UWM College of Letters and Science
College of Letters and Science Faculty Document No. 555
April 10, 2000


RECOMMENDATION OF THE HONORS PROGRAM COMMITTEE FOR CHANGES IN THE PARAMETERS OF THE HONOR PROGRAM


Recommendations:

  1. That the Faculty approve changes in the admission and graduation provisions of the Honors Program and the addition of new parameters regarding "Eligibility for Continuing Enrollment," "Notification of Ineligible Students," and "Regaining Honors Program Eligibility" as recommended by the Honors Program Committee and as outlined below.

  2. That the Faculty affirm two changes in the parameters of the Honors Program that received committee approval but that were not submitted to the Faculty, namely a change from 24 to 21 required credits and the elimination of the humanities/social sciences/natural sciences distribution requirements.
Rationale:

  1. The Honors Program is proposing new parameters to establish clearly delineated requirements regarding eligibility for continuing enrollment in the Program, notification of ineligible students, and readmission to the Honors Program. These issues have not been addressed prior to this time. Admission requirements to the University and to the Honors Program have evolved, based on changes in the kinds of information available regarding incoming freshmen. These include rank in class, ACT scores, and ETP scores. The changes in the admission requirements permit admission based on a better balance of criteria.

  2. The total number of credits required is reduced by one course. With the old total, students needed a course each semester to meet the requirements. This proved to be a problem especially for students in professional schools who have programs of study that may not be flexible enough to accommodate the Honors Program requirements. The new credit total is in line with the requirements of other Honors Programs in the country. The elimination of the distribution requirement is necessary because the Program is dependent on departments to permit faculty to teach honors courses. Depending upon the departments' needs, the Program may not be able to offer a varied distribution with enough consistency to permit students to complete the requirement without delays. This problem is especially pronounced for students in the professional schools.

Currently Approved Admission Requirements

  1. ADMISSION AND RECRUITMENT

    1. Admission to the Honors Program

      1. First semester freshmen who have not previously earned any college credits will be eligible to enter the Honors Program on the basis of a high school cumulative GPA of 3.500 and an interview with the coordinator and faculty staff of the Honors Program.

      2. Freshmen who have completed fewer than 12 graded credits at UWM will be eligible to enter the Honors Program on the basis of cumulative GPA's of 3.500 from both high school and UWM and an interview with the coordinator and faculty staff of the Honors Program.

      3. Second semester freshmen (completed 12 graded credits) and sophomores (completed 24 graded credits) will be eligible to enter the Honors Program on the basis of a cumulative GPA of 3.500 and an interview with the coordinator and faculty staff of the Honors Program.

      4. First semester junior transfer students (completed 56 graded credits) will be eligible to enter the Honors Program if they have completed a substantial amount of honors work at another college or university with a cumulative GPA of 3.500 and an interview with the coordinator and faculty staff of the Honors Program. Honors transfer credit will be determined by the coordinator who will seek the advice of departments when appropriate or necessary.

      5. Grievance procedure: Students who wish to protest a negative decision about their admission may appeal directly to the Honors Program Committee.

      6. Justification for admission of first semester freshmen: The Honors Program Committee thinks that the admission of qualified first semester freshmen is sound for several reasons. The Committee wishes to provide competent and motivated students with a coherent, four-year educational challenge. This aim can best be served if students enter the program as early as possible. The Committee has designed a 100-level seminar (see Part II, CURRICULUM AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS) which will introduce students to honors work and which will serve the further function of screening out unsuitable students, thus limiting enrollment in 300-level seminars to students who are solidly committed to the program. Thus it is felt that the advantages of admitting first semester freshmen to the program outweigh the possible dangers of such a course. Further, admitting freshmen to the program may encourage highly motivated students to choose UWM in preference to other institution.

    2. Recruitment

    3. Non-Honors Students in the Honors Program

    Proposed Changes

    1. Eliminate sections A.1--A.4 and A.6 above. Add the following as section A.1. Renumber section A.5 as A.2.

        A1. Undergraduate students working on their first degree may be admitted to the Honors Program as freshmen, continuing, or transfer students. Freshmen are admitted on the basis of their high school record, ACT Composite, and English Placement Test scores. Continuing or transfer students with fewer than 40 degree credits are eligible if they have at least a 3.40 cumulative grade point average and have completed the English Proficiency Requirement (English 102 or its equivalent). All new Honors Program students must meet with the Director, Assistant Director, or Assistant to the Director to discuss the eligibility for admission.

    2. Add the following new sections:

        B. Eligibility For Continuing Enrollment

        1. In order to continue in the Honors Program, students must maintain the following minimum cumulative grade point averages for work done at UWM:

          Prior to Junior Standing: 3.2 (except for first-semester freshmen-see note)
          Juniors: 3.3
          Seniors: 3.4
          Note: Students admitted as freshmen who fail to earn at least a 3.0 grade point average during their first semester of full-time enrollment at UWM (or their first 12 credits) cannot enroll in an Honors class in their next semester.

        2. Students admitted as new freshmen must complete Honors 200 in their freshman year.

        3. Students who do not take Honors courses for two consecutive semesters will be considered "inactive" and dropped from the Honors Program.

        C. Notification Of Ineligible Students

          At the end of each semester, the Honors Program will review students' academic records to determine whether they meet the criteria for continuation in the program. The Honors Program will notify by mail all students who fail to meet these criteria, stating that they no longer are eligible to enroll in Honors classes. If these students already are enrolled in Honors classes for the next semester, they will be dropped administratively.

        D. Regaining Honors Program Eligibility

        1. Students who become ineligible by failing to maintain the required minimum grade point average may apply for reinstatement if they subsequently raise their grade point average to the required level.

        2. Students who become ineligible after two consecutive semesters with no Honors courses may apply for reinstatement.

          either case, students applying for reinstatement must indicate in writing how they propose to complete Honors requirements before graduation.

        3. Reletter sections B. and C. as E. and F., respectively.

        4. Retitle section I. as ADMISSION, RECRUITMENT, AND RETENTION

    Currently Approved Graduation Requirement

  2. CURRICULUM AND GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

    1. Curriculum

    2. Graduation Requirements

      1. 21 Honors credits in required and elective Honors courses, of which at least 15H credits must be earned at UWM and 15H credits must be at the 300-level or above.

      2. A maximum of 6 credits of independent study or thesis research can be counted toward the 21H credit requirement.

      3. A cumulative GPA of 3.500 on all credits attempted, including transfer work, will be required for graduation with an Honors degree. In addition, Honors students must earn a cumulative GPA of 3.500 on all credits attempted at UWM that count toward a degree in the College of Letters and Science. And, students must earn a 3.50 cumulative GPA in Honors courses.

      4. Honors credits must be completed with a grade of B-minus or better.

      5. Required courses:

        1. Honors 100 (3 credits) required of all students entering the Honors Program as freshmen and sophomores;

        2. Three Honors seminars at 300-level (9-12 credits) from any participating school or college required, of which no more than two may be from a single department; Honors 680 may count toward this requirement.

    Proposed Graduation Requirements

      B. Graduation Requirements

      An Honors degree requires 21 Honors credits and at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average at graduation. All Honors credits count toward the total required for graduation. Students must earn a grade of B- or better to receive Honors credit for a course. At least 12 of the 21 Honors credits must be earned at UWM, with at least 9 credits in upper-level seminars at UWM.


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