Creating Honors Courses and Independent Studies

Disciplinary Honors courses are an integral part of every Honors College student's experience, providing in-depth study within the major and building close relationships with instructors in the discipline who have the opportunity to work closely with bright, eager students at the early stages of their academic careers.

Commonwealth Honors College joins with Departments and programs campus-wide to offer various types of officially-recognized Honors courses, each type carrying its own set of expectations but all promoting deeper and richer inquiry into the particular field of study. These various possibilities include: 

• Enriched Honors Courses, three- or four-credit Honors courses and seminars taught at the Honors level with a 25-person enrollment capacity. 

• One-Credit Honors Colloquia, weekly one-hour group sessions that augment and enrich standard multi-credit, non-honors UMass courses. 

• Honors Independent Studies may take one of two forms: a supplemental one- or two-credit Honors Independent Study associated with a standard multi-credit, non-honors UMass course (note that "add-on" HI are not permitted with any kind of stand-alone independent study, practicum or internship); or a stand-alone Honors Independent Study of three or more credits.

Enriched Honors Courses

An enriched Honors course carries three or four credits and has a maximum of 25 students in order to provide an environment conducive significant in-class interactions involving discussions and presentations. There should be a significant writing component, preferably with the instructor providing feedback on students’ mid-process drafts of any high-stakes paper, such as a literature review or a final paper. 

The course might extend and enrich the parameters of its non-honors counterpart, be a forum for dialogue and research on an interdisciplinary topic, or take some other form of the instructor's own design providing that it meets the approval of the Honors Curriculum Committee. In any case, it should increase interaction among the students as well as between the instructor and the students. Instructors and students are encouraged to be creative in integrating field research, in-depth readings, oral presentations, group projects, field trips or other modes of Honors learning into the course structure.  

Course proposals are submitted to the UMass Campus Course Management System.

One-credit Honors Colloquia

A one-credit Honors colloquium is an enrichment of an existing non-honors course and should be more than simply “read an extra book” or “write an extra paper.” It involves a dialogue between motivated students and the instructor that either examines in greater detail the topics covered in the two- or three-credit graded course with which it is associated, or reaches beyond the scope of that course by exploring topics not discussed in the larger section. This dialogue should take the form of hour-long (or more, if desired) weekly or biweekly discussions or tutorials, depending on enrollment. In addition, one or more of the following options might be incorporated to enrich the experience:

• Oral reports 

• Short papers on selected topics, peer reviewed and discussed 

• Development of an annotated bibliography 

• A multi-dimensional group research project 

• Problem-solving sessions 

• In-depth research paper concerning one of the topics in the discussion sessions 

• Field trips to, for example, plays, concerts, museums, conferences, research stations 

A one-credit Honors colloquium may be taken during the same semester as the standard course, or after the course has been taken. In each case, the student must earn a grade of "B" or higher for the course). To fulfill Commonwealth Honors College requirements, a grade of "B" or higher must be earned in the colloquium.

Colloquium proposals are submitted to the UMass Campus Course Management System.

Honors Independent Studies

An Honors Independent Study may take one of two forms:

· A 1- or 2-credit Honors Independent Study course associated with a standard multi-credit, non-honors UMass course, identified by the designation HI in its name, e.g. HIST HI100 ("add-on" HI are not permitted with any kind of stand-alone independent study, practicum or internship).

· A stand-alone Honors Independent Studies course of 3+ credits, identified by the designation ISH in its name, e.g. HIST 396ISH.

HI/ISH Faculty Involvement 

In the case of the HI Honors Independent Study course associated with a regular course, the student initiates the process of creating the course by asking the instructor if they are willing to act as mentor. In the case of the stand-alone ISH Honors Independent Studies course, the student initiates the process by asking a scholarly active faculty member if they are willing to act as mentor. 

Then, following a discussion about the content and nature of the Honors Independent Studies course, schedule of meetings, and how the course is to be graded, the student uploads a proposal to the PATHS website in which responses to specific prompts are entered in a series of dialog boxes. Further details are available on the Honors Independent Study Requirements page of the CHC Handbook.   

ISH Expectations

Honors Independent Studies are expected to be as rigorous as regular Honors courses and to carry a workload equivalent to three hours per credit per week. An Honors Independent Study course of any type must involve frequent interaction between the instructor/mentor and the student. This mentoring component should consist of at least a half hour of one-on-one time per week on average over the semester, and needs to be specified on the Honors Independent Study proposal. 

