All About Honors Contracts
All About Honors Contracts
A great way to "Honorize" your non-honors classes
Hello everyone! This week, we’re dedicating our entire newsletter to the issue of Honors Contracts. Contracts have continued to be a hot topic of inquiry this summer, and questions about contracts have handily outnumbered all others during New Honors Student Orientation. So, whether you’re looking for a deep dive into one of your favorite courses or would like to “Honorize” a class we don’t offer in an Honors format, read below for information on how to pursue a contract this semester.
What is an Honors Contract?
An Honors Contract provides students with the opportunity to convert a non-Honors course into an Honors experience by working with the instructor to complete additional Honors-level work. If, at the end of the semester, the student satisfies the requirements of the contract and earns a B or better in the course, they will earn the same number of Honors Points for the contract that they would have earned if the course were an Honors class. An Honors Contract represents an an agreement among the honors student, a SF faculty member, and the SF Honors Program. As such, an Honors Contract will be established at an instructor’s discretion and professors are not required to agree to overseeing Honors contracts.
How can you establish an Honors Contract?
Successfully initiating an Honors Contract will require that a student complete the following before the end of the second week of class:
Determine Potential Courses for Honors Contracts. Review the syllabi from your classes and determine which class would provide the best opportunity in which to complete an Honors Contract.
Consider Ways you Might Complete Honors-Level Work. Develop ideas for possible topics, outcomes, or products for your Honors Contract.
Contact Your Instructor About Overseeing an Honors Contract. Once you have identified a course and considered potential options for Honors projects or work, the next step is to contact your instructor to explore the possibility of collaborating on the Contract. It is a good idea to remember that not all instructors will have the time, availability, or interest in completing an Honors contract. It can be difficult to know how to begin this conversation, so consider adapting the following message for an email or after-class conversation with your instructor. Although this is a template you may use, your message will be much more effective if you replace this wording with your own so that the message sounds like you.
”Hello Professor NAME. My name is NAME, and I am a student in SF’s Honors Program. I'm reaching out because I am excited to be taking CLASSNAME with you this semester and am interesting in diving deeply into class material. I know that this is not an Honors version of CLASSNAME, but I was hoping you would be willing to discuss the possibility of earning "Honors by Contract." Establishing an Honors Contract would allow me to complete additional, honors-level work in your class and earn progress toward my Honors credential. If you think this might be possible, I would be excited to set up a time to discuss this option and what you think might be appropriate work. The Honors Program Director, Ryan Keith, has encouraged me to share the Honors Contract Form and ask you to reach out to him if you have any questions or would like to discuss Honors Contracts. Thank you,
NAME
Meet with the instructor to establish the terms of the Contract. You and your professor will need to work together to create the Honors Contract form. You will find it helpful to bring a copy of the form with you so that you can decide what will go in each section. During this meeting, or across a few meetings you will want to identify:
What work you will complete to satisfy the Honors Contract
The timeline for completion of this work
A meeting schedule for you and your professor for this semester.
Submit a completed Honors Contract Form to the SF Honors Program Office. To finish establishing your Honors Contract, you will need to submit the completed Honors Contract Form before the end of the second week of the semester.
How do you complete an Honors Contract?
Completing an Honors Contract requires you to meet the terms outlined in the contract you established at the beginning of the semester, including submitting all required work by the agreed-upon deadlines. After the successful completion of this work, the student will submit the following to the SF Honors Program Office via Canvas for review:
A syllabus for the course to be “Honorized” via the Honors Contract.
A copy of the work completed to satisfy the terms of the Honors Contract.
A copy of the Honors Contract Review Form (available on Canvas soon), signed by the supervising faculty.