Honors College

By Chris Carez
The WVUP Honors College is a serious step towards improving students learning. The Honors College provides enhanced learning to students who are interested in the program. Admission is easy. Any student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better is automatically a member of the Honors College. Students who are members can request honor credit that their professors designate for Honor Faculty members. Students doing so must have this done in the first week of their classes. Anyone with a grade point average between 3.2 and 3.5 may apply for provisional admittance to the Honors College.

When students qualify for honors credit, they enter into a special arrangement with the faculty member they are attaining the credit from. This arrangement requires the student to complete a project related to the course they are taking. Students must complete a minimum of 15 hours of honors credit; three of these hours must be outside the student’s major. Students must also submit an honors portfolio to the Honors Council and complete the Honors Capstone Experience. Students must also maintain a 3.2 grade point average.

There are five Academic Honors Societies here at WVUP: Alpha Upsilon Alpha, a national reading/language arts society; Delta Psi Omega, an honorary dramatic society; Kappa Delta Pi, an international honorary society in education; Phi Theta Kappa, a national honorary society for students in two-year colleges; and Sigma Beta Delta, a national honor society in business. Each offers a broad variety of opportunities for students and have each their own requirements for admittance.

A great source of information for those interested in the program is the Honors College web site. On the web site, students can learn about many other aspects of the Honors College, such as which instructors are part of the Honors Faculty. There is also a list of the Honors Council. For more information, contact Professor Gregg Busch, Director of the Honors College, in Room 1025B.