2008 Woodie Awards
Honors program expands
Fall classes offer students new chances to excel
Natalie Niemeyer
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News
Students looking for opportunities within Kirkwood Community College's Honors Program will have many more starting next fall.
The Honors Program, which used to involve students working closely and individually with teachers on projects for credit, has expanded into honors sections. These classes, according to Dr. Peter Jauhiainen, Honors Program chair, will be consist of focused groups of students in a stimulating educational environment. The courses will promote in-depth discussion, peer collaboration and critical thinking.
"The idea behind [Honors Sections] is to offer students a more rigorous course. They will focus more on discussion and critical thinking," Jauhiainen said.
Honor sections are basically just more challenging versions of regular courses. Students coming right out of high school must have a GPA of 3.6 or have an ACT score of 25 or SAT score of 1170. Students with at least 12 college credits must have a college GPA of 3.4.
Students who complete the honors section or project with a "B" or higher are eligible, under certain conditions, to take a three-credit course free of charge at Mount Mercy during their second year at Kirkwood. If the student earns a "B" or higher in that class and transfers to Mount Mercy later, they will be accepted into that college's honor program.
Students who earn a "B" or higher in an honors project may take a class not offered at Kirkwood, free of charge at Coe College. Coe will then put the class on the student's transcript at the request of the student.
This opportunity will start a two-year pilot beginning in fall of 2008 but the program has been in the works for four to five years. The concept was finally approved in the spring of 2007. This last year has been used to fine tune registration and get brochures and the word out about the honors courses.
"The classes are a very stimulating environment," Jauhiainen said.
Honors sections being offered this fall include Fundamentals of Oral Communication, Professionals in Health, Introduction to Philosophy, Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Environmental Science. Spring 2009 sections will include Encounters in Humanities, Composition II, International Relations, Introduction to Ethics, Human Anatomy and Physiology II.
The Honors Program, which used to involve students working closely and individually with teachers on projects for credit, has expanded into honors sections. These classes, according to Dr. Peter Jauhiainen, Honors Program chair, will be consist of focused groups of students in a stimulating educational environment. The courses will promote in-depth discussion, peer collaboration and critical thinking.
"The idea behind [Honors Sections] is to offer students a more rigorous course. They will focus more on discussion and critical thinking," Jauhiainen said.
Honor sections are basically just more challenging versions of regular courses. Students coming right out of high school must have a GPA of 3.6 or have an ACT score of 25 or SAT score of 1170. Students with at least 12 college credits must have a college GPA of 3.4.
Students who complete the honors section or project with a "B" or higher are eligible, under certain conditions, to take a three-credit course free of charge at Mount Mercy during their second year at Kirkwood. If the student earns a "B" or higher in that class and transfers to Mount Mercy later, they will be accepted into that college's honor program.
Students who earn a "B" or higher in an honors project may take a class not offered at Kirkwood, free of charge at Coe College. Coe will then put the class on the student's transcript at the request of the student.
This opportunity will start a two-year pilot beginning in fall of 2008 but the program has been in the works for four to five years. The concept was finally approved in the spring of 2007. This last year has been used to fine tune registration and get brochures and the word out about the honors courses.
"The classes are a very stimulating environment," Jauhiainen said.
Honors sections being offered this fall include Fundamentals of Oral Communication, Professionals in Health, Introduction to Philosophy, Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Environmental Science. Spring 2009 sections will include Encounters in Humanities, Composition II, International Relations, Introduction to Ethics, Human Anatomy and Physiology II.
Be the first to comment on this story