SOKOLOV HONORS COLLEGE

Dean Amy L. Cossentino

Mission of the Sokolov Honors College

Inspiring a love of learning through opportunity, community and family.

Outcomes

ENRICHMENT and Differentiation

Students who desire an enriched education take honors courses and participate in experiential learning opportunities. A separate application is required.

HONORS DIPLOMA

Students completing the honors curriculum will receive a special designation on the diploma and final transcript.

Benefits of Joining

• Students enjoy the benefits of early registration each semester they are actively participating.
• Honors students are part of an interdisciplinary community of academically motivated students and a network of engaged alumni.
• Students develop skills through extended learning opportunities beneficial for securing competitive national/international scholarships, job, and graduate/professional school placements.
• Student engagement in the community offers additional experiential learning and leading opportunities.
• Students benefit from various individualized learning experiences that may connect them to faculty research, community-based research with professionals, and job opportunities with alumni. Presentations at local and national conferences are encouraged and supported.
• Course material is covered in greater depth than in a traditional class. Therefore, honors students receive "value-added" educational opportunities. 
• Students grow as global citizens through interactions with others from around the world in classes, community engagement projects, and study abroad. 
• As reflected by the transcript and diploma, an honors student who shows the desire and ability to go above and beyond what is traditionally required by the University is recognized at graduation with a special honors medallion.
• Honors students are eligible to live in the honors residence hall, Cafaro House, or The Courtyards Apartments - building #2.
• Members may use the facilities in Fok Hall, which includes wireless connectivity, study space, and a student lounge.

Administration of the Sokolov Honors College

The program is operated by the Dean of the Sokolov Honors College who reports to the Provost. The honors curriculum is under the jurisdiction of the Honors Committee of Academic Senate.

Baccalaureate Honors

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

1.  Students qualify with a 3.5 overall grade point average and at least a composite ACT score of 26, or combined SAT score of 1240 on the new SAT (or 1760 on the old SAT).
2.  Current YSU students must have completed at least 12 semester hours of college-level study (not to include remedial courses) with a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.4.
3.  Transfer students must have completed at least 15 semester hours of college-level study accepted for credit at YSU (not to include remedial courses) with a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.4.
4.  Students enrolled in or eligible to enter the Honors College and others approved by the instructor and Dean of Honors may take honors courses.
5.  To remain in good standing in the Honors College, students must maintain a GPA of at least a 3.0. Students falling below this level for two consecutive semesters will be removed from the program.
6.  Students who complete no honors work for two consecutive semesters and has not achieved the requirements for continuation will be suspended from the program. Satisfactory progress must be made in order to fulfill all applicable honors college scholarships.
7.  Completing the honors requirements necessitates an average of five to six credit hours of honors work per semester for the first four semesters, unless the student will graduate in less than four years. If graduating in less than four years, the student should work with the Honors College staff to map out a plan for completion. All honors coursework, except for the senior honors thesis or capstone, should be completed before the senior year.

Baccalaureate Honors Curriculum

(for students who enroll beginning Summer semester 2020)

Students who enter the Honors College beginning summer semester 2020 are required to complete at least 24 semester hours of honors work, including a senior thesis or capstone.

Further requirements include the following:

•  Intro to Honors Seminar  – 1 credit (to be taken in the first semester)
• Campus Community Partnership Seminar - 1 credit (to be taken after the first semester)
•  General Education Requirements – 9 credits
•  Other – 12+ credits (combination of seminars, upper division courses or general education requirements)
•  Senior Honors Capstone¹ 1-3 credits

¹

During the senior year, a capstone thesis/project in the major department is required. This is generally worth 1-3 semester hours depending upon the department. A faculty advisor, selected by the student and approved by the Director of Honors, will oversee this project. The completed capstone in the form of a thesis should be bound and archived by the Library and stored in the Honors College, Fok Hall. Certain projects other than theses may be presented in poster form or technologically recorded and similarly archived and stored. A public defense is required and may be in the form of an exhibition, recital, formal presentation at a regional/national conference or Quest.  Projects completed by individuals, teams, and teams of students working with community officials are all appropriate.

Associate Honors

The pre-college requirements for the Honors Associate track are identical to those of the four-year Honors Program. Students who have not completed the college preparatory subjects are admitted to the Honors Associate Program on the condition that their course of study includes at least one course prescribed for correcting a deficiency each semester until the deficiencies have been erased. Courses taken at the college level and used to make up a deficiency will be applied toward the Honors Associate Program.

