The Daily Campus

Obviously no one in the Daily Campus then has taken honors classes as a freshman or sophomore. The best advantage to taking honors credits for the sophomore certificate is to get into the smaller more intensive classes that provide a quality education. I was happy to find out that I could take honors classes that were smaller and more personal to fulfill general education requirements. It helped me get out of 300 person lectures several times. Typically that's what those honors credits are used for...not for classes in your major.

When your program becomes more about your individual major during junior and senior year, then you can take honors credits in your major. That's how it works. As far as a reward, the sophomore certificate gives an opportunity for students with highly intensive majors to achieve something with the honors program. Only a handful of people who actually start in the program actually graduate with honors. Many of my pre-med/pre-pharmacy friends just don't have time to write a ridiculous thesis. However, they are able to reap the benefits of the honors program in their first 3 years (because being active for the first two) because of the sophomore certificate. Those include earlier class sign up times, better housing selections, opportunity to live in South or the Sophomore Honors Community in Brock. And I'll reiterate...the smaller classes and more personal experience for general education classes.

But obviously no one at the Daily Campus can rationalize that. It's just busy work to them I guess. Just shows how the staff of the Daily Campus continues to show their incompetence of the knowledge of the University day in and day out this year. The only reason I keep reading is to see what the next idiotic thing makes it into the commentary. If any of you are journalism majors...learn to research and interview before stating something as bold as this...because you're obviously missing a connection. But that's the way it's been with practically every story in the DC all year...so what else is new. Good riddance this paper is bad.

To say that the Honors System, including the Honors Sophomore Certificate as it is now, makes no sense is absolutely incorrect. The system is set up this way so that students, who did not enter UConn as honors students, are not discouraged from joining the Honors Program. What if every applicant to the Honors Program was told that everyone else in the program already had a two year head start? It would be intimidating and overwhelming to be told that it would be necessary to complete a four year program in two years, and it is certain that fewer students would try to become members of the Honors Program post UConn enrollment.

The fact, that the honors credits used for the Honors Sophomore Certificate cannot be applied towards graduation, does not make the credits "worthless," and the Honors Sophomore Certificate does not eliminate the incentive for taking honors courses during the freshman and sophomore years. Honors courses taken in the first two years of college provide their own motivation. They have fewer students or, with an honors conversion, an honors student has the opportunity to work on a special project with the professor in order to earn honors credits. Beyond the honors courses, the opportunity to be a part of the Honors Community provides another motivation to join the honors program as a freshman rather than a junior. Honors credits are also not the only important requirement for the certificate, students must also attend a number of honors events. This requirement places further emphasis on being an active member of the Honors Community. Completing the honors sophomore certificate is a part of being in this community, it is by no means required, but it provides a short term goal, towards which honors underclassmen strive together, through which community ties are strengthened, and the basic goal of the Honors Program is fulfilled, to provide challenging academics and a personalized collegiate experience. Honors students are not required to earn the Honors Sophomore Certificate, and they all know that, but the vast majority of them still choose to do so, and why? Because they agree with the goals of the Honors Program, because they know that the process is a meaningful experience and though there may not be a notation on their degrees or a special prize, they agree that hard work is its own reward.

The honors program isn't about awards and recognition, it's about making the most of your time at UConn. It is about putting in extra work because in the end, you get more out of the experience. It isn't the attitude of an honors student to demand extra recognition or "tangible benefit" for the work they do, rather I choose to be grateful for the opportunity to take honors courses and to be a part of the Honors Community. I take pride in the fact that I've earned a Sophomore Honors Certificate, not because it has tangible value, and certainly not because it holds any recognition outside of UConn, because it certainly does neither. Rather I am proud that I've set a goal, and achieved that goal through hard work, that I've made important connections within my community and with my professors, and that I've learned things that I would have missed out on, had I not taken honors classes or completed honors conversions

The first thing I would say is don't focus on the process, look at the big picture. I got my honors certificate and the process may have been tedious and pointless at the time, but I made the most of it.

The connections I made with teachers, and strong relationships I formed with other Honors people have served me incredibly well in the real world. It has also forced me to expect myself to operate at a high level, think outside the box (think outside that syllabus for you!) and help me set goals and achieve them.

It's about time someone put in writing one of the many failings of the honors program. Not only is the Sophomore Honors Certificate useless, it is a reflection of a bigger problem with the honors program at UConn, that is once a student gets past their sophomore year, there are few upper level honors courses available to them. Instead of having honors act as a bridge between undergraduate and graduate work, we are simply told to take graduate level classes, putting ourselves in positions we are often not wanted in and not ready for. There is also no guidance whatsover given in constructing an honors thesis, making it a rather slapdash and useless work. I can only hope the previous comments made do not suppress the writer's desire to push for a better program, and that they are disregarded them for the acquiescent b.s. that they are.

That looks like lots of fun. When I was in college we didn't had so many fun activities.

I have to agree with teh poster above... :/ looks like a lot of hot air to me.

Cheers for writing about this. FYI - here's some more info about watch bones you might like!

Great article. I agree totally.

I have to agree with teh poster above... :/ looks like a lot of hot air to me.

I have read all your article. They good.