By HOLLY HEAP
What can enhance students’ education, help them be admitted into masters programs or graduate schools, is free and is open to all BYU students?
According to Associate Dean of General Education and Honors, Daniel Fairbanks, the BYU honors program can do all the above.
Yet, currently, there are only about ten percent of BYU students enrolled in the honors program and the amount of students who graduate is even lower, Fairbanks said. In fact, six-out-of-seven people in the honors program will not graduate with honors and the department is not really concerned with the low numbers nor does it plan to lower the requirements, he said.
The reason for this, according to Fairbanks, is because the honors program is meant to be a challenge.
Kristen Morris, 23, an English teaching major from Palm City, Florida, and an honors student in her senior year, said the program is not for everyone. Morris, who is a full-time honors student, also works 20 hours per week. She said it is sometimes hard to balance the workload.
“Just about anyone can do it, if you manage your time,” Morris said.
The honors program requires students to invest extra time and effort in their education. Besides having to take specialized classes, students are asked to complete what the department calls, “the great works requirement.”
To complete the requirement, students must read a number of books from a selected list, complete a thesis and submit a portfolio that summarizes their undergraduate education. If students successfully do this and maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average, they will receive a certificate for graduating with honors.
Fairbanks said the requirements help students get the most out of school because the focus of the program is not on GPA’s but is about getting a good education.
“Most students perceive it as an opportunity, not another hurdle they have to cross,” Fairbanks said.
Students who do not plan to graduate with honors can benefit from the program by taking classes. Michele Blauer, 24, secretary for the honors department, graduated last year from BYU, and took honors classes.
Although she did not graduate with honors, Blauer said, “the honors classes were a great opportunity to meet other students and get to know faculty on a closer level because the classes were smaller.”
Honors student Morris said she also liked the smaller classes and joined the program because she wanted the best education possible. She said her favorite class was taught in a fun way with both films and field-trips modifying the in-class lectures.
“The honors program opened my eyes to a lot of different things and interested me in other areas besides my major,” she said.
Fairbanks said the program is for students who want to enhance the current curriculum by focussing on in-class discussions, writing and reading more, and memorizing less.
Students are invited to join the program by filling out paperwork outlining their commitment to the program. Fairbanks suggests applying during students’ freshman or sophomore year, but applications of transfer, junior and senior students are also being accepted. Once admitted, all students in the program will have the advantage of special academic advisement by the honors department.