The following students qualify, upon application for the Honors Associate track:

•  Students with a 3.5 overall grade point average and a Composite ACT score of 26 or a combined SAT of 1260 (new) 1760 (old).
•  Current YSU students having completed at least 12 semester hours of college-level study (not to include remedial courses) with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4.
•  Students having completed at least 15 semester hours of college-level study accepted for credit at YSU (not to include remedial courses) with a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.4.

Honors Associate Curriculum

•  First Year Honors Seminar – 1 credit (To be taken in either the first semester.)
• Campus Community Partnership Seminar - 1 credit (to be taken after the first semester)
•  General Education Requirements – 6 credits
•  Other – 3+ credits (Combination of seminars, upper division courses or general education requirements.)
•  Honors Capstone – 1 credit
• A total of 14 credits of honors from a combination of seminars, actual honors courses, contracts, and capstone.

Individualized Honors Curriculum (IHC)

An individualized honors curriculum (IHC) is available for students who wish to alter any of the requirements listed above for either the associate or baccalaureate honors programs. The IHC may be necessary for first-year students entering with more than a year of college credits from College Credit Plus, Advanced Placement and other transfer credits. Students on the IHC plan are required to complete HONR 1500 and HONR 2601P. However, the student should prepare a proposal that includes:

• an individualized meeting with honors staff application for IHC (available by request at honors@ysu.edu)
• reasons for choosing not to follow the prescribed honors program
• goals of the IHC
• exact courses and the course format (i.e. AP honors, honors class, contract honors, independent study, honors capstone, study abroad, etc.) 24 credits at the honors level required
• outcomes of the IHC
• estimated time to completion

YSU-BaccMed Program

The Sokolov Honors College administers the YSU-BaccMed Program, which provides students with an enhanced pre-medical honors curriculum and access to potential early assurance to either Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) or Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). YSU-BaccMed students are expected to attend cohort meetings, engage in professional development opportunities, and meet regularly with honors faculty/staff involved with administering the program.

For more information:https://ysu.edu/academics/science-technology-engineering-mathematics/ysu-baccmed

Course Credit Generation

Honors credit generation includes:

• earned honors credit through advanced placement examination
• special sections of traditional courses
•  seminars on special topics
•  contract honors as necessary
•  advanced course work in areas outside of the major
•  a common theme when possible, such as the Math Department Honors Pathway
•  a capstone project or thesis in the senior year

Advanced Placement Honors Credit

Another way for students to earn honors credit is through meeting a defined benchmark score on the AP exam for YSU courses that have an associated honors section. Students may utilize up to a maximum of 11 AP honors credits of the required 24 honors credits required to graduate with an honors diploma. A student must complete at least 13 credits of the 24 credit hours of honors course work directly from YSU, excluding AP, through seminars, contracts, honors courses, and capstone. Students map out a plan for completion in HONR 1500. To review a listing of AP credits approved for honors courses, visit https://ysu.edu/registrars-office/credit-examination-ap-information

Transfer of Honors Credit

•  Honors credit from other institutions will be accepted as honors credit and can be used to partially fulfill the requirements for the honors program at Youngstown State University provided that the honors credit was earned in a college-level course with a grade of B or higher.
•  Upon application, all students from other honors programs who were in good standing relative to their previous program will be admitted into the YSU Honors College. Honors credit earned at other institutions will be accepted as honors credit and can be used to partially fulfill the requirements for honors at YSU subject to review by the Honors College.
•  To graduate with an honors diploma, a student must complete at least 13 of the total 24 semester hours of honors course work from YSU, fulfill the depth and breadth requirements of the honors program, and complete a senior thesis or capstone in the major discipline. For more details, consult with the Honors College.
•  Students who transfer into the YSU Honors College have all the rights and privileges granted to its members, e.g., honors housing, priority registration, use of honors facilities, etc.

Courses of Instruction

THE NATURE OF AN HONORS COURSE

When compared to a non-honors course, an honors course should:

•  Cover material in greater depth
•  Encompass more complex concepts, stressing analysis
•  Place greater emphasis on communication skills
•  Include discussion of applicable theories in the field
•  Require of the students more preparation and class participation, including more ambitious papers or projects, as well as a greater share of responsibility for learning
•  Involve more state-of-the-art technology whenever possible and appropriate

HONORS COLLEGE COURSES

Contract Honors Courses

Any course other than those which are offered as an honors course (ENGL 1550H Honors Writing 1, MATH 1585H Honors Accelerated Calculus 1, etc.) or remedial courses may be taken for honors credit with the concurrence of the faculty teaching the class and the approval of the Honors Dean.