ISH Standards 

When reviewing an Honors Independent Studies proposal, the instructor must ask, “what makes this an Honors level independent study as compared to a regular independent study?” Qualitative and quantitative enrichment must be evident on the Honors Independent Studies proposal. After submission of the proposal on CHC PATHS by the student, the proposal is reviewed by the faculty mentor, the relevant Honors Program Director and the Academic Standards Committee. Approval by the faculty indicates that the proposed activities meet the requirements specified by the Academic Standards Committee, as detailed on the Honors Independent Studies Requirements web page.  

ISH Deliverables 

Students enrolled in Honors Independent Studies are expected to write papers that are more than a descriptive narrative, contain some original elements, are analytical in nature, stress the synthesis of ideas and information, and feature an extensive bibliography. Where appropriate, the report could be in the format of a disciplinary journal article. However, suitable alternatives to the written report might include an oral report to an appropriate group, a portfolio of artistic renderings, or a proposal for curriculum revision. Any such alternatives must meet the standards of quality and quantity outlined above. 

Departmental Honors and Interdisciplinary ISH 

Departmental Honors Independent Study courses are registered under the offering instructor's home Department. Alternately, students have the option of doing an interdisciplinary Honors Independent Study, which combines topics from more than one area of study. Interdisciplinary Honors Independent Study courses are registered as "HONORS." 

Actions

How to Get Involved in Honors Education

Thank you for your interest in being a part of the Commonwealth Honors College (CHC), whose mission is to provide an enhanced educational experience for motivated and qualified undergraduates. Faculty have major roles in the delivery and oversight of the Honors curriculum, and the success of the program depends critically on the continued involvement of faculty as instructors and mentors, as well as participants in the various committees with responsibility for academic oversight. 

Teaching

Students who are following the Honors curriculum are required to take a minimum number of Honors courses. The College takes the lead on providing the instruction for:

• Honors sections of College Writing (Englwrit 112H)
• Ideas that Change the World (Honors 201H) courses
• Junior year common experience course (Honors 323H), currently How the 1960s Changed America
• One-credit special topic seminars, now called Honors Discovery Seminars (Honors 391AH)

Faculty are needed as instructors for the one-credit special topic seminars, for which RFPs are distributed to all faculty[DF1] . 

Information about Teaching Honors Discovery Seminars

To satisfy the Depth of Study part of the curriculum, students who are following the Departmental Honors track need to take at least two Honors courses in their major, one of which must be at the 300 level or higher. Many Departments do not offer such courses, and so CHC allows students and faculty to create them as needed. 

There is a full range of Honors course possibilities; two popular routes involve Honors Independent Studies (ISH) either as a stand-alone activity or as an enrichment to an existing non-honors course (thereby converting it to an Honors course). In these two cases, students need the help of faculty, first to agree to facilitate the activity and then to help the student craft the proposal for review by the relevant Honors Program Director and the Academic Standards Committee (a sub-committee of the Faculty Senate Commonwealth Honors Council). The College also encourages proposals for yearlong Thesis Seminars, particularly those with an interdisciplinary approach.  

Administration and Service

In terms of service to the institution, faculty can contribute in several ways to the oversight of the Honors curriculum. The most extensive contribution is as an Honors Program Director (HPD). There are about 80 such individuals (looking after about 109 Honors programs), whose responsibilities are set out below. HPDs are appointed by Departments and the duration of the appointment is by mutual agreement between the faculty member and the respective Department Head/Chair. 

Faculty are also invited to serve as members of the Faculty Senate Commonwealth Honors College Council that advises the Dean and oversees policy, curricular matters, and academic standards. Contact the Faculty Senate office if interested. Faculty may also serve as members of the Council committees even if they are not members of the Council. The Academic Standards Committee reviews over 600 proposals of various sorts (independent studies and theses and portfolios) in two review periods each year and needs double-digit membership to manage this in a timely fashion. Please contact the Chair of the Council if interested in serving in this capacity, or helping with the work of one of the other committees (Policy, Program, and Courses).  

