Honors GER Sections

Faculty and departments are invited to collaborate with the Honors College to provide Honors sections of Tier 1 and Tier 2 GER courses. Honors GER sections provide current Honors students, and those who may be interested in joining the Honors program, an opportunity to complete requirements towards both their GER requirements and the Honors program. Faculty members have the opportunity to teach a GER course with motivated students and be creative in how they enhance the class.

Honors GER Classes Guide - Downloadable PDF

 

Process to offer an Honors GER section

1. Identify one or more of the following Honors student learning objectives (SLOs) to add to the course SLOs. The SLO(s) needs to be reflected in the instructor’s decisions of how they choose to enhance the course and provide an elevated learning experience.

• Demonstrate the skills, disposition, and knowledge necessary to engage with community issues through an informed, participatory lens.
• Reflect and act upon global interdependencies between self, others, and community.
• Demonstrate the ability to develop and execute a vision that involves others to work collaboratively towards a shared goal.
•  Demonstrate the ability to work through a research or creative process, which mayinclude: conception or question formulation; background research; proposal; methodology; craft strategies; implementation; analysis; reflection; revision; exhibition/presentation/performance; and dissemination.

2. Contact the Honors Academic Board (HAB) chair and let them know there is interest in teaching an Honors GER section. Necessary information to provide in the email includes the course name and number and the identified Honors SLO(s). 

Dr. Martha Amore (Department of Writing) is the current HAB chair. She can be reached at mjamore@alaska.edu and is available to answer questions about the Honors GER sections or, more broadly, the Honors program.

3. When submitting the semester course schedule, have your departmental scheduler add the following note to Honors sections: 

This section satisfies program requirements for students participating in University Honors. Other students may also register for this section. While this section will have enhanced learning objectives to satisfy the honors requirements, it will not carry any special designation on student transcripts. Please contact jcbruner@alaska.edu or the instructor with any questions about this section.

The note’s email address is for Joe Bruner, Director of Student Success Initiatives, Strategy & Assessment, with the Office of Student Success. Joe provides administrative support to the Honors.

4. Once an Honors section has been listed in the online system, email its CRN, section number, and class meeting day/time to the HAB Chair. The CRN is needed to ensure that the correct section is listed on Honors marketing materials and shared with First Year Advisors.

5. Near the end of the semester, instructors will be asked to share a brief evaluation, focused on the selected SLO, with the class. The evaluation results will be used for Honors program evaluation. An instructor may request a copy of the evaluation results for their own review. Requested results will be emailed after grades are submitted. 

6. Instructors are asked to complete a brief information form upon completion of their Honors GER section. The results will be used for Honors program evaluation. 

 

FAQs

• Does the Honors College receive the tuition for the class?
  No, the Honors College does not receive tuition for the Honors GER sections. The tuition revenue for a Honors GER section remains with the college/program.
• Does a course, meaning all of its sections, have to be designated Honors?
  No, individual sections of the course are designated as Honors sections. You may choose one or more sections of the course to designate, but there is no expectation that all sections would be designated Honors.
• Who can teach an Honors GER section?
  Full-time tenured, tenure-track, or term faculty Honors can teach Honors GER sections. The preference is for faculty who have experience teaching the GER course, which then prepares them to better conceptualize how to enhance the students’ learning experience.
• Are there specific pedagogy requirements for the Honors GER sections?
  No, the instructor has full discretion over the course design, assignments, and format (i.e., face to-face, online, hybrid). Faculty members will be asked to share how the section fulfilled the Honors SLO and provided an enhanced experience for students in the course information form.
• Are there limits to the class size?
  There are no limits to the class size, outside of the minimum number of seats filled guidance provided by the Office of Academic Affairs. However, for large sections, it may be more challenging to create an enriching Honors environment and fulfill the additional SLO. The department may choose to decrease the section enrollment or create learning cohorts within the class supported by graduate/peer assistants. The instructor may choose to incorporate team projects as part of their class assignments. The HAB Chair is available to meet to discuss options for how the Honors SLO and enhanced learning environment can be fulfilled in large sections.
• Can only Honors students enroll in the section?
  No, the Honors GER sections are available to all students and can be a great way for students considering Honors to take a first step into the program. Admitted Honors students receive priority registration and will be encouraged to take Honors GER sections, as appropriate, to fulfill their GERs