To qualify for the honors program, incoming students have an ACT of 26 or higher, a high school GPA of at least 3.5, and a completed and approved honors program application. Transfer and currently enrolled students must have a current GPA of 3.5 or higher, plus a completed and approved honors program application. Most incoming students who qualify were already given the opportunity to apply. If your student is interested in the honors program and has not applied, applications are available at www.missouriwestern.edu/honors. If you are not sure whether your student is an honors student, contact the honors office at 4535, or e-mail Patti Adkisson (padkisson@missouriwestern.edu).
Steps for advising honors students:
- Check to see if your student is an honors student in GPS by going to “student info.” Under “additional student info,” you will see a “Y” next to honors program. Students should have a 3.5 overall GPA (3.2 for Freshmen) to remain in the Honors Program. If your student has fallen below GPA but still shows the “Y” by the Honors Program he or she should STILL ENROLL in honors courses.
- Advise the student to enroll in one or two General Studies Honors classes per semester until he or she has completed six classes. General Studies Honors classes are indicated with -80 or -81, except for ENG112, MAT165, MAT167, and PHY210. Note: Dual-credit or AP classes are not recognized as general studies honors classes. At this time, no transfer classes are recognized as substitution for GS honors classes. You can find a listing in the course schedule by indicating “all departments,” then checking the “all honors” box under “course type.”
- Advise the student to enroll in an Honors Colloquium until he/she has completed six hours total. Honors colloquia are special topics classes, and are designated as HON195 or HON395. Three to four sections are offered per semester. Incoming freshmen that are accepted into the Honors Program generally complete the two-credit-hour HON195 their first semester. You can also find a listing in the course schedule by indicating “honors program” under “department,” however, this will not yield detailed descriptions of the colloquia. Honors students receive descriptions via listserv.
- If your student is interested in Majors (Departmental) Honors, direct him or her to the “Majors Honors Approval Form” from the honors homepage. Majors Honors requires additional coursework within the sponsoring department, as well as additional colloquia.
- If you feel that the Honors Director needs to be aware of any advisement issue, record it as a general note under the “Note” section of Griffon GPS. This comment will remain at the bottom of the screen each time a degree audit is run on this student and cannot be removed.
- Griffon GPS indicates progress towards achieving General Studies Honors in its own section, similar to tracking achievement toward a major or minor. “General Studies Awarded” will appear on the student’s transcript once all requirements are fulfilled. Griffon GPS does not track progress toward Majors Honors and these courses will appear in the elective section on GPS.
- If you have questions, please contact Teddi Deka or Patti Adkisson or call (816) 271-4535.
PROGRESS: Honors students must demonstrate progress toward General Studies Honors. To maintain honors status and privileges, they should take at least one General Studies Honors class or Colloquium per semester until completing the program. If the student lapses one semester, he or she will be notified by the Honors Program. Golden Griffon Scholarship recipients are required to actively pursue General Studies Honors.