Honors College Facts

Each fall, the University admits about 650 students to the Commonwealth Honors College; a further small cohort is admitted through the on-campus admission process, and some transfer students are also admitted. There are about 3,000 students in CHC; further details of numbers can be found on the About page of the CHC website. 

Actions

Stand-alone Honors Independent Study Course Description

The Commonwealth Honors College (CHC) administers stand-alone Honors Independent Study courses (designated ISH)  by first reviewing a proposal submitted by the student and then, on approval, by registering the student into the appropriate course, dealing as necessary with holds, credit-overload permissions and late-adds. 

Approval is not automatic. Each proposal is reviewed by the faculty sponsor, the department Honors Program Director and Academic Standards Committee (ASC), a sub-committee of the CHC Faculty Senate Council, all of whom may (and often do) ask for clarifications, modifications, and revisions. Some proposals are rejected, if the extent of revision needed warrants a fresh start. 

The overarching idea is that such an Honors Independent Study course is an opportunity for a student to become engaged in activities that pursue an aspect of a faculty member’s scholarly activity on the UMass Amherst campus and to be mentored in these activities by a tenure-system, scholarly-active faculty member.  

Thus, the activity must have the characteristic that it has the potential to be a contribution to the relevant academic discourse. The ASC interprets “contribution to the relevant academic discourse” very broadly but does expect that scholarly writing is involved somewhere in the process, even if it is only in the initial proposal. If the final product is not a written report in the form of a disciplinary journal article, the ASC expects that the student will write a reflection piece at the end of the process. If the final product is a written report in the form of a disciplinary journal article, the ASC expects that the student will submit a draft on which the faculty mentor will provide feedback in time for revisions prior to submission of the final version for grading. The ASC also expects that the activity will involve some engagement with relevant primary scholarly sources. 

Just as with standard courses, a student’s performance in an ISH is graded, and as is required practice on the UMass Amherst campus, the grading criteria are to be set out in writing in the syllabus at the start of the semester. As the proposal document submitted to CHC serves as the syllabus for the ISH, the ASC expects to see some description of the grading, and hence there are sections of the proposal that specifically ask for information related to the grading.

An ISH must be, at a minimum, a 3-credit activity, requiring three to four hours of engagement, on average, per credit per week by the student over the course of the semester, together with regular one-on-one meetings with the faculty mentor throughout the semester. The expected frequency is, on average, half an hour per week. When relevant, students are expected to participate in the faculty member’s regular research group meetings. The ASC appreciates the difficulties of scheduling such meetings.

Creating an ISH Proposal 

Although the student is responsible for the submission of the proposal (through the CHC PATHS website), the ASC expects that the student and faculty mentor will collaborate on the creation of the text that is to be uploaded in response to the prompts in each of the four sections. Descriptions of the ISH proposal outline may be found on the Honors Independent Study Requirements page and are also available as pull-down menus in CHC PATHS. Everyone involved should read the text on the landing page of CHC PATHS.

Actions

Honors Program Director Role

For more information, visit Faculty Resources.

Contact: Elena T. Carbone, DrPH

1. Obtain FERPA certification and gain access to SPIRE for Advisors and SPIRE Query

• For FERPA certification, which allows access to confidential student academic information, click here.    
• To use SPIRE for Advisors and/or to use Query Tool for running lists of your majors as frequently as you wish (including email addresses and honors designations), the first step is SPIRE training.

2.  Become familiar with

• The Honors curriculum and various ways in which the depth of scholarship component can be undertaken.
• The resources & tools available through Student Success, especially the NAVIGATE system.

3. Recruit honors students in your departmental subject areas

• Be especially conscious of under-represented and first-generation students to be sure that they feel welcome, included, encouraged to apply, and empowered.
• Periodically, run a SPIRE Query and generate a list of eligible students (GPA 3.400 or higher).
• Invite those you wish to recruit to apply to CHC by directing them to the online application.
• Organize an informational meeting for interested students or make appointments available.
• Approach students directly to promote your Departmental Honors (DH) Program and its benefits.
• Encourage departmental faculty to identify top students and refer them to you.
• Increase the visibility of DH and promote the successes of honors students. 

