By Wendy Weiler
Honors classes being for Honors students only is one of the biggest myths at BYU.
Anyone at BYU can take an Honors class in place of a general education class. Students simply register for the same General Education classes in the Honors sections.
'Honors classes are like GEs on steroids,' said Scott Miller, Associate Dean of General Education-Honors.
Students get their GEs completed, and they''ve got the word 'Honors' preceding the class title on their transcripts.
Miller explained there are significant advantages to taking Honors classes because the classes are smaller, the professors are excellent, and there are no curves allowed in the grading process.
Because of the smaller class size, students get more individual attention.
The mission of the Honors program at BYU is three-fold: provide an enriched path through the university general education requirements, enhance the experience in individual majors, and offer more challenging and rigorous academic experiences.
Some students say taking Honors classes is also efficient. In some cases, two general education classes can be satisfied with one Honors class.
Carolyn Glauser, 21, a senior from Draper, Salt Lake, majoring in Economics is not in the BYU Honors program. However, she has opted to take a few Honors classes while she has been at BYU. Her favorite Honors class was Honors 259, a Science Colloquium class. This one class fulfilled all of her science general education requirements.
'In one class, I got all the science I needed to graduate,' Glauser said. 'In a smaller class everyone could learn. It was easy, and it saved me time.'
Many BYU students are unaware of the option they have to take Honors classes. Heather Price, administrative assistant of the Honors program, said only 30% of BYU students take at least one Honors classes during their experience at BYU.
The Honors program exists to enrich the academic experience of students and faculty at BYU. Miller said even if students are not intending to graduate with Honors, they are encouraged to take Honors classes. This way they may benefit from the enriched intellectual experience they might not otherwise receive in general education courses.
Nearly every general Education Course at BYU has an Honors equivalent.