LSA Honors ProgramParent Orientation

Goals for this Session

● Understand the Mission of the LSA Honors Program○ LSA Degree Requirements○ Honors Program Requirements○ Sophomore Honors Award○ Graduating with Honors○ Questions & Answers

● Honors Housing & Programming○ Questions & Answers

● Orientation, Advising, and FERPA○ Questions & Answers

Honors Students, 2016

Updates from U-M

https://campusblueprint.umich.edu/

Honors Staff & Introductions

● Mika LaVaque-Manty, Honors Program Director & Thurnau Professor of Political Science

○ Kaylee Shelton, Executive Assistant● Lisa Broome, Associate Director● Gayle Green, Assistant Director for Admissions and

Honors Housing○ Shannon McCaulley, Student Services

● Henry Dyson, Director of the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships

○ Katie Gass, ONSF Program Assistant

Mika LaVaque-Manty

Gayle Green

Henry Dyson

Lisa Broom

Honors Staff & Introductions

● Administrative Staff○ Barb Frecka (Admin. Coord.)

○ Jeri Preston (Engagement Coord.)

○ Jacquelyn Turkovich (Academic Auditor)

Jacquelyn Turkovich

Barb Frecka

Jeri Preston

Honors Staff & Introductions ● Academic Advisors

○ Stephanie Chervin, Pre-Health Advisor○ Denise Guillot, Pre-Law Advisor○ John Cantu, Academic Advisor

Stephanie Chervin

John Cantu

Denise Guillot

Goals for this Session

● Understand the Mission of the LSA Honors Program○ LSA Degree Requirements○ Honors Program Requirements○ Sophomore Honors Award○ Graduating with Honors○ Questions & Answers

● Honors Housing & Programming○ Questions & Answers

● Orientation, Advising, and FERPA○ Questions & Answers

Honors Students, 2016

LSA Honors Program Website

https://lsa.umich.edu/honors

What is the LSA Honors Program?

● The LSA Honors Program is not a university-wide program. ○ It is an academic unit within the College of Literature, Sciences, and Arts (LSA).

● The Honors Program is not an Honors College○ It is the largest of the Michigan Learning Communities within LSA○ Honors Program students fulfill the same degree requirements for the Bachelors of Arts (BA) and

Bachelors of Science (BS) as all other LSA students● The thematic identity of the Honors Program is intellectual curiosity,

engagement and excellence. ○ This theme is connected to each of our requirements and activities.

LSA Degree Requirements for BA & BS

● 120 credits○ Average 15 credits/semester X 8 semesters; courses typically 3-4 credits

● Core requirements (~20%)○ First-year and upper-level writing (2 courses)○ Quantitative reasoning (1-2 courses; can be fulfilled outside of Math Dept)○ Second language (4th term proficiency)○ Race & ethnicity (1 course)

● Major (36-50 Credits = 30-40%)● Distribution (30 Credits = 25%)

○ 7 credits each of HU, SS, and NS outside of major department○ 9 additional credits of HU, SS, NS, CE, MSA, ID outside of major department

● Electives (~25-40%)○ 2nd major, minors, individually selected courses

LSA Degree Requirements for BA & BS

https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/academics/lsa-requirements.html

LSA Honors Overview: One Program, Two Phases

● Learning Community Phase (1st and 2nd year)○ Student enter via Admissions (~400/year)○ Honors Core courses for First-Year Writing and Distribution○ Honors Housing (optional)○ Honors Community Building Activities○ Sophomore Honors Award

● Honors Major (3rd and 4th Year)○ Students join by declaring an Honors Major in their department○ Honors thesis (optional in Honors Mathematics)○ Some departments have additional required courses in junior/senior year

● Honors in the Engaged Liberal Arts or HELA (3rd and 4th Year)○ Year-long engagement project takes the place of an Honors thesis

