Honors Contract Process | University Honors College (2024)

If you’re thinking about Contracting a class as Honors, here’s some general information that you need to know! Contract Proposals must conform to the following in order to be considered by Honors Dean:

• The class must be upper division (numbered 300 or higher);
• The class should be taught by a full-time NAU faculty member;
• The contract proposal must be approved by the instructor of the class and the Honors Dean before you begin work on the Honors portion;
• The proposal must include the 4-5 digit class number of the non-H class;
• The proposal must include a point/percentage value for the Honors component (most are between 10-15% of final grade);
• The syllabus of non-Honors class must be provided; and
• No more than 12 units of such coursework may fulfill HON requirements.

PLEASE NOTE:

Earning credit for an Honors contract involves an enrollment transaction whereby you are SWAPPED FROM the non-H class and INTO the –H class; you must be enrolled in the class for which you wish to earn –H credit before this proposal will be reviewed. Contracting a class as Honors is a separate enrollment transaction that MUST occur within the first three weeks of class in order to earn credit as Honors, and to prevent any additional enrollment fee charges to your student account. There are also multiple steps and approvals involved that include other campus departments. It typically takes up to 4 days to completely process this Contract Proposal from submission to Honors to final enrollment.

You can submit an Honors Contract Proposal ANYTIME after you have enrolled in the non-Honors class you would like to contract. Proposals received AFTER the 4th week of the Fall or Spring terms(check with Honors on Summer and/or Winter term dates)may not be able to be approved without incurring late fees and a need to petition to process the swap transaction.

Students must secure the approval of the Honors Dean prior to beginning their Contract Honors. Follow the steps below for securing Honors Dean’s approval to earn Honors credit for a class.

1. Speak with a faculty member FIRST to request that they work with you earning -H credit for the class. NOTE: Faculty are under no obligation to fulfill Honors contract requests. We suggest you provide your faculty member this letter about Honors contracts from the Honors College Dean.
2. Once in agreement, draft a description of the Honors component that outlines in sufficient detail (no more than 500 words) what you plan to do to earn -H credit (see “Honors Contract Suggestions” in drop down box below for ideas). It is recommended that you consult with the “Honors Contract Proposal Suggestions” (in drop down box below) with the instructor, but you are not limited to them. Also see the “Examples of Honors Contract Proposals” in drop down box below.
3. Make sure your description of the Honors component includes answers to the following questions:
   1. What do you intend to do? Provide detail!
   2. How will you be evaluated?
   3. If you’re writing a paper, how long will it be? How many sources? If giving a presentation, how long will it be? If you don’t know, provide a range.
   4. When will Honors component due?
4. Identify a point or percent value of the Honors component. Generally, Honors components are anywhere from 10% to 15% of total course points/percent for the class. Some have been as little as 5%, to as much as 25%. Discuss this with your instructor before submission.
5. Click “Submit Honors Contract Proposal” below. You will need to know the class’ 4-5 digit class number of your current class before you can submit your proposal. This number can be found on your Class Schedule in LOUIE. You will ALSO need a digital copy of the non-H syllabus.
6. Upload the non-H syllabus for the class, paste in your description of the Honors component, and include the point/percent value.
7. Once your faculty member approves the proposal, expect the review and approval of this proposal to take a minimum of two business days after submission. Then expect an additional 4 days for you to be swapped into the -H section. We cannot guarantee that proposals received after the 4th week of the Fall or Spring terms will be reviewed by Honors without additional paperwork to petition to swap after the deadline. This may mean additional fees in order to enroll.
8. Ensure compliance with the “General -H Contract Information” (in above drop down box).
9. You will receive emails throughout the Contract approval process of department various approvals, including a final email noting the contract process is complete. Should a proposal need more clarification or be denied, you will always have an opportunity to clarify or re-submit a new proposal.
10. Once approved, the Honors College will create a new -H section of the class, enroll you in the -H section, and enroll you in the non-H Canvas class shell to access on-line content (you will be able to access all the content from the non-H section).

Submit your proposal using the button on the bottom of this page.

