Honors Points: What they are, why they matter, and how to get them
Program requirements, maintaining status, and earning the Honors credential
As a member of Santa Fe College’s Honors Program, you’ve chosen a commitment to challenge yourself and get the most out of your education. Belonging to the SF Honors community and accomplishing the task of graduating with Honors, High Honors, or Highest Honors requires consistent commitment to going beyond traditional expectations. This means taking advantage of opportunities to engage deeply with your academics, serve as a leader at SF and beyond, develop your academic and career goals, and support our communities.
Whether you are new to the SF Honors Program, planning your next semester of classes and Honors involvements, or getting ready to finish your academic journey at SF, I thought it would be helpful to have a reminder of what the Honors Program requires, what you need to complete each semester to maintain Honors status, and what you need to accomplish by the end of your degree to earn an Honors credential.
This post is meant to be an overview of the SF Honors Program’s Membership Requirements, but you can view the Honors Program canvas group or review the SF Honors Program Membership Requirements for more information.
In This Guide:
What are the Honors Program’s Membership Requirements?
Requirements to remain in Honors each semester
Belonging to the Honors Program requires consistent, active involvement. To maintain your Honors status, each semester you will:
Maintain a minimum 3.5 GPA.
Earn at least 30 Honors Points.
Update your Honors Portfolio to reflect your involvement.
Requirements to graduate with an Honors credential
Students who complete the following requirements will be eligible to graduate from Santa Fe College with:
Honors
Complete 150 Honors Points
Earn a 3.5 GPA
Submit an ePortfolio documenting Honors involvement
High Honors
Complete 195 Honors Points
Earn a 3.5 GPA
Submit an ePortfolio documenting Honors involvement
Highest Honors
Complete 240 Honors Points
Earn a 3.5 GPA
Submit an ePortfolio documenting Honors involvement
What are Honors Points?
Simply put, you are awarded Honors Points each time you go above and beyond traditional expectations for college students. Taking challenging Honors courses, engaging in volunteer work, presenting research at a conference, joining student organizations, completing leadership training, and many other involvements are valuable experiences. They also present opportunities to earn points, maintain your Honors status, and progress toward an Honors credential.
Points vs Credits
Many Honors programs require students to earn credits in Honors courses to maintain status and graduate with an Honors designation. Although this is still a common way to work toward an Honors credential at SF, our points system affords many diverse and exciting ways to progress in the program, and allows us to highlight your achievements outside the classroom.
How Do I Earn Honors Points?
Honors students earn points through challenges, engagement, service, leadership, and commonly through participation in Honors courses. It is likely that many of your academic and extracurricular activities already qualify for Honors points, but reviewing the guidelines here and in the Honors Canvas course will make sure that you’re getting credit for your hard work and achievement.
Some of the most common ways in which students earn Honors points include:
Earning a grade of B or higher in an Honors course at SF (10 points per credit hour).
Collaborating with a faculty member to complete an honors contract (10 points per credit hour).
Engaging in volunteer or service activities (1 point per hour of service).
Belonging to a student or preprofessional organization (5 points).
Working in a field relevant to academic or career goals (30 points).
Resources for Finding Honors Points Opportunities:
Honors Weekly Newsletter: https://sfhonors.substack.com
Office for Civic Engagement & Service: https://www.sfcollege.edu/studentlife/get-involved/ces/
SF Office for Student Life: https://www.sfcollege.edu/studentlife
Identifying Honors Point Values
Honors Points will be awarded following the submission of an updated Honors Portfolio, with the Honors Advising Office’s review of the portfolio, documentation, and any additional required submission (e.g., signature project, research poster, reflection essay).
To get an idea of how many Honors Points an involvement may be worth and for more information on how to document your involvement, please review the Honors Points Overview Table below, check out the Honors canvas group, or contact the Honors Advising Office at honors@sfcollege.edu.
Honors Points Overview Table
How do I track my Honors status and progress?
Moving forward, SF Honors students will keep track of their progress toward an Honors credential using their Honors Portfolio. The Portfolio is a bit like a LinkedIn profile, but for all of the academic and extracurricular activities you complete while a member of the Honors Program at SF. This portfolio is a record of each involvement, where you can log Honors courses, club memberships, service projects, internships, academic team competitions, and other involvements. The Honors Program encourages students to use the Folio tool within Canvas to construct, maintain, and share their Honors Portfolios.
Setting Up Your Honors Portfolio in Canvas
Get started constructing your Honors Portfolio today, so that we can track your progress and share your achievements. The SF Honors Program uses the Canvas Folio tool to construct our Honors Portfolios. To access the Canvas Folio tool:
Log into Canvas through https://sfcollege.edu/online
In the upper-lefthand corner of the screen, click your round profile picture
In the menu that opens, select “Folio.”
For instructions on setting up your account and adding your first entries, use the Canvas Students ePortfolios Guide
Earning Honors Points with the Honors Portfolio
To establish their status as an Honors Program student, each member of the Honors Program will follow the steps above to construct an Honors Portfolio. At the end of each year, and again when applying for graduation, you will submit your Honors Portfolio via Canvas so that points can be awarded and your progress can be maintained. You can also submit your Honors Portfolio at any other time and request an updated review and current Honors Points Total.
How many points do I have now?
The best way to answer this question is to put together your Honors Portfolio, include all of the involvements that you feel should qualify for Honors Points, and submit your Portfolio to the Honors Advising Office (honors@sfcollege.edu) for review. To get a quick idea of your current status, try filling out the Honors Credential Worksheet, linked below