Honors Option Contracts
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Honors Option Contracts are agreements between students and faculty that allow honors
credit to be awarded to a student enrolled in a regular section of a course upon completion
of a significant honors experience or project. -
H-Option requests originate with the student who should work with you to develop the
terms of the honors contract. Once the form is completed, you will receive an email
to approve the form. Forms are due by the 14th day of the course semester (7th class
day for term and summer classes). -
Honors will contact faculty via email in the last two weeks of class to certify (or
deny) completion of the terms of the contract and awarding of honors credit. Certification
must take place prior to the last day of class. - Current as of Spring 2024: The H-Option contract process has moved completely online.
Click the contract button below for the new electronic form. - PLEASE NOTE: SELU email access is necessary for entry into the form.
FAQs for H-Options
Is my course eligible for an H-Option?
we have a regular honors equivalent. Some departments (e.g., Kinesiology and Nursing) have designated certain courses as their preferred H-Option
courses. Check with your department head if you are uncertain, but most courses are
eligible for H-Option.
Do I have to agree to oversee a student’s H-Option?
earn the Honors Diploma, it is up to the professor whether or not to accept a student’s
request to complete an H-Option.
What kinds of assignments are appropriate for the honors component in the course?
The nature of the work will vary from course to course, but all honors contracts should provide students
with additional experience, insight, and/or academic rigor. The connection to you
as a faculty mentor is also an important aspect of the honors component.
Contracts frequently include these kinds of elements:
- Out-of-class meetings with you at several points during the semester
- Additional and/or higher-level readings, labs, or work
- An interdisciplinary, service, or community engagement element
- Intentional reflection on the experience
- Creation of some kind of final output (presentation, paper, podcast, video, report, slideshow)
- Submission of a work from the course for competition, presentation, or publication
Faculty are highly encouraged to have students work on projects that are mutually
beneficial. A recent monograph from the National Collegiate Honors Council points out that honors students can learn
about important issues and current research, develop self-presentation and advocacy
strategies, and hone technological and employment skills from engaging closely in
the work that faculty do every day such as:
- conducting literature reviews on recent publications
- meeting the challenge of planning and leading a class session
- researching and producing electronic content for use in future classes
- participating in research for submission to an academic conference or journal
- creating promotional material on academic and professional issues related to the course
topic - participating in grant-seeking by searching for promising grants, compiling topic
histories, and contributing to budget drafts - engaging local communities through service-learning projects.
The more you are able to involve honors students in the real work that you do as a
faculty member (teaching, research, service), the more valuable the honors contract
experience is likely to be for both you and the student.
Can a student earn H-Option credit in a course for work on the senior thesis?
May I see some sample H-Option contracts?
Can I have multiple students work together on an H-Option?
wish to complete the H-Option, a group assignment would be perfectly acceptable.
When should I make the project due?
date for completion of the honors contract a few weeks before the end of the semester
gives you time to evaluate, ask for revisions, and/or certify in a timely manner.
Is there a minimum grade a student must earn to receive honors credit in my course?
The minimum level grade for awarding honors credit should be spelled out in the H-Option
contract.
Some departments insist on ‘A’ level work from Honors Program students to entertain
awarding honors credits. Other departments feel that the rigor of honors work is
such that a ‘C’ grade in an honors course reflects average level work on above-average
level rigor. While honors students typically do excellent work, deciding this issue
in advance with the student can save a lot of anguish later.
What happens to the student’s grade if they do not complete the H-Option work?
baseline grade in the course is affected by the honors component. For example, if
the honors contract required a student to give longer speeches, write more in-depth
papers, or take an essay exam rather than the multiple choice exam other students
were taking, the student’s performance on the honors component of the course would
necessarily affect the student’s final grade in the course. Other contracts are written
such that students complete extra work beyond the regular course requirements (e.g., an extra paper and presentation). In these instances, should a student not complete
the honors component of the course, the professor could simply grade the student as
regular and deny the issuance of the honors credit at the end of the term.
How is the honors credit indicated on the student’s transcript?
of the H-Option contract, we contacts the registrar who adds an ‘7’ to the course
number on the student’s transcripts (e.g., ECON 2010 becomes ECON 2017).
Will I receive extra compensation for overseeing H-Option contracts?
students in H-Option contracts, sadly, we do not. Many departments, however, consider
mentoring of students in undergraduate research as an important area of the annual
evaluation. The Honors Program appreciates the invaluable support your willingness
to work with honors students provides.