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College Honors: Faculty Resources

In Spring 2008, a Task Force was appointed by Provost Beth Barnett to re-vision the curriculum and design of the College Honors program here. That group as constituted was: Bernard Roy, Co-Chair, Marta Vides, Co-Chair, Susan Eisner , Bernard Langer, Secretary, James Morley, Vice-Chair, Sharon Rubin, Eric Wiener.

This group worked tirelessly and intensely to provide guidance on program design. The full report of the Task Force may be found online on the Provost's page, Provost/Faculty Resources link, at: http://ww2.ramapo.edu/administration/provostfaculty/honors.aspx

The proposed curriculum commencing September 2009 is based on the recommendations of this Task Force.  This term, the 100-level Honors First Year Seminar curriculum is being piloted. The pilot courses will be the basis of Academic Review Committee (ARC) consideration of the curriculum in the year prior to implementation. 

The members of the current Honors Advisory Board are:

Bernard Roy, M.Phil., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Philosophy Advisory Board Chair	William Frech, Ph.D., Professor of International Business	Patricia Keeton, M.A., Ph.D. Professor of Communications	Bernard Langer, M.A., Ph.D., J.D. Professor of History and Philosophy of Science Dean Theoretical and Applied Sciences Secretary, Advisory Board
James Morley, M.A., Ph.D. Professor of Clinical Psychology Vice-Chair, Advisory Board	Marta Vides Saade, J.D., M.Div., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Law & Society Director College Honors Program Advisory Board, ex officio	Eric Wiener, M.S., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Environmental Science

Protocols for Advising College Honors Students

During the transition to the new curriculum commencing September 2009, the College Honors Program will be emphasizing the features of mentoring our students that form a learning community of students and faculty. While the requirements and forms for existing students remain the same, the intentionality of the newly envisioned program begins now.

Enrolled before September 2009:

Requirements in the College Honors Program remain the same.  In the spirit of the new curriculum being implemented commencing September 2009, we are emphasizing the following aspects in evaluating H-Option proposals as well as the Honors Project required for Graduation with Honors:

1. The proposed work should be interesting to the student, as relevant to future work.  This means any H-Option should help students discern work for the Honors Project or for work after graduation in graduate school or professional work. Any H-Option proposal that merely lists more work or different work as part of a course will be returned to the student and faculty member for more information on how it enhances student learning. Likewise, any Honors Project should be based on the student's curiosity and desire for learning. The proposals submitted to the Director should reflect this interest.
   
   
2. Interdisciplinary work is encouraged. Keep this in mind when mentoring your H-Option students or choosing Honors Project additional Readers.  Mentoring these students requires intentional communication and time. Please be mindful of that need.
   
   
3. For the six-credit Honors Project requirement, students may double-count credits in a senior capstone thesis, research or project requirement within their own major, or work such as the TAS Research Honors project, if that work is sufficient as partial completion of the Honors Project.  These decisions requiring Course Substitutions will be made case by case by the College Honors Director in consultation with students, their faculty mentors in the capstones, and the administrators of the particular major or program.
   
   
4. In April 2009, we will sponsor our first College Honors Symposium. Any of your stiudents completing Honors Projects this year are eligible to submit their work for consideration. Likewise, any joint student-faculty research is eligible. More direction on how to do this will follow as we move closer to the Spring term.

Enrolled  in the 2008 Honors First Year Seminar courses:

This year we have launched pilot Honors courses in preparation for implementation of  our new College Honors curriculum commencing September 2009. Each course will be piloted one year in advance of its official offering.  Students in these courses admitted to the existing program, yet have the option of structuring their work in the program to opt into the new curriculum.  How?

First, any pilot Honors-Only course students take, will count as an H-Option course, should they decide to complete the existing curriculum requirements. Students are strongly encouraged to enroll in three of these courses.
Second, if students decide to complete the sequence of four Honors-only courses piloted for the new curriculum, they may opt in to that curriculum for the purpose of completing Honors in the Major. This would give students access to potential additional resources for presenting their own work.

Students will be consulting with the Director and their faculty mentors about their options as they move through the program. All faculty are encouraged to help guide students toward discerning the best choice for their own needs.

Teaching in the Curriculum Commencing September 2009

If you are interested in teaching a course in the College Honors curriculum, or mentoring students, please review the 4-Year Plan link for courses or a role as guest lecturer that might of interest to you. Keep in mind we are piloting all courses one year before implementation.  Most will be Fall offerings. We will include some Spring offerings to accommodate Continuing Student and Transfer Students.  Also review the Honors Project link for ideas on how to mentor students in your respective major who might be interested in completing the Honors in the Major requirement with you.  If you wish to participate or have questions, email the Director for more information, or request to join the College Honors Faculty Information Group on Luminis.

Dr. Bernard Roy

Message from the Chair, College Honors Advisory Board:

Warm welcome to the site of Ramapo College Honors Program! Take a few minutes, stroll from link to link, and find out if the Ramapo College Honors Program is something, of which you want to become a part. Meet the people behind the program, contact them, check the events, and when done, leave the virtual site and come visit us in person at the A 110 Honors Lounge. We plan to have our dust settle soon.

-- Dr. Bernard Roy

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