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FSEC discusses expansion of Honors Program
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
The changes that have taken place in the UB Honors Program since its expansion to college status in October were among the topics of conversation during yesterday's meeting of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Josephine Capuana, administrative director of the University Honors College, told senators that the college's rise in status has been a boon, both in terms of student recruitment and program development.
"Moving to a college has been a very positive experience for us," she said, noting that this fall's incoming freshman class will include 325 honors scholars who will receive between $2,500 and $3,000 per year for four years. About 25 of these students are designated "presidential scholars," she added, receiving full tuition to the university.
Capuana also reported that the academic requirements for students to remain in the Honors College have been raised. Freshman members must now maintain a 3.3 GPA, she said, noting that the previous minimum GPA was 3.2. Sophomore-, junior- and senior-year requirements remain unchanged at 3.5, she said, noting that only the freshman requirement was changed since most honors scholars falling below 3.3 in their first two semesters are unable to turn their grades around fast enough to remain in the college in subsequent years. About 10 percent of honors scholars drop below the eligibility level each year, Capuana said, although few transfer to other institutions after losing scholarship support.
The curriculum of the honors program also has been restructured in the past several years from two four-hour seminar courses and a colloquium to a four-year experience that includes not only the previous requirements, but also an additional element chosen in conjunction with an advisor, she said. Options for earning an honors degree include participating in an undergraduate research project, pursuing a second major or minor, studying abroad and independent study.
"A lot of [this change] was driven by the fact a lot of our students were doing these things already," she said "We aren't superimposing something on them that would become more of a burden."
Honors College administrators also are considering instituting a supplemental admissions application for students interested in entering the university as honors scholars, she said.
In addition, Capuana pointed out that the Honors College sees itself as a "clearing house" for prestigious national scholarships. A UB student is among this year's recipients of Barry Goldwater Scholarships, she said, while two others received honorable mentions. She also pointed out that this year's winners of scholarships from the National Science Foundation include two UB honors scholars, as well as two graduate students who were honors scholars as UB undergraduates.
Capuana also noted that the past three recipients of the prestigious Morris K. Udall Scholarship have been from UB, including this year's winner, who also was a finalist for a Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
The greatest hurdle when it comes to boosting the number of UB students earning prestigious national scholarships is simply identifying the best candidates, she added. "Our goal is to put the best candidates forward to win—to be the most competitive," said Capuana, who urged faculty to direct students involved in interesting research and scholarship toward the Honors College, even if they are not officially enrolled in the program.
After the presentation, Stella Batalama, professor of electrical engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), asked Capuana if the Honors College is working to reduce the number of honors scholars who move on to other institutions for graduate study. "We don't need to lose all these good students to MIT and Harvard," Batalama said.
Capuana said that while some honors scholars are being lured to other institutions offering "some very big bucks," some are deciding to continue their studies UB, particularly those in professional degree programs and engineering.
The Honors College is open to working with other groups on campus to encourage students to consider remaining at UB for their graduate education, she added, noting that individual departments have more influence with students than the Honors College in persuading them to remain at their alma mater.
In other business, Robert Wetherhold, chair of the senate's Facilities Planning Committee and associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, SEAS, informed senators of the progress of the committee, which was reactivated earlier this semester to provide a direct line of communication between those committees working on UB's comprehensive physical planning process and the faculty.
While praising the efforts of these upper-level committees to act in a transparent fashion, including the creation of an extensive Web site, Wetherhold said members of his committee felt that information on specific details of the plan remain lacking.
"We understand that scaling up the campus enrollment will bring severe demand for instructional spaces," he said. "We understand that there is a plan for putting together the elements of more students, more buildings and classrooms—and the financing of the same. What is missing is for us to know what the plan is."
Faculty desire specifics on handling campus growth, he said, noting that funding for facilities construction seems to hinge on having more students paying tuition—but that increasing student population cannot happen until UB creates more living and learning spaces on campus.
In addition to this catch-22, Wetherhold said other concerns include the lack of information on how members of the various comprehensive physical planning committees are selected, as well as who is making decisions on the kinds of classrooms being constructed and the technology with which they're being equipped.