The Omnibus

Issue date: 5/13/04 Section: News

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Southwest Baptist University is currently developing an honors program which the administration and Faculty Senate have approved to implement for incoming freshmen in fall 2005.

Years ago SBU had an honors program for students who excelled academically to take more difficult general education classes. That honors program eventually failed. Today an ad hoc faculty committee is developing a more complete honors program.

The new program will include several components with the first component being academics. The students will take most of the same general education classes, but other classes may be developed as specific honors courses.

Students would also be required to participate in an honors colloquium. Servant leadership would be a second component, requiring students to take on a leadership role which could be anything from taking a leadership training course to becoming a University Ambassador. Other components of the program would be spiritual development and external studies.

"It may not be studying over seas; it may even be in the country, but it must be external to SBU," Vice President of Enrollment Management Stephanie Miller said.

There will also be extra enrichment opportunities for honors students as a group. These may include going to plays or museums in Springfield or going to larger cities like Chicago or St. Louis.

The director of the honors program, who will most likely be hired from within the University, will work with the faculty senate committee to select the students who will be accepted into the program. The committee and director will probably select about 30 students a year. The committee will look at grade point average and ACT / SAT scores along with other criteria when selecting students to be in the program. The program will be administered by academic leadership.

The honors program is still in the planning process and aspects of it may change.

"(The honors program) is going to be a work in progress," Miller said. "Who knows where it will be in a year. I'm one of those people who get something down on paper and see how it evolves."

Most other universities have an honors program already in place.

"I'm extremely excited about it. I think it's a program we've needed for a long time," Miller said. "We would like this to become one of the premier honors programs in the country."  

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