The Harper College Honors Program (which is not to be confused with Phi Theta Kappa, the national Honors society for two-year schools) is designed to serve students who welcome an academic challenge, students who fully and gladly immerse themselves in their school-related projects and who choose courses for their content, not merely to garner an "easy A." Therefore, the program offers roughly nine or ten Honors courses each semester (there are two or three Honors offerings each summer). In each case, we essentially "borrow" a section of an existing course, designating it as an Honors section in which only Honors students can enroll. For instance, Harper will offers dozens of sections of English 101 each fall, and one of these sections will always be set aside as an Honors section. The teacher of Honors English 101 is expected to take the course in a slightly different direction -- not necessarily a more difficult one, but perhaps a more focused and/or enriched one. (Whereas the average [non-Honors] section of English 101 is an introductory course in which students write personal experience essays, definition essays, comparison/contrast essays, argumentative essays, etc., an Honors English 101 might focus exclusively on argumentative prose.) Frequently, a spring Honors course is often a follow-up to a fall Honors course: a fall Honors English 101 is typically followed by a spring Honors English 102; a fall Honors Chemistry 121 will be followed by a spring Honors Chemistry 122; etc. Too, every Honors course has an enrollment "cap" of fifteen students; this, we feel, is a tremendous advantage, as a small class size tends naturally to foster a healthy community environment -- a "colloquium" environment -- and a more likeable teacher-to-student ratio.

An Honors Program student is not required to take Honors courses; there's no mandate in that regard, and some students do indeed take only one or two, and this is altogether fine. However, if a student wishes to earn what we call Honors Program Graduation status (this is noted on the transcript and on the diploma), he/she must do four things: a) amass a cumulative total of twelve hours of Honors credit; this usually amounts to four Honors courses; b) take our Honors Colloquium (HUM/HST 105) course somewhere along the way; c) maintain an overall Harper grade point average of 3.25; d) graduate with some type of Harper degree: an A.A. degree, and A.S. degree, etc.

Who are the Honors Program students, and what is the Honors Society?

Not all Honors students are outspoken, outgoing folks. Some are. Some others, though, are the shy, exceedingly reliable and studious types, and most probably fall somewhere between the two extremes. All, of course, are more than welcome. Yet, it is safe to say that most of Harper's Honors courses feature above-average levels of student participation, and students enrolled in Honors courses understand that their teachers will ask them to bear much of the responsibility for leading (or at least fostering) in-class discussion. Most (about 75%?) of the Honors Program students are pretty traditional in age, but there are several non-traditional students, and these latter folks are often very involved in the program (they take the Honors courses, they attend the weekly Honors Society discussions, and they participate in the service projects and the cultural events).

Risking a little idealism, we might add that Honors Program members tend to be socially aware, justice-minded persons; accordingly, the program also offers numerous service-related opportunities through its Honors Society, which is the social branch of the program. The Honors Society is an official Harper club (we have a president, a vice-president, etc., and we get a tiny spending allowance from Student Activities). Participants try, each academic year, to initiate and participate in about eight service outings.

Essentially, then, the Honors Program at Harper is divided into two halves: the academic half and the social/service half. Under the academic half, program members have the opportunity to take our stimulating Honors courses. There is, again, an enrollment "cap" of fifteen students where each of these courses is concerned, and these courses are invariably taught by some of Harper's most energetic, creative faculty members. The Honors Society, the social/service half, gives program members a chance to meet weekly in an out-of-the-classroom setting (we have a discussion/debate on a pre-arranged topic every Wednesday from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in room L-329; see the "meetings" link along the top of this page). And, once more, the Honors Society provides optional cultural outings and service-type opportunities for students. If you're a member of the Honors Program, you're an "automatic" member of the Honors Society, though participation in the Honors Society's weekly discussions and cultural and service outings is completely voluntary.

Finally, the program has featured and continues to feature many of the college's most driven, gifted students; Harper's prestigious Motorola Award for Excellence can attest to this. We have quietly noticed that that award often goes to full-fledged Honors Program students, and some of our Honors folks have gone on to four-years like the University of Illinois and Boston University and Northwestern (and many others), sometimes with generous scholarship assistance.

Please consider completing and submitting an Honors Program application (see the "application" link above for an online option). We hope sincerely that you will enjoy all of your Harper experiences, Honors and otherwise.