The Honors Program at KSU boasts accolades, predominately as a namesake for involved members. Many students join because the mention of graduating with honors sounds “good,” early registration lessens stress, and involvement will improve employment prospects after graduation. Few join to prove to themselves that a challenging education is a rewarding one. The latter is the desire of the KSU Honors College and the one of the overarching principles of achievement – one of intrinsic rewards first and foremost with the added value of external, tangible benefits thereafter.
Coursework taken towards fulfilling honors requirements include service learning opportunities, pass/fail colloquiums, seminars, honors sections of general education courses, honors contracts to upper-level major courses in order to enhance learning experience, etc. As expected, these additional courses require additional credit hours.
For those of us persistent in our decided graduation dates, adding extra course work is a difficult decision to succumb to. This is not a “join and forever be saved program.” A 3.5 GPA requirement must be maintained throughout all coursework at KSU and a B or higher must be earned in each attempted honors course work to receive program credit.
If you are confident in continuously exceeding academically and having recognition for that through capstone projects, extensive research and applied learning, then the Honors Program may be for you. It provides the added benefit of gaining experience in your field of choice and generalized academia, but the extra time commitment and often “difficult” upper-level coursework is also to be considered.
The Honors Program is reflective of several other organizations and programs on campus in their goal to build a fellowship amongst students with a common goal, which is academic success in this case. But the benefits will only be reaped if standards are kept and values are adhered to. If not, eligibility in the program will be deferred and the time spent to meet requirements becomes a slew of wasted credit hours. Faculty members leading discussion-based seminars in a variety of subjects such as humor, existentiality, spirituality and other culturally relevant topics aren’t typical of traditional courses of study. The honors element is not merely comprised through the rigor, but through the exposure that students get to various elements of society in dialogue-rich settings.
The core values of the Honors College at KSU are excellence, integrity, tenacity, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation, according to its website.
There are other ways to acquire the skills that the Honors Program is designed to instill in its members. The decision of whether or not to join the Honors Program should not be based solely on whether or not it looks good on paper, but rather one that is reliant on feasibility and personal commitment.
The Honors Program is an opportunity that should be personally assessed by each candidate. It might be the standout experience that you need on a resume, the exposure to expressive demonstration that you desired, or a couple of extra credit hours that could have been devoted to outside coursework and other opportunities for growth and involvement.
Experiences, often measured in future rewards rather than present benefits, are often misconstrued as the stepping stone to success rather than one of the many. A program designed to mold successful students is not exempt from the reality that relevant experience can be attained in various ways. You just have to choose which ones.
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