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LSA Honors Program Parent Orientation
LSA Honors ProgramParent Orientation
Goals for this Session
● Understand the Mission of the LSA Honors Program○ LSA Degree Requirements○ Honors Program Requirements○ Sophomore Honors Award○ Graduating with Honors○ Questions & Answers
● Honors Housing & Programming○ Questions & Answers
● Orientation, Advising, and FERPA○ Questions & Answers
Honors Students, 2016
Honors Staff & Introductions
● Mika LaVaque-Manty, Honors Program Director & Thurnau Professor of Political Science
○ Kaylee Shelton, Executive Assistant● Lisa Broome, Associate Director● Gayle Green, Assistant Director for Admissions and
Honors Housing○ Shannon McCaulley, Student Services
● Henry Dyson, Director of the Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships
○ Katie Gass, ONSF Program Assistant
Mika LaVaque-Manty
Gayle Green
Henry Dyson
Lisa Broom
Honors Staff & Introductions
● Administrative Staff○ Barb Frecka