Honors courses are not regular courses "made harder" with extra readings, additional assignments, and more rigorous grading. They are courses that provide depth and creativity in thinking about either broad or very specific topics. 

In fostering student-centered practices, the Honors Program serves as a campus laboratory for diverse students and faculty to experiment with pedagogical and curricular innovation. Classes should introduce students to a wide range of texts and materials (from books to articles to film to performances to zines), showcasing new and cutting-edge approaches from a broad cross section of disciplines.

Honors professors should expect Honors students to be active agents in their learning. Wherever possible, Honors classes should model interdisciplinarity and ask students to consider multiple points of view. They should scrutinize evidence, evaluate sources, and push students to develop their own well-informed questions, hypotheses, and ideas about a topic. The classes should give students the opportunity to share what they have learned in the classroom and on other platforms.

With an average class size of 20 students, Honors classes should encourage students to have extensive interaction with their professors (in and out of the classroom) and with fellow students. Honors classes should be designed around discussion, collaboration, and project-based learning. In the spirit of collective enterprise, classes should remove opportunities for student comparison when possible (i.e. making grades public, sharing class averages)

Honors students expect detailed and constructive feedback on their coursework. They also expect mentoring advice on their academic and career aspirations and the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the instructor (i.e. midterm evaluations). The Honors Program values faculty who embrace this role as formal and informal mentors. It is important for faculty to be good examples of integrity in leadership through transparency and acknowledging mistakes, which breaks down perceived barriers and challenges power dynamics in a constructive way. The goal is to lead with empathy, make all students feel seen and heard.

Honors courses should de-emphasize high-achieving students' tendency to view grades as indicators of their own self-worth by focusing on demonstrating mastery of a concept over simply the ability to perform on exams. Instructors should provide opportunities for students to challenge themselves intellectually, take risks, and step outside of their academic comfort zones without negative repercussions. Classes should include creative assessments when possible to foster skills acquisition and development while promoting feelings of autonomy and competence. 

In an attempt to reframe student’s understanding of smartness as being measured solely by grades and achievements, the Honors Program is committed to giving students the space to develop (and stumble a bit) as people and as scholars and intellectuals. Honors courses should provide students the room for individual exploration and introspection.