4. Provide information and advice to honors students

in the following categories

a. To DH students provide information about

• DH requirements, including strategies for completion of honors-level DH coursework (be aware of the need for a 300-level honors course in the major), as well as opportunities for being mentored by scholarly active faculty.
• CHC PATHS (see 6a below), for scheduling honors independent studies ISHs and individual theses (499Y/499T or 499Y/499P).
• Sources of information about the 499 Thesis, including (a) setting up a committee and the final presentation (independently-arranged 499s only), and (b) formatting and manuscript documentation guidelines and submission deadlines. 
• Diploma credentials, including magna and summa cum laude.
• DH opportunities that you choose to arrange e.g., gatherings, field trips, info sessions, and 1-credit courses.
• Current opportunities at CHC as announced to you at HPD meetings or via email and newsletters (scholarships, fellowships, awards, Undergrad Research Conference, CHC Residential Community)  

b. To CHC students not yet in DH (discovered by means of SPIRE, see item 1 above) provide information about

• How and when to enter DH.
• Or, if their interests are incompatible with DH, refer them to the Bloom Honors Advising Center in CHC to learn about the other honors option, Multidisciplinary Honors (MH).

c. To outstanding students in or out of CHC who are potential national and international scholarship competitors (Fulbright, Rhodes, Marshall, Goldwater, Churchill, and so on) provide information about the Office of National Scholarship Advisement (ONSA), 413-577-2613.

d.  To deserving students in or out of CHC who are potential scholarship recipients provide information about the resources at Academic Works.

5. Stimulate increased faculty participation in Commonwealth Honors College

• Invite the CHC Dean and Associate Deans to a department meeting so they can discern how to better assist your department’s honors efforts.
• Inform your faculty about DH requirements. View DH tracks.
• Direct your faculty to the CHC HPD liaison if they need specific information about Multidisciplinary Honors and Thesis Seminars.
• Tell faculty about CHC resources, such as student research grants and fellowships (opportunities are described and applied to through PATHS), as well as scholarships, including the nationally competitive scholarships advised by ONSA (see item 4c above).
• Work with your faculty to create new honors courses and to set appropriately high standards for honors instruction.
• Assist faculty with advising and mentoring honors students, especially regarding theses (item 4a above).
• Support your students by attending the Undergraduate Research Conference and encourage other faculty to do the same.
• Ask faculty to assist you with identifying prospective honors students (see item 3 above) and national scholarship competitors (see ONSA contact information in item 4c above). 

6. Review and Approve

a. Honors Courses created via contracts and petitions Independent Study Honors (ISH) contracts (both add-on to a root course and stand-alone) as well as the individually-arranged 499Y and 499T (research) and 499P (portfolio) contracts are all scheduled via CHC PATHS.

b. Petitions for Exception for 500-level courses, challenging Five College seminars, and study abroad courses that may meet honors standards. Handled by PATHS.

c. Late Added Honors Colloquia are still handled via a paper process. Be sure faculty know this.

d. Honors Courses Fully enriched honors courses, e.g. PSYCH 100H, pre-approved Colloquia and Honors Thesis Seminars are submitted for approval via the UMass Course Mgt. System.

e. Applications from students to join your DH track.

f. The DH Track: CHC sets minimum standards (see below); the department sets the specific requirements

• With the chair and department faculty, periodically review the DH track to keep it current and viable (i.e., sufficient honors courses and types of honors courses are offered, and your DH students are able to fulfill the requirements).
• If your department has a DH web page, be sure that it is synchronous with the CHC DH web page (it is better to link to the CHC page for the overview using your page for departmental research specifics, events, and opportunities).
• Note: Campus-wide, the minimum DH criteria are (a) one any-level department honors course*, (b) one 300-level or higher department honors course*, (c) an Honors Thesis of 6 or more credits on a topic that is departmentally approved. *Appropriate courses from cognate fields may be used. Ideally, attention is paid to preparing students for undertaking the Honors Thesis.

7. Consider

• Attending a meeting with the College leadership group each semester (in the third or fourth week).
• Serving as a member of the Faculty Senate Commonwealth Honors College Council and/or one the subcommittees (Academic Standards, Policy, Course and Program).

Actions

Admitting Students to Departmental Honors

Honors Program Directors have several options for authorizing a student's admission to the Departmental Honors (DH) track.  The options are determined by a student's membership status in the Commonwealth Honors College (CHC).