• A letter from Honors College Dean, Kevin Gustafson, regarding Honors Contracts.
• Students may approach you seeking to earn Honors credit for your current upper-division class. Faculty are under no obligation to fulfill Honors contract requests.
• If you agree to work with a student on such an endeavor, come to an agreement with the student on how the class can be enhanced (see Honors Contract Suggestions in drop down box below). This proposal should be no more than 500 words and contain sufficient detail to explain the enhancement of the class.
• Come to an agreement with the student about a point or percent value of the Honors component.We require this in the unlikely event the student opts to not complete their Honors component for this contract and gives you justification for a lower grade due to non-completion. We cannot swap a student back into the non-H section for Honors work that is not completed.
• Contract proposals will not be considered without the enhanced proposal AND the point/percent value.
• After the student submits their proposal and class information using the link/button below, you will receive an email with a link included for you to approve the proposal with. Please click the link included in the email to access the OnBase proposal and review the information/materials that the student submitted thoroughly(screenshots and other information is available in this guide for instructors).
• You will have 3 options: Approve, Deny, or Request Modifications:
  • Approving the proposal means you agree to work with the student on the proposal with the terms included. Proposal is forwarded to Honors and Dept Chair
  • Denying a proposal is just that. A student will have an opportunity to resubmit a proposal with changes. You will have an opportunity to provide a reason or explanation for the decision
  • Request Modifications is just that as well, providing an opportunity to the student to make changes to the proposal. the student will then resubmit and you will have an opportunity to review again.
• Approving a proposal will forward the proposal to Honors for review. Honors will have the same three options when reviewing the proposal. A notification will go the Department Chair of the offering department. We have had a few instructors experience difficulty in submitting the form. Please be sure you ‘tab out’ of all fields. Also be sure that ALL fields are filled out. Not following those steps will prevent submission.
• Once faculty approves the proposal, faculty must indicate in the online OnBase form whether the student is to be enrolled back in the non-H Canvas class shell to access on-line content (you will be able to access all the content from the non-H section). It is VERY uncommon to NOT want the student enrolled BACK in the non-H section of the class (screenshots and other information is available in this guide for instructors).
• Expect the review and approval of this proposal by Honors to take a minimum of two business days after submission. It could take up to an additional four business days for the process to complete. We cannot guarantee that proposals received after the 4th week of the Fall or Spring terms will be reviewed by Honors without additional paperwork to petition to swap after the deadline. This may mean additional fees for the student in order to enroll. When a student is swapped into the -H section, the non-H section’s enrollment is reduced by that number of students.
• It is recommended that you consult with the “Honors Contract Suggestions” (in drop down box below) with the student, but you are not limited to them. We encourage you to think differently about this proposal. What can you do with this class that other students are not doing? Is there an opportunity to understand the class’ material in a different way, doing different activities? How might you incorporate activities in the surrounding campus and Flagstaff community to enhance the student’s understanding of the content?
• Ensure compliance with the “General -H Contract Information” (in above drop down box).
• You will receive emails throughout the process of various approvals. Should a proposal need more clarification or be denied, students will always have an opportunity to clarify or re-submit a new proposal.
• Students must secure the approval of the Honors Dean prior to beginning their Contract Honors experience.

Once a student and faculty member agree on an enhanced Honors “Contract” for a particular upper-division class, and the faculty member approves the Contract Proposal in the OnBase system, Department Chairs receive a courtesy email indicating which class is being created as a -H ‘contracted’ class.

The capacity in the original, or “parent,” non-H class will be reduced by the number of students who are contracting the class so as to not exceed the physical capacity of the classroom.

Honors will create the -H section, the Registrar’s Office will swap the student into the -H section, and, should the faculty member request it, the student will be manually re-enrolled in the Canvas shell of the non-H course to access the content for the course. When a student is swapped into the -H section, the non-H section’s enrollment is reduced by that number of students.

Honors has special permission for Honors Contracts ONLY to make adjustments to student and class schedules each term. Proposals should be received by the end of the 4th week of the term. Students whose proposals are received AFTER the 4th week should expect to pay additional enrollment fees.

Contact Honors.Contracts@nau.edu with any questions you might have about the process.

We encourage you to think differently about this proposal. What can you do with this class that others are not doing? Is there an opportunity to understand the class’ material in a different way, doing different activities? How might you incorporate activities in the surrounding campus and Flagstaff community to enhance your understanding of the content?

Suggestions for Additional Written Work, Lab Work, or In-class Discussion Tasks:

• Write a longer paper, but meet with instructor regularly to discuss the draft and revision process.
• Write short, weekly reaction/response papers on various topics.
• Take the lead in running small groups during class time.
• Take the lead during in-class peer editing sessions, during lab sessions, or during practicum sessions.
• Attend a separate lab session wherein class concepts can be expanded upon during particular lab assignments.
• Create and maintain an on-line chat group or website related to the course objectives.
• Prepare, in writing, questions or comments relevant to course material and lead class discussion. Meet with instructor beforehand to discuss why you chose these particular questions and how you might organize a discussion.
• Add an additional take-home component to exams or assignments that require more in-depth research about the topic. Meet with your professor to go over this additional work.

