New honors program aims at improving university transfers
By Charlene Serra
Starting next semester, a new Honors Transfer Program will
provide improved chances for LPC students who plan to transfer
to four-year colleges.
“One study done at UCLA a few years ago showed that 90
percent of community college honors students who transferred
to UCLA finished their B.A.s, as compared to about 75 percent
of non-honors community college transfer students completing
their B.A.s.,” said health instructor Eric Golanty, who
codeveloped LPC’s new honors program with Karen Halliday,
vice president of student services.
“Honors students must meet minimum academic criteria
for admission to and continuation in the program,” said
Golanty. The minimum is 3.5 overall GPA with 12 units at LPC,
eligibility for English 1A and at least a 3.0 GPA in honors courses.
“Other than that, a student may petition to the program
for special consideration.”
Honors students initially can contract for honors credit in
fourteen courses. “We are purposely limiting the number
of honor activities to test how they will work at LPC,”
said Golanty.
The courses are: Early Childhood Development 51, English 4
(critical thinking), English 20 (studies in Shakespeare), English
32 (women’s literature), Health 1, History 25 (American
Indian), Music 5 (American cultures), Political Science 7 (American
government), Psychology 1, Psychology 4 (brain, mind and behavior),
and Psychology 6 (abnormal psych.).
Courses in the Honors Transfer Program are divided into three
categories: A) honors courses; B) honors sections within regular
courses; and C) individual honors contracts.
In category A, a full-fledged section of a course is presented
that offers assignments generally consisting of more research,
demonstration of critical thinking, more writing, and greater
depth or breadth of studies -- for example, reading and critiquing
an entire book rather than just a chapter.
In category B, honors subgroups are formed within regular
classes, carrying out both the regular course assignments and
specific honors assignments.
In category C, students do work very similar to that in category
A, but they work independently.
For Spring 2000, besides honors contracts in regular courses,
honors students may enroll in a Human Sciences Colloquium, taught
by Golanty. This one-unit class will include activities that
provide opportunities for advanced learning and learning how
to succeed at the transfer school, such as attending and reporting
on site visits to four-year schools; fields trips to art and
historical museums; and attending film archives, play, opera,
symphony, or other performances.
Other possibilities include discussing contemporary ideas
with invited authors, artists, musicians, scientists and scholars
and discussing aspects of higher education with faculty, counselors,
and administrators.
Although honors students are not automatically accepted at
any university, Golanty said, “in some cases, community
college honor programs have transfer agreements with four-year
colleges that guarantee admission or guarantee preferential consideration
for admissions. We hope to make such agreements with local four-year
schools such as UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, St. Mary’s, and
Mills.”
Southern California schools are also going to be approached,
including UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Pomona College, Pepperdine,
USC, and Occidental. About 35 community colleges in California
offer the Honors Transfer Program currently.
Even out-of-state colleges may be attracted to transfer students
from the new honors program, said Golanty. “I’ve been
told that Columbia University in New York City takes a special
interest in honors students from California community colleges.”