Students who are not current CHC members

These students must apply to Commonwealth Honors College and your DH track. A description on the process is available on the Apply page on the CHC website. The CHC application is located on CHC PATHS.

You can then review their application materials and indicate your admission decision within the online application review process in CHC PATHS.

Students who are currently members of CHC

You may authorize admission of these students to your DH track in: CHC PATHS

For accessible assistance please contact the office by phone at 413-545-2483.

Actions

Late Added Honors Colloquium Contract

Honors Colloquium contracts provide a mechanism for faculty members and students to spontaneously and collaboratively generate and schedule Honors Colloquia. Students and faculty are encouraged to use their imaginations when designing a Colloquium. Colloquia should be challenging, rewarding, stimulating and fun. If approved this contract will become a listed Colloquium for the core course and may be scheduled for 4 more semesters without re-approval by requesting that your Department Scheduling Officer include it whenever the core course is scheduled.

For accessible assistance with the PDF form please contact the office by phone at 413-545-2483.

Actions

499 Grading

Grade the Thesis Seminar work as you would any other course - in accordance with the expectations set forth in the syllabus, or, for the Individually Contracted Thesis, as recorded in the contract as approved on CHC PATHS. The grade should reflect the quality of the student's work, attendance, and participation. 

• Honors Thesis graded “B” or higher in all components will count toward graduation credit and fulfillment of Commonwealth Honors College (CHC) requirements. 
• Honors Thesis coursework graded “D” to “B-” will count toward graduation credit but not fulfillment of CHC requirements. 
• Final grades awarded for the Honors Thesis coursework, as well as Research Manuscript or Creative Portfolio, will affect the CHC Honors credentials awarded at graduation. Please see Graduation with Honors for details.  

In the event of extenuating circumstances that delay completion of a 499 course, Honors College students should be given the same respect and consideration as other students, neither more nor less. Refer to the Undergraduate Registrar's Academic Regulations Handbook for standard policies. 

Grade Submission Process 

• Individually Contracted Thesis courses registered as "HONORS" 499Y/T/P: for current or previous 3 semesters, instructor forwards grade to CHC Roster Coordinator (RC).
• Individually Contracted Thesis courses registered as "DEPARTMENT X" 499Y/T/P" (e.g., HIST, ENGL, CMPSCI): for current or previous 3 semesters, instructor forwards grades to the Department Multi-instructor Roster Coordinator (DRC) for the department in which 499Y/T/P is registered; DRC submits/changes grades directly on SPIRE.*
• Seminars registered as either "HONORS" or "DEPARTMENT X" 499 (e.g., 499A/B, 499C/D, etc.): for current or previous 3 semesters, instructor has online access to SPIRE grade roster and submits grades

*SPIRE offers additional details regarding submitting grade changes online (INC, NR, Y, or '__' (blank). For further assistance, contact your department's Roster Coordinator or Administrative Assistant.

Honors Thesis Grading Guidelines 

Grading options for the Honors Thesis may vary. Visit the Honors Thesis Grading Guidelines page for more details. 

Other Grading Issues 

Some students may feel in jeopardy if they are earning less than our required grade minimum for CHC Honors with distinction. To earn CHC Honors credentials, students must earn the following minimum grades for both their Honors Thesis coursework and the final Research Manuscript or Creative Portfolio: 

• A-  for Honors with greater or greatest distinction 
• B+ for Honors with distinction 
• B   for Honors 

We encourage ongoing communication between you and your Honors Thesis students regarding their progress. If any of your students are in jeopardy, please have a candid discussion with them as soon as possible, document your conversations in writing, and refer the student to a Commonwealth College advisor if necessary. 

Please be aware that Honors College students cannot be cleared for graduation until Honors Thesis INC, NR, Y, or '__' grades have been converted to final grades on SPIRE.

Contacts 

Feel free to contact Dominic Usher, dusher [at] umass [dot] edu (dusher[at]umass[dot]edu) if you have questions. 

Actions

499 Guidelines for Faculty

The Honors Thesis, which may be completed in a Research Manuscript or Creative Portfolio format, is designed to provide students with an opportunity to integrate their undergraduate experiences and prepare for their careers. Building on the knowledge and skills they have acquired, students pursue research questions, create art, engage the wider community in meaningful activity, or work intensively on one of a variety of other academic projects.