The contract honors option does not involve more credit hours for a course, but rather credit of a different kind. Proposals should involve not simply more work on the part of the student, but rather work in greater depth. Proposals are initiated by the student after consulting with the instructor, then reviewed by the Honors Dean. Contract Honors proposals are generated online through the Honors Student Dashboard with approval of proposals completed electronically. More information and instructions for using the Dashboard can be obtained by contact the Honors College.

Remedial courses are not suitable for contract honors. Contracts are not normally approved when an honors section exists for the same course (e.g. ENGL 1551H Honors Writing 2). Projects in the historiography of any discipline are acceptable. Contract proposals must be submitted by the published due date.

Community-engaged learning - Courses other than those which are offered as a community-engaged learning (NURS 3710C) or remedial courses may be considered for community-engaged learning experiences. The faculty assigned to the course and community partner, who serve as co-educators, work collaboratively to design the additional learning experience that meets the need of the community partner. The honors contract CE option does not involve more credit hours for a course, but rather credit of a different kind. Proposals should include how the student will engage, reflect, reciprocate, and publicly disseminate.

Completion status is reported by faculty to the Honors Dean via the online Honors Contract Completion Tracking System. Instructions for accessing the system are sent to faculty via email by the week before finals week.

Sokolov Honors College Requirements & Opportunities

COMMUNITY-ENGAGED LEARNING

Honors students are required to complete 60 hours of volunteerism on an annual basis. The YSU PenguinPulse system is used to log the engagement with a brief reflection at the conclusion of each experience.

INVOLVEMENT/LEADERSHIP/CO-CURRICULARS

Students who connect to the university through active participation demonstrate higher satisfaction and retention. Honors students are required to engage in student life and have many options from which to select through Student Activities, as well as multiple organizations available to students in the Sokolov Honors College.  Honors Trustees, MALAINA, Women in Honors, Residential Honors Council, and Transcribing Club are some of the honors initiatives.

STUDY ABROAD/GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

Honors students are encouraged to participate in study abroad experiences. The Sokolov Honors College staff will assist students with letters of recommendation for participation and potential scholarships. Opportunities for developing global citizenship are available for students and may take the form of volunteerism or leadership opportunities when a formal study abroad experience is not possible. Students are encouraged to seek out opportunities from their international peers through gatherings and activities such as: fireside chats, international coffee hours, international cultural events, etc.

LIVING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS (OPTIONAL)

Both residential and commuter students can enjoy the community that exists within honors. Two on-campus honors residential learning communities - Cafaro House and Building #2 of the Courtyards are available. Cafaro House is equipped with a computer lab and academic wing. The accommodations are 4-, 8-, and 18-person suites with two students per room. The Courtyards offer either 4-person, 2-person, or single apartments. No matter the apartment type, each student has an individual own bedroom. Available in Fok Hall is a student lounge, conference room, study space, meeting rooms, and administrative offices - all of which provide space for community building and learning. Commuter and residential students enjoy the familial atmosphere within Fok Hall to foster learning and collaboration.

National Fellowships and Scholarships

The Sokolov Honors College leads the National Scholarship Committee composed of faculty and staff from across campus to advertise scholarship opportunities and prepare students for prestigious competitions such as the Truman, Marshall, Goldwater and Rhodes Scholarships. Information and applications for these scholarships are maintained by the Sokolov Honors College.

DOCUMENTATION OF ANNUAL STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENT COMPLETION

Honors students are required to complete documentation of all requirements for the annual end of the year review. The review will determine scholarship renewals and progress in the program to meet annual student learning outcomes for the five pillars:  Leadership/Involvement, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Community-Engaged Learning, Research and Scholarship, and Global Citizenship.

Students are required to maintain records and report all community-engaged learning using the YSU PenguinPulse system, student work demonstrating mastery of student learning outcomes, and other scholarly and academic work of added value.

DOCUMENTARY RECOGNITION OF SUCCESS IN THE HONORS COLLEGE

GRADE RECORDS

A student's permanent record will be the sole official record of honors courses and seminars, each of which will be designated with an "H" after the catalog number, or in some cases, with a note detailing that honors credit was earned for that particular course.

COMPLETION OF THE Sokolov HONORS COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS

Upon satisfactory completion of all honors requirements, the Honors Dean will initiate having the appropriate distinction entered on the student’s record and diploma.