Resources for Faculty in Honors

Faculty and staff from across campus are invited to develop and teach Honors College seminars and department honors courses. We are particularly interested in topics that engage students with big ideas or research-intensive projects.

Welcoming All to Honors

Faculty-initiated honors option: Honors can serve as a teaching tool for faculty engaging students in rigorous disciplinary study. One simple way to begin teaching in Honors is to invite students into an honors-level assignment within your existing departmental course. The Honors Faculty Council endorsed the below syllabus language for all faculty looking to add Honors into their courses. 

[Include below language if you plan to offer honors assignments within your existing course.]

This course offers an Honors Distinction Option at the course level, open to any student enrolled in the class, regardless of membership in the Cohen Honors College. Students who choose this option will complete an enrichment assignment that is “measurably broader, deeper, or more complex” than standard course expectations,  in alignment with the National Collegiate Honors Council definition of honors education.

Instructor: Explain honors embedded assignments below or within the assignment section of your syllabus.

 Examples of work completed to earn Honors credit for a standard course include:

• A research and reflection paper comprising real-world experience which applies in-class knowledge.
• A presentation of further studies related to the discipline including additional primary source materials, additional problems to solve, or ways to extend course material.
• Assist professor with a small part of current research related to course content.

Additional Paths to Teaching Honors

Submit a seminar or department honors course proposal through the CIM system and include specific information about what makes the course an Honors-level experience.

Faculty also may use the Seminar Course Proposal form to make a preliminary inquiry and get feedback on a course idea. 

Teaching existing HNRS seminars: Faculty may request to teach an existing Honors seminar course such as HNRS 351 Survey of Leadership, HNRS 352 Survey of Law and Public Policy, or HNRS 486 Collaborative Research. For more information about Honors curriculum, visit the current student page of our website or the undergraduate catalog.

Departmental honors courses: Departments may offer an honors (H- suffix) section of any existing department course by adding a cross-listed course through the Course Information Management system (CIM). These courses are scheduled and supported by the department. Department chairs are welcome to contact their college's honors faculty council member with any questions.

Interested faculty may serve as an undergraduate research mentor, as a member of the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity grants committee, or on the Cohen Honors College Faculty Council, the faculty governance board that oversees Honors curriculum and academic affairs.

Example Faculty Fellow Projects

Background and Purpose

We seek to engage a diverse group of faculty and staff each year to increase our Honors course offerings and increase or improve Honors and high-impact experiences such as undergraduate research, service-learning, and study abroad. Fellows are funded by a gift from Dorothy and Bill Cohen.

Faculty are invited to submit proposals to fund honors course development and other projects related to Honors. Fellows may propose funding for research and implementation of high-impact practices/programs such as the recent first-year research experience program (FYRE).

The first Honors Faculty Fellows served in summer 2013 to develop the Honors College concept and curriculum. These faculty, in collaboration with the Faculty Senate Honors Committee, articulated the college vision and intended benefits that current Honors-affiliated faculty and faculty fellows support.

Application Materials

Submit to: Campus Box 102 or by email to honors@wichita.edu:

• A two- to three-page proposal (statement of interest) that includes background sources, if appropriate, information about why you are interested in Honors or high-impact practices, what prepares you for this work, a timeline and budget;
• A curriculum vitae; and
• A letter of support from your department chair and dean or supervisor.

Preference may be given to proposals that clearly articulate a connection to current Honors Goals and to the University Strategic Plan.

Selection: Final fellow appointments are made by the Honors College Dean based on the Honors College Faculty Council application review and recommendations. Fellow nominations are welcome from other academic college deans.

Deadline

By April 1st for work during the following academic year or summer.

Eligibility

All fulltime faculty and staff are eligible to serve as Cohen Honors Faculty Fellows. Some Honors -affiliated teaching faculty may be selected as fellows based on their tenure of teaching within Honors or on a course proposal in an area such as first-year teaching or study abroad.

Departments, offices, and colleges may submit proposals for development of substantial honors experiences in their college/unit or for collaboration across areas. All individual applications must include a letter of support from the department chair/supervisor.

Expectations

Fellows agree to serve a one- or two-year appointment with possibility for renewal based on project goals and measures. Fellows will establish project goals and measures in collaboration with their chair/supervisor, and the Honors College Dean at the beginning of the fellowship period.

In addition to individual work toward their proposed course or project, fellows are asked to meet once per semester as a group to share project developments including research findings, best practices, challenges, and questions.

Funding

Honors partners with colleges to fund release time or overload and/or professional development such as conference travel, depending on department capacity and project goals. The standard summer stipend for curriculum development or other administrative work is $1500.