Expectations for the Honors Thesis are high. Whether the intended end product is a Research Manuscript or a Creative Portfolio (comprising a manuscript and an artifact), all Honors Theses: 

• Are 6+ credits. 
• Begin with creative inquiry and systematic research. 
• Include documentation of substantive scholarly endeavor. 
• Culminate in a final presentation. 

Honors Thesis Formats 

The Honors Thesis may be done in either of two formats.

1. Research Manuscript - The Research Manuscript is the customary format for presenting extended investigation and research, resulting in a written document of 40-60 pages.  
    
2. Creative Portfolio  - The Creative Portfolio format involves a written document of 10-20 pages coupled with a creative artifact, such as a performance, musical score, architectural blueprint, engineering invention, screenplay, business case study, collection of original poetry, or art exhibition.  

Thesis Approaches 

There are two ways for students to approach the Honors Thesis: through a Thesis Seminar or by pursuing an Individually Contracted Thesis.  

Thesis Seminars (faculty initiated) 

Format: These 6+ credit Thesis Seminars require the approval of a syllabus by the Commonwealth Honors College Council. They are generally taught seminar style in a traditional classroom setting and are typically offered as two 4-credit courses taken sequentially over two semesters (usually the fall and spring of the senior year).

Thesis Seminars, like their individually-contracted counterparts, require major scholarly undertakings that result in a Research Manuscript or Creative Portfolio format. In lieu of a final presentation, most Honors seminars include a presentation to course members, the instructor, or both. Many seminars require that the presentation be at the annual April Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference.

Registration: Most Thesis Seminars are registered by students directly on SPIRE. Occasionally, registration may require instructor permission beforehand to ensure that students fully understand and are able to commit to course expectations. Such instructions will be noted in the course description in the Commonwealth Honors College online Honors Course Guide.

Syllabus Approval: Instructors who are interested in proposing a Thesis Seminar must submit a Thesis Seminar Proposal to the Commonwealth Honors College office for review by the Commonwealth Honors College Council (CHCC). If the Thesis Seminar is approved, and funding is available from Commonwealth Honors College or the instructor’s department, the course will be offered and advertised in the Commonwealth Honors College online Honors Course Guide. 

Individually Contracted Thesis (student initiated) 

An Individually Contracted Thesis requires an agreed-upon and approved contract, proposal, and guidance committee and terminates with a presentation or performance. Each is typically six or more credits and taken over two semesters (often the fall and spring of the senior year).

Proposal Overview

A proposal is required for each semester of the Independently Contracted Thesis: the 499Y Semester Plan Proposal (Honors Thesis Part 1) and 499T/P Honors Thesis Proposal (Honors Thesis Part 2) require a definition of the Honors Thesis work and establish a comprehensive list of goals, methodology, evaluation procedures, and faculty expectations. 

Proposal submission: The Individually Contracted Thesis is registered by Commonwealth Honors College after approval by the CHCC Academic Standards Committee. Students submit their proposals via the PATHS website. Faculty who have agreed to act as the chair of a student’s Thesis Committee are expected to work with the student in advance of the submission deadline to help the student prepare the 499Y Semester Plan Proposal (Honors Thesis Part 1) for the first semester. 

Detailed information about the Individually Contracted Thesis is available regarding the proposal requirements, general timeline, composition of the Thesis Committee, and presentation. If the work involves live human beings, the faculty should provide relevant information for the student to incorporate into the proposal and should also guide the student through the IRB approval process, if necessary, as the proposal is passed on for review by the Honors Program Director and the Academic Standards Committee.

Other comments are encouraged to clarify, for example, the role of the student when multiple students are working on the same project, or to explain why the second committee member is not a UMass faculty member. It is particularly important that the proposal contain a description of an activity or assignment that can be evaluated by the end of the add-drop period, ensure that satisfactory progress is being made.

Actions

Honors Thesis Grading Guidelines

Faculty should submit grades for the Honors Thesis through their normal department channels.  

FIRST SEMESTER GRADING 

These guidelines detail grading options for the first semester of a two-semester Honors Thesis. 

Standard Grading 

Choose standard grading (A, A-, B+, B, etc.) when the thesis has clearly defined assignments or benchmarks that can be tallied into a semester grade that will not be altered by subsequent work. For example, an instructor might

• Submit an “A” for a student who has conducted excellent research to date 
• Submit an appropriately low grade for a student whose performance to date is unacceptable due to frequent absence, or inadequate reporting or research.  