Minimum Requirements for Honors● 3.4 GPA● Learning Program

○ Honors First-Year Writing Course○ At least one additional Honors Core Course

● Honors Major○ Declaration in junior year○ Some departments require a 3.5 GPA within the major

Honors Students at Yost Ice Arena, 2020

Honors Core Courses ● Designed specifically for Honors Program students

by some of the best teachers in the College○ Taught on a 3-year rotation○ Each course fulfills a Distribution requirement (HU, NS, SS, or

ID)● Examples:

○ “What is Cancer?” (ID, co-taught by biologist and medical sociologist)

○ “The Corporation” (SS, taught by an anthropologist)○ “Westworld and Philosophy of Mind” (HU and FYWR, taught

by a Comparative Literature professor)○ “Great Books” (HU and FYWR, taught by the Classics

Department) Honors Student Mentors, 2019-2020

Sophomore Honors Award The Sophomore Honors Award recognizes students who have:

1. Earned at least 30 Engagement Points 2. Averaged 14 credit hours each full (Fall/Winter) term3. Completed an Honors Core class which meets the first-year writing

requirement (FYWR)4. Completed of a total of three Honors Core courses (inclusive of # 3 above) in at

least two different distribution areas (HU, ID, NS, or SS)5. Achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.400 with all classes graded or credit/no credit

(no elective P/F).

Sophomore Honors Award with Distinction1. Earned at least 30 Engagement Points (see your GradeCraft account)2. Averaged 14 credit hours each full (Fall/Winter) term3. Completed an Honors Core class which meets the first-year writing

requirement (FYWR)4. Completed of a total of three Honors Core courses (inclusive of # 3 above) in

three different distribution areas (HU, ID, NS, and SS)5. Achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.700 with all classes graded or Credit/no credit

(no elective P/F).

Honors Engagement Points● 1 point per credit for Honors Core courses ● 1 point per credit for additional Honors courses taken for a grade (not optional

pass/fail)○ Department designed Honors alternatives to introductory courses

■ E.g. PSYCH 114 Honors Introduction to Psychology (instead of PSYCH 111)■ E.g. MATH 285 Honors Calculus III (instead of MATH 215)

○ Honors sections of regular introductory courses■ E.g. the Honors discussion section of Cultural Anthropology 101■ E.g. Structured Study Group option for CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry

○ Advanced elections■ 300- or 400-level courses for first-year students■ 400-level courses for sophomores■ Language courses beyond the LSA Language Requirement taken in first semester

Honors Engagement Points Cont.

● 1 point per credit for Honors Conversions○ Individually arranged supplementary projects that convert

regular courses to Honors courses○ E.g. research projects, presentations, related co-curricular

projects● 1 point for designated engagement activities

○ HonOnline Digital Citizenship Canvas Course (summer)○ Undergraduate Research (whether or not in UROP)○ Honors 170 “Navigating Honors: First-Year Experience”○ Honors Reads (fun, optional reading group; they’re reading

Dune this summer and will attend a screening of the movie later in the fall)

○ Honors Cinema (film series and discussions)

Honors Kickoff, 2019

Honors Engagement Points Cont.

https://lsa.umich.edu/honors/current-students/academic-information/honors-requirements.html

Questions about

LSA or Honors

Requirements?

Photo courtesy of U-M Photography

Honors Community

● Honors Housing: ○ ~500 students in South Quad○ 80% first-years, 20% sophomores

● Honors Residential Advisors lead a variety of community building activities

○ All Honors students are invited to participate in these activities, even if they are not living in Honors Housing

● Honors Kickoff (September), Academic Symposia, Honors Graduation and Awards Ceremonies

● Lunch with Honors Series○ Catered lunch with guest speakers from U-M faculty or

visiting dignitaries

Honors Kickoff, 2016

Summer 2020 Engagement● #hononline: Canvas Course

○ Speaks to best practices in digital (and in-person) "studenting" and discusses digital literacy at the undergraduate level

