually lead to lengthier final projects.

 

The Honors Contracts, which are approved by the Honors Committee, need to stress two key points:

1. A clear statement of how the project(s) of the honors student reaches beyond the expectations of the non-honors students; and
2. A list of important deadlines for the honors student to observe throughout the semester as well as the date by which the student will submit the final project.

 

The Honors Contract also requires a visit to the library by a specific date, usually early in the semester. Failure to attend the library session disqualifies the student from obtaining an Honors designation for the class. Students who have already attended the honors library workshop during previous semesters are exempt from this requirement. Some classes visit the library for a library session, but such sessions are different from the library honors workshops, and they are not counted as a requirement for the honors students.

 

While the Honors Program does not allow incomplete grades, a student may complete the honors contract and still receive a B or lower grade for the course.

 

Honors students are encouraged to attend the Annual Honors Conference which is usually organized at the end of the Spring semester. While presenting at the conference is not a requirement to receive an honors credit, if a student is interested in delivering a paper at the conference, he or she would need to submit an abstract by a specified deadline. The deadline is usually announced in a campus-wide email with several reminders.

 

Please note that the deadlines for the submission of the Honors Contract and the Honors Conference are strict.

 

Here are several important and rough deadlines for faculty to observe:

Week 1: Formulate the requirements for the Honors Contract and specify the date by which the student should submit the final honors project(s).

End of Week 2: Sign the contract and gather signatures from the student and from the chair of the English Department.

Week 3: Submit the Honors Contract(s) to Ms. Carol Imandt at A-503.

Week 4: Receive notification if the Honors Contract has been approved by the Honors Program by Ms. Carol Imandt.

Week 6: Gather the Library Certificate from the student.

Approximately Week 10: Have the honors student write an abstract for the Honors Conference. (optional)

Approximately Week 13: Receive notification from Ms. Carol Imandt if the conference abstract has been accepted.

Week 14: Submit the following documents to Ms. Carol Imandt either electronically or as a hard copy:

• the student's final project
• the student's library certificate

 

In Attachment B below, you can see how the deadlines for the honors projects can be included in the semester calendar attached to the course syllabus.

 

If you have further questions about the Honors Contracts and the Honors Program, please contact Paris Svoronos (PSvoronos@qcc.cuny.edu), x5562. You can find him in his office S-448A. You may also visit the Honors Program website:

http://www.qcc.cuny.edu / academicaffairs/honorsprogram/

 

Copyright Jodie Childers

 

Please see Honors Attachment B

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