Advantages of standard grading 

• Revised grading will be not be required later 
• The student receives a clear, unambiguous progress assessment 

Note: The grade for the first semester may differ from the grade of the second semester based upon the quality of the student's work in each semester.

YEAR-LONG/DEFERRED GRADING 

“Y” Grading 

Year-long grading allows the submission of a “Y” grade as a non-penalty incomplete. 

• Thesis Seminars may be designated as "Y" grading by the instructor during the course scheduling process. If selected, "Y" grading should also be noted in the syllabus. 
• An Independently Contracted Thesis is always scheduled with the "Y" grading option.  

Choose “Y” grading when you wish to 

• Grade the year-long effort only after the end of the second semester and you are able to determine with confidence that the student has made satisfactory progress in the first semester (otherwise a low grade may be more appropriate) 
• Use the “Y” grade as a neutral placeholder until the second semester is complete (vs. an INC grade which would average as an "F" until the grade is changed).  

Consequences of Y grading 

• In addition to submitting the grade for the final semester on SPIRE, you will need to submit a change of grade for the "Y" semester to a final grade.  (You may do so on SPIRE for the most recent four semesters or via a UG Registrar's "Change of Grade" form for older semesters.) 
• Students may be ignorant of serious problems with their coursework unless you have had a candid discussion with them. 

SECOND SEMESTER, CONCURRENT, OR YEAR-LONG GRADING

These guidelines detail grading options for the following circumstances:

• Single semester Honors Thesis or project (6 credit minimum) 
• Concurrent Honors Thesis or project pair (3 + 3 credit minimum) 
• Final semester of an Honors Thesis 

Upon completion of a single-semester Honors Thesis, a set of paired Thesis Seminars, or the final semester of an Honors Thesis, the instructor may submit either a final grade(s) or "INCs" on the SPIRE grade roster(s). Note: Seminar grades should not be submitted until the final Honors Thesis Research Manuscripts or Creative Portfolios have been evaluated and graded.

Standard Grading

If a standard grade (“A”, “A-“, “B+”, “B," etc.) is submitted for the final semester (and in the case of a thesis sequence, if a standard grade was submitted for the first semester) then no further grading action is required.

INC and Y Grading:

If an INC is submitted for the final semester (or if a “Y grade was submitted earlier for the first semester of a Thesis) then you will need to also convert the "Ys" and/or “INCs” to standard grades upon completion of the student's work.  You may do so on SPIRE (for the most recent four semesters) or via a "Change of Grade" form (for older semesters).

Actions

Proposing a Thesis Seminar 499 Course

There are many reasons to consider proposing a 499 C/D* Thesis Seminar course to the Commonwealth Honors College (CHC), especially as there is more Honors College student demand than course supply. 

 Reasons to Propose a Thesis Seminar

• It provides Honors College students with a substantial educational experience that will be excellent preparation for their careers. They will have an opportunity to develop/acquire disciplinary research skills, learn about a topic of current research interest, conduct research and write an in-depth, extended account of their work, enhance their academic qualifications for graduate school.  
• It provides YOU with a dozen or so highly motivated, smart research assistants, whom you will train during the first semester and then advise on the development and execution of their research during the second semester. Their findings might generate materials for journal articles, or be the basis of book chapters, or for use in your teaching of other classes.  
• Your Department may be eligible for course funding support.  

Funding Eligibility

• The Thesis Seminar must be open to CHC students of all majors and appeal to students from a range of fields. 499 courses that primarily serve majors of the offering Department are not eligible for funding. If student enrollment shifts over time to become mainly departmental majors, the Department may become ineligible for funding. 
• CHC standard funding for courses approved for funding is $7,500 per course. For two-semester 499 seminars, total funding is $15,000. 
• Funds must be available and CHC must provide positive agreement. 

Consult Before You Commit

Before you invest a lot of time and effort in submitting the rather detailed documentation that the CHC Council course committee will want to see to evaluate your proposal, here are a few things to think about.  If you decide to proceed, we suggest you create a two-page summary of what you have in mind and send it to Dominick Usher, Senior Assistant Dean, for preliminary evaluation (dusher [at] umass [dot] edu (dusher[at]umass[dot]edu)). 