○ It's open NOW and runs through 8/24 (1 or 3 SHA engagement point(s) depending on level of participation)

● All-Honors Summer [Virtual] Event: DUNE○ Digital community engagement through weekly discussion of

book led by peer and alumni team○ Three "live" events (June/July/Aug), also chatting on GroupMe,

now through 8/24 (1 SHA engagement point)

Honors Student Orientation, 2017

Fall 2020 Engagement● Class of 2020 Kickoff

○ Annual welcome celebration for incoming Honors freshmen!○ Will not be a large in-person event, but we are actively planning

for a safe, fun and informed event around the start of the semester

● Honors Reads & Honors Cinema ○ Students will hear more about these engagement opportunities

closer to F20 term, but they are ways to meet other Honors students and to earn SHA points

● Parents Weekend○ In keeping with LSA pandemic policies, we will not have an

in-person event, but we are looking into a digital tour of Honors; students will hear more about this as we progress

Honors Kickoff 2016

Honors Communications & Engagement

Honors Graf-Meiland Recipients, 2020

● Honors Emails○ Weekly email newsletter, This Week in Honors○ Incoming students will receive several additional emails

throughout the summer: ■ Deadline reminders■ F20 term info■ Honors spirit wear sale

● Honors Social Media○ Facebook (look for the Honors Class of 2024 group!)○ Instagram (@LSAHonors)○ Twitter (@LSAHonors)

● Honors Engagement Coordinator○ Jeri Preston, pjeri@umich.edu

Questions Honors

Housing or

Engagement?

Photo courtesy of U-M Photography

Summer Orientation Online

● Honors Orientation Canvas Site○ Modules explaining LSA Degree Requirements, Honors Courses, Sophomore Honors Awards

● Office hours and “backpacking” sessions with Honors Peer Advisors● Registration Advising

○ Pre-registration meeting with their assigned advisor○ Registration “appointment” in the afternoon after their advising meeting

■ Students can change their registration selections any time prior to the 3-week Drop/Add deadline in September using Wolverine Access

○ Follow-up advising appointment with their assigned advisor■ Students may also make follow-up appointments or correspond with departmental advisors

regarding placement and course availability

Honors Advising Model

● Each student has an assigned Honors advisor for four years○ Students are free to make appointments with any advisor in the Honors Program

● Students will add specialty advisors ○ Specialty advisors in Honors

■ Pre-med (Stephanie) and ■ Pre-law (Denise)■ The Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships (Henry)

○ Advisors outside of Honors■ Study abroad advisor (CGIS)■ Financial aid advisors (OFA)■ Internships and postgraduate job searches (Opportunity Hub)■ Major and minor advisors in departments

Final Advice for Orientation

● Students’ primary task in Y1 and Y2 is targeted exploration○ LSA has 85 majors and over 100 minors○ Think you’re interested in psychology?

■ Social Psychology; Brain, Cognition, and Neuroscience; Neuroscience; or Cognitive Science? What about Sociology, Anthropology, or Organizational Studies?

○ LSA does not expect students to declare until junior year○ Exploration courses can be used for pre-reqs or distribution

● Think about sequences of courses○ E.g. if you’ll start a new language will need to achieve 4th term proficiency○ E.g. if you’re pre-med or majoring in a science that requires sequenced pre-reqs

● Don’t worry too much about degree requirements (“checklist mentality”)○ Almost all Honors students graduate in < 4 years

Questions about

Orientation or

Advising?

Photo courtesy of U-M Photography

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

● For more detailed information see https://ro.umich.edu/records-registration/student-rights-records

● Encouraging self-advocacy● FERPA Waiver available upon request in the

Honors Office○ Must be signed and submitted by the student○ Typically only used in specific, time-limited

circumstances

Honors Student Mentors, 2018

Questions? Email us at

ask.honors@umich.edu

All photos courtesy of LSA Honors Instagram , @lsahonors, and website