Project exceeds new course goal for Spring 2007
The CMU 2010 Honors Program Enhancement project literally means the world to Katie Dykehouse.
The Spring Lake sophomore will spend next May in China comparing American and Chinese cultures and business practices as part of the international business course recently added as a 300-level Honors class through CMU 2010 funding.
In addition to counting as Honors credit, Dykehouse said this new Honors course has opened the door to potentially completing her business internship and Honors senior research project in China.
“This really creates a lot of opportunities for me,” said Dykehouse, a Centralis scholar majoring in marketing communications.
Honors Program Director James Hill said this is the type of opportunity that the university needs to offer to challenge Honors students.
Project funding over the next three years is helping the Honors Program offer a full complement of Honors courses for freshmen through seniors. Regular Honors courses previously were available at the 100 and 200 levels, but students had to work with an Honors advisor to develop individual course work contracts to fulfill many of the 300-level Honors courses required under the Honors Protocol.
“How could I promise students a unique and vibrant Honors experience and have our master class list stagnant at the 300 course level?” Hill said. “This money has made possible what wasn’t possible before.”
“It is going to help make a very good Honors Program that much better, and if the university’s goal is to attract the best students, I’d say we’re right on course.”
Hill said he was aiming high when he set a goal to add six to eight new Honors classes for Spring 2007. But as of Phase 2 of registration, CMU 2010 funding has helped to add 11 new Honors classes. This increases the total number of Honors classes to 47 for the semester – the most ever offered since the Honors Program was established in 1961.
“There is so much that is exciting about this new 2010 support,” Hill said. “We have gotten commitments from every college dean and from all 21 departments offering Honors courses to participate in this new process.
“I think by the year 2010, the overall quality of our Honors Program experience will rival any similar Honors program or college in the state or region.”
In addition to increasing the number of Honors courses, 2010 funding is creating more opportunities for faculty to interact with Honors students. It also has enabled the Honors Program to establish its earliest preregistration department-Honors consultation process ever, which further benefits Honors marketing, scheduling, and advising.
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