Criteria for Honors Courses
The Honors College at the University of Missouri, Columbia, offers courses
specifically designed for high-ability, motivated students. Although the offerings
of the Honors College are strengthened by their diversity, they generally share
certain fundamental characteristics that distinguish them from non-honors courses.
Honors courses should differ from non-honors courses in depth and/or breadth
of coverage. In many Honors courses, students will explore connections within
and among disciplines, as well as the relationship of course material to a diverse
global society. Where appropriate, these courses should use primary source documents
(e.g., journal articles, original texts), and require students to design and
conduct research models appropriate for the discipline.
Honors courses should be designed to engage students actively in the learning
process. Students in honors courses should be expected to engage in inquiry,
critical thinking, application, synthesis, analysis, and/or evaluation of the
knowledge acquired. Generally, honors courses should require students to participate
in discussion, debate, simulations, or case studies where the student is expected
to actively engage with the course material. They should ask students to develop,
discuss, and defend opinions, attitudes, or values related to the course content;
to pose questions and develop oral and written responses appropriate to the
discipline; and/or to develop leadership skills through presentations, service-learning
internships, or professional development activities. Students may also be asked
to contribute to the design of course assignments or to tailor existing course
assignments to reflect their own interests.
Honors courses should encourage students to interact with faculty and with
one another, both inside and outside class, as part of the learning process.
For this reason, they should be designed for fewer students than other classes
and be taught by regular faculty members or, in certain cases, by non regular
faculty/advanced graduate students with a record of excellent teaching. Honors
students should have opportunities to interact with their instructors outside
the classroom. They should receive more regular feedback and direction on their
progress beyond formal graded assignments.
While honors courses may require some greater time commitment of the students
than similar non-honors courses, the emphasis should be on increasing the depth
and thoroughness of understanding rather than the amount of material covered.
Honors students do not need to do more work than non-honors students; they
need to do work that is more appropriate for high-ability, motivated students.
Approved by Honors Council on September 22, 2004
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