Faculty Resources

Teaching in the Honors College

Teaching an Honors College course is both stimulating and rewarding. Our students are bold thinkers, engaged learners, and compassionate leaders—ready to make a lasting impact locally and globally. Faculty who teach Honors courses are encouraged to bring their research into the classroom, explore innovative pedagogy, and design engaging, hands-on experiences that extend beyond lecture.

Curricular Expectations

• Honors courses should offer students opportunities to learn deeply, think critically, and connect ideas across disciplines. Each course is expected to include:
• Experiential learning – such as lab or fieldwork, service-learning, or other hands-on components.
• Engagement with primary sources and/or disciplinary methods.
• Synthesis of knowledge across the course, and where possible, across other areas of study.

Designing Honors Components

Students may approach faculty to complete a course for Honors credit through an Honors-by-Contract (HBC). In these cases, the student and faculty member agree on an honors component—an enriched academic experience that goes beyond the standard syllabus.

Examples of possible Honors components include:

• Following the graduate syllabus in a cross-listed undergraduate/graduate class.
• Conducting additional or advanced lab work.
• Developing supplemental teaching materials to be shared with the class.
• Collaborating with the professor to design and present a learning module.
• Presenting a research project to the class and leading small tutorial discussions.
• Preparing and presenting a research project at the annual Engaged Scholar Symposium.

How to Engage with the Honors College

• Teach an Honors course and inspire future leaders
• Mentor a student on research or creative projects
• Support Honors by Contract with innovative ideas
• Supervise an Honors thesis/project
• Nominate Students – Encourage high-achieving students to apply or get involved.
• Serve as a Faculty Partner – Join committees, lead workshops, or present to Honors cohorts.
• Collaborate in building a culture of academic excellence, leadership, and engagement.

Faculty are encouraged to be creative and flexible in designing honors components that challenge students while also supporting their own teaching and research.

Resources

• The National Collegiate Honors Council's guide to honors teaching
• Joe Schall’s Guide to Writing Letters of Recommendation
• Another article on writing letters of recommendation, from Inside Higher Ed