Note that CHC has phased out the word “capstone,” even though it does still appear in some URLs and documents. Dominick can also send you one or more example syllabi from successful past proposals that have similarities to what you plan.

Thesis Seminar Format

• Course length: Two (2) semesters

• Total course credits: 8 credits recommended; at least 6 credits required

• Student capacity: 12 students minimum - 15 students maximum per course   

In the most common model, the fall course is mostly coursework, so that the students get up to speed with the relevant topics, and will involve getting the students to write, preferably a variety of high and low stakes pieces. At the end of the semester, students should submit a substantial written paper (15 – 20 pages) that describes work done during the semester on the topic that will eventually form the Honors Thesis and outlines possible future work for the spring. 

In the spring semester, students will spend a substantial amount of time on their Honors Thesis research and the associated writing, although there should be class activities as well. We expect that students will meet regularly with the instructor in one-on-one situations and get feedback on both ideas and the written drafts. 

Honors Thesis Content 

The Honors Thesis should be substantial, between 40 – 60 pages. Oral communication of findings is important, and CHC expects to see in-class progress presentations and a more formal final presentation. An excellent “external” venue is the Massachusetts Undergraduate Research Conference, held towards the end of April, with abstracts due around mid-February.

Typically, students are admitted by consent of the instructor, and we recommend that you incorporate some description of your selection process in your documentation (and the notifications that appear on SPIRE) that may include face-to-face meetings and/or email communications so that you can align the student’s expectations with your own, and establish whether the student already has ideas for an Honors Thesis topic. Some instructors ask for a writing sample. In the fall course, we encourage instructors to ask for a substantial piece of formal writing prior to the end of the “W” period, ideally one that requests an exploration of the topic and direction of the Honors Thesis, and build on that work with a more extensive paper due at the end of the semester. As students will not have much time to choose their topics, encouraging them to bring some ideas to the course seems sensible.

Thesis Seminar Proposal Submission

The Thesis Seminar proposal is submitted through the Campus Course Management System.

* Other alphas are available and may be deemed appropriate according to the structure of the 499 course. The most common is C/D indicating Thesis Seminar. The sequence N/O is used if students are producing a Creative Portfolio rather than a Research Manuscript.

Actions

For Scheduling Officers

Links to the Honors Course Guide, and to submit Honors Seminar and Colloquia approval requests, including the late-added Colloquium contract.

Honors Course Guide

A list of current Honors courses searchable by key words, term, and subject.  Undergraduate and graduate courses may be distinguished, as can courses carrying General Education (Gen Ed) designations.

Honors Seminar and Colloquia Approval Request 

Proposals for Honors courses, Colloquia, and Thesis Seminars are submitted for review and approval through the UMass Course and Curriculum Management System.

Late-Added Colloquium Contract

Prior to the start of the semester, use the UMass Course and Curriculum Management System to submit a proposal. After the start of classes (but before the end of the add/drop period), a proposal, created on the form available here, may be submitted to Chris Cuff by campus mail (301 Commonwealth Honors College), by fax to 577-2620, or by email as a PDF to ccuff [at] honors [dot] umass [dot] edu (ccuff[at]honors[dot]umass[dot]edu). The late-added Colloquium contract includes a roster of the students to be enrolled, and using it expedites the process of approving and creating the Colloquium, as well as registering the students.

Actions

Student Ambassador Job Application

Student Ambassadors participate in the recruitment of prospective students by conducting information sessions about the benefits of of the Honors College (scholarship, research, programs, leadership, community building, networking, and social and cultural competencies). The Student Ambassadors also participate on student panels at various events when necessary, and provide support for all tasks that enhance Student Recruitment. This is a paid position that provides valuable leadership, public speaking experience, and customer service skills.

Student Ambassador Job Application Form

The Outreach and Recruitment Unit of the Commonwealth Honors College is seeking applications for a student leadership opportunity in the Honors College Student Ambassador Program.

• Applicants for this position are required to attend an interview 
• Applicants must be a member in good standing of the Commonwealth Honors College

For further information, contact Ashley Braziel at abraziel [at] umass [dot] edu 

Applications are due Friday, March 12 at 11:59 p.m. Applicants will be notified of their application status by Friday, April 9.

Actions