An Honors Project is an opportunity for students to develop leadership, service, research and creative scholarship skills as part of a course.
Honors Project Process
At the beginning of the semester, students will use the "Honors Project Proposal Form" to propose an assignment tailored on a topic in the class. Faculty simply provide guidance on the assignment/project and support the student throughout the semester. The honors program will follow up with faculty at the end of the semester to confirm successful completion.
Upon successful completion of the Honors Project learning activities, the student will receive an “Honors Credit” designation on their official transcript helping them complete Honors Program completion requirements.
Student Information
Honors Projects Overview - Students
Key Elements to a successful Honors Project
- Use this honors project as an opportunity to showcase yourself and knowledge gained through research
- Choose a topic related to the course that interests you and/or supports your interest in a major/career (something beyond the required course assignments)
- Integrate an experiential component (interview a professional/job shadow/volunteer)
- Develop a plan to share what you learned with your peers and/or other audience
- Stay in communication with your professor throughout the semester
- Be mindful of deadlines
- Understand the rubric
Faculty Information
An honors project provides an opportunity for a student to think critically about specific content in your class. Students are encouraged to choose a topic of interest in the course and collaborate with their professor to develop a substantial creative assignment beyond a required course assignment. In a 3-credit course, students can expect to devote 10-15 hours toward the completion of an honors project.
Faculty will guide the student in the proposal and planning for their project, hold regular check-in(s) with the student for feedback, review the final project prior to submission, and complete the rubric for the project.
Grading Rubric
Honors Project Grading: Overview
The honors project does not factor into the overall grade of the course. Rather, it is an additional assignment(s) the student completes as part of meeting the Honors Program requirements. Faculty will use the rubric below to determine if the student completed the work of the honors project as agreed upon. Faculty may use additional factors to determine if the student met the requirements, or exceeded the standard. The student must earn a minimum of 8 points to receive the "Honors Credit" designation on their official transcript and to receive the honors project scholarship. Honors students exceeding the standard by demonstrating exception work and earning a perfect score will also receive a certificate for their academic accomplishment.
Honors Project Grading Rubric
Does not meet standard (1 point) | Meets standard (2 points) | Exceeds standard (3 points) | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Critical Thinking & Analytics | Issue/problem/topic is unclear and underdeveloped. Analysis of information is limited or not presented at all. Project does expand beyond required course material. | Issue/problem/topic is described clearly and demonstrates moderate analysis of information. Project expands knowledge beyond required course material. | Issue/problem/topic is described clearly and comprehensibly; student has developed in-depth analysis and reflection of material beyond required course material. | |
Effective Use of Information | Student information is fragmented, disorganized, and/or inaccurate. Intended purpose is not met. Does not demonstrate effective literacy and communication skills. | Student communicates and organizes information but may be lacking a synthesis. Intended purpose is achieved. Demonstrates mastery of literacy and communication skills. | Student communicates, organizes and synthesizes information from relevant, applicable sources to demonstrate advanced information literacy and communication skills. | |
Creativity | Student reformulates a collection of available ideas, but the assignment lacks creativity and innovation. Little evidence that the student sought and collected different viewpoints and perspectives. | Student creates a novel idea, question, format or product. Some evidence suggests the student sought different viewpoints, perspectives, and opinions.
| Student work extends a novel or unique idea, questions, or format to create new knowledge; related deliverables and audience consideration is thoughtful. Different perspectives and viewpoints were considered and incorporated. | |
Accountability | Student did not meet several deadlines and did not complete work on schedule. | Student attended but missed one project deadline. | Student attended all scheduled meetings; deadlines were met or exceeded. | |
Total: |
Grading: Process
- Faculty will use the rubric to determine if the student met the expectations of the Honors Project.
- At the end of the semester, faculty will review the project and rubric with the student.
- Faculty will complete and submit the End of Semester Designation/Feedback Form.
- The Honors Program will add the "honors credit" designation onto the students official transcript.
For additional support, please contact the Honors Program/Leanne lchalla@grcc.edu
Examples of Honors Projects Descriptions
This document will provide you examples of past Honors Projects.