The honors college at a large land-grant research university developed transdisciplinary courses to provide undergraduate opportunities for small, student-centered classes and collaborative problem engagement in a global context. In these courses, students engage principles of competency-based education and inquiry-based learning combined with…

While the coronavirus crisis altered all facets of life across the globe, its impact on American higher education posed immediate challenges to students and faculty alike. Disruptions in normal, in-person instruction affected all students' abilities to connect and create, but first-year students and their professors were particularly restricted in…

A critical component of any education, particularly an honors education, is an interdisciplinary curriculum that enriches the college experience. At South Dakota State University (SDSU), the Fishback Honors College strives to provide a robust and holistic educational experience through innovative honors courses paired with enriching co-curricular…

This case study examines the effectiveness of a formative assessment intervention in an honors section of a basic public speaking course. Previous research has found significantly higher levels of public speaking anxiety among honors students than among non-honors students and has therefore identified them as a population at risk for high public…

The primary purpose of the current study was to explore the nature and process of transformation as described by students in their stories of first-semester experiences and to compare these processes to those outlined in transformative learning models in order to examine the degree to which they correlate. The secondary goal was to investigate how…

There is increasing emphasis on the importance of making Graduate Attributes (GAs) explicit to students as part of their degree programme and the role of students themselves in proactively developing GAs. The aim of the present project was to encourage students to actively develop and reflect upon curricular and extra-curricular attributes at an…

Honors programs at colleges and universities provide academic and developmental opportunities for high-ability students. Learning communities, defined as a group of students who live together, are connected through membership in a common organization, and take classes together, are often a component of honors programs. Most research on learning…

As important as cognitive outcomes are in assessing the educational merits of honors programs, the authors ask whether honors programs affect the values and social attitudes of their students differently than other students: in particular, whether honors students are more or less tolerant than other students and, if so, in what ways and why. There…

The transition into college remains one of the most formative and complex phases in an individual's life. Institutions of higher learning have responded to the challenges facing first-year students in myriad ways, most often by offering summer orientation programs, dynamic living-learning environments, tailored academic and psychological support…

This article examines the student experience for a particular cohort, namely the joint honours students, at a post-1992 university in the United Kingdom. These students are enrolled in degree courses that combine two subjects at one university. Little attention has so far been given to such students whose experience is decidedly different from…

A potential source of useful information about undergraduate honors education can be found in doctoral dissertation abstracts that focus on honors. Debra Holman and James Banning of Colorado State University sought to explore this resource by undertaking a bounded qualitative meta-study of such abstracts using document analysis. Three…

In many countries, the training of researchers who will be internationally competitive has become a primary objective, leading to extensive discussion of the curricula, educational content, and methods that may ensure a high level of student achievement. In this global climate, only the most excellent students have the potential to engage…

It has been argued in recent educational literature that assessment drives learning, and that assessment should therefore rigorously align with the intended outcomes of a course of study. This article describes a research project analysing the assessment tool for the research component of a professional degree in a faculty of engineering and the…

Results of an evaluation of a college honors program are presented. Honors students at the State University of New York at Oswego were compared to four other student samples attending the same college: (1) nonhonors students matched on sex, major, and grade point average; (2) students who had dropped out of the honors program; (3) students invited…

A study is reported of how students in an honors program and a transition program for academically disadvantaged students, as well as students in the regular curriculum, become engaged in a variety of experiences and how their quality of effort in the activities is related to student growth and development. (Author/MLW)