Suggests that community colleges have always offered programs designed to encourage the enrollment of high ability students, including formal honors programs, honors courses or societies, tuition incentives, and opportunities for independent study. Cites ERIC documents and journal articles reflecting the current literature on honors programs…

Honors programs are not a major part of the community college curriculum due to the colleges' focus on providing access to nontraditional students, as well as the feeling of some community college educators that honors programs are inherently elitist. A 1975 survey found that only 47 of 644 responding institutions had formalized honors programs. A…

Reviews the most recent ERIC literature concerning the status of the liberal arts and humanities in community colleges; efforts to link the liberal arts with the world of work; interdisciplinary and other nontraditional humanities courses; liberal arts students; and honors programs. (AYC)

This digest describes community college honors programs with regard to their origins and goals, consistency with institutional missions, and effectiveness. Potential goals for honors programs at community colleges include: (1) providing advanced students an opportunity to learn more than they would in a non-honors curriculum; (2) retaining a…