Guidelines for the Penn State Altoona Honors Option

The purpose of the Honors Option is to allow an honors student to fulfill their requirement of one honors class per semester even if an official “honors section” of a class is not available or desirable. To be successful, the Honors Option requires careful planning early in the semester between student and teacher. The idea for the option can come from the instructor or the student but should ideally be some combination of both. The Honors Program thanks each instructor for undertaking this responsibility.

  • The work of the Honors Option should not be added to the already-existing routine work of the course. It should replace some portion of the routine course work but still be related to the content and intent of the original course syllabus.
  • The Honors Option should offer a treatment of some aspect of the course in greater depth. For example, the option might delve into the methodology or theory laying at the foundation of a class topic. Or, it might continue to pursue a topic that the rest of the class will give relatively brief treatment.
  • The honors element introduces a change more of quality and not so much quantity. The character and quality of the course work should be augmented, but the time required for the project should remain commensurate with a comparable honors course and also the original course that the student is taking.
  • The Honors Option should be clearly planned in content and in the schedule. Reasonably regular meetings between the instructor and student to discuss and review the project are important. Whenever possible, specify deadlines.
  • Faculty can feel free to insist on modifications to the student proposal in the event that the proposal does not reflect serious preparation or does not reflect work worthy of an honors project. Also, the Honors Coordinator may help the instructor make this evaluation.
  • Students may not be given monetary compensation as part of an Honors Option.

Honors Option Form

This form must be filed with the Honors Coordinator before the end of the third week of the semester in which the course is taken.

Student Information
Your Penn State ID number is a nine-digit number beginning with "9." It can be found on your Penn State id+ card.
Course Information
Semester
Description of Project
Please describe the work in this Honors Option and specify the portion of the course syllabus that it will replace or enlarge on.
Please specific how many points the assigned honors work will be worth. This point total or percentage should be equivalent to the portion of the course syllabus that the honors work replaces or enlarges on. For example, 100 possible points out of the class total of 1000 points.
The focus of this project should be on the quality of the work, not the quantity. Please describe what makes your proposal an Honors project: In what way does it enhance or deepen some regular requirement of the course?
An important component of Honors work is regular contact between student and faculty for review and discussion of the project as it develops. Please describe the agreement reached and appropriate deadlines for meeting this requirement. (For example, final projects should have a first draft deadline to permit revisions.)
Signatures

Along with the specific information requested on page one, go these general agreements:

Grading

The student’s work should reflect all of the student’s work in the course, including work done in common with other students as well as work done in the Honors mode. Indeed, the goal of an honors option is to provide significant enrichment without changing the core course. Honors option work may therefore substitute for specified regular (syllabus-prescribed) work or it may be additional work included in the course for the honors student. The honors option work should account for between 10 and 25 percent of the course grade, not as extra credit but embedded in the course grade.

Removing the Option

The filing on an Honors Option represents a commitment by both student and instructor to see the project through. The course may not revert to non-honors status without the permission of the instructor. The Honors Coordinator must receive written notification immediately of such a change, but no later than the end of the sixth week of the semester. This rule applies whether or not a student continues in the Honors College throughout the semester.

Supervision

Honors work should be supervised by members of the regular faculty who have professorial appointments. Graduate students and staff may not supervise an Honors Option.

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