Suggestions for Presentations:

• Present information to the whole class on a topic of your choosing (or of the instructor’s choosing). Have the class give you feedback about your presentations.
• Conduct research task and present ideas to the class such that the entire class’s perspective on a particular topic is enhanced.
• Debate and discussion: have instructor (or you) create a series of point/counterpoint discussions in class that model a formal debate. Be responsible for each point, its support, and the counterpoint rebuttal. Perhaps switch positions for the debate and have Honors student argue the opposing point. Ask either faculty or small group of students “judge” the debate.
• Teach a lesson: take responsibility for teaching a chapter, a concept, or a method. Practice with professor first to ensure your understanding of the topic/lesson in question.
• Oral defense: Participate in an oral defense of a final project in front of the class.

Suggestions for Out-of-Class Work:

• Identify an out of class event, activity, or organization that might have some relevance or relation to the topic(s) covered in class and create some service learning assignment to accompany participation in the event, activity or organization.
• For a merged undergrad/grad class, communicate with the graduate students on a regular basis prior to or after regular class times, making sure that grad students and you are addressing assignments and projects in some fashion. Have grad students do some peer mentoring with you as well.
• Meet for a discussion group biweekly to address a more in-depth aspect of the course content or additional reading assignment. This might include a brief response paper to clarify thoughts and generate discussion.
• Participate in out-of-class activities that extend class concepts. These might be lectures, arts events, volunteerism or community service, guided hikes, tours, etc. Prepare a brief oral presentation for the class about the relevance of the activity to the class.
• Create a relevant out-of-class event (like a film series) for the entire class. Select films and justify the event yourself. Perhaps serve as a discussion leader. Perhaps create activities, study guide, worksheet, or website to accompany the event.
• Symposium Presentation: Honors hosts an annual Undergraduate Symposium to showcase the work of students in the Spring term. Prepare a project, paper, or creative work that relates to course content. Submit an abstract for the Symposium and present in this venue. Also consider presenting at a regional or national conference related to the discipline.
• Meet regularly with your instructor to discuss a particular article(s) or chapter(s) and a critique of that piece.
• Participate in an oral defense of a final project outside of class time, with individual instructor or a group of instructors.

We removed the details of the proposals to provide more of a general overview of what students have submitted in the past.

CHHS

NUR 390W

Shadowed a neonatal nurse practitioner for five weeks and produced a journal detailing experiences. The student then helped publish a scientific paper on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and presented at the UGRADS symposium.

20% of total grade

NUR 450C

Student helped produce a research study on mild traumatic brain injuries (concussions). Student assessed the current practice guideline protocol in an emergency health care setting at Flagstaff Medical Center. Student received Northern Arizona Healthcare IRB approval and presented findings at the UGRAD symposium and at a healthcare conference.

CEIAS:

EGR 365W

Proposed to create and maintain an online website related to the research on their chosen course project topic. Would prepare debate materials and discussions on class topics such as engineering ethics. Would attend the Writing Commons biweekly, document their experiences, and provide critical feedback for how engineering students can best utilize the Writing Commons.

20% of grade.

CEFENS:

BIO 322

Proposed to help grad student two hours a week with their thesis research by dissecting Ulus beetles, pinning and displaying insects, imaging insects, logging specimens into public database. Will write additional essay about her experience and how it related to the regular portion of the class. Will attend every field trip available to gain more knowledge of collecting and field experience so student may take on future research opportunities.

AT 360

Student created a video library of the textbook resources that students utilized in the course. Student was involved in the filming, editing, and dubbing of footage for viewers. Student helped to update the old manuals for faculty- ensuring that materials were newer and accessible.

CAL:

ENG 300

Proposed to extend an existing assignment by adding on a teaching component. Student taught a lesson to the class and created an annotated bibliography on the sources used in the class lecture. Student met with the professor twice to rehearse and ensure understanding of course material.

20% of grade

FCOB:

MGT 490C

Student created a Microsoft excel based financial analysis template for the MGT 490C simulation. Student created ratios on liquidity, efficiency/activity, leverage/debt etc. Student also created a summary sheet where outputs were recorded for easy interpretation. This tool could be used by future students who took the course.

15% of total grade

COE:

EDF 301W

Proposed to write an additional paper on postcolonial education and its effect on Native American students. The paper also included an analysis of Indigenous and cultural education and its place in the modern classroom.

15% of total grade

SBS:

POS 359

Proposed to read two additional class texts and engage in a weekly discussion with the professor about these texts. Student would write reviews of the texts covering a basic summary, identification of book goals, and comparison to other texts. Student would also facilitate a class “mini lesson” about each text and how it related to the overall course.

30% of total grade

SOC 360

Student attended, guided, and instructed a mandatory in-service training session for all volunteers in the Senior Corps Center for Service and Volunteerism. Student also interviewed and shadowed a volunteer throughout the semester.

15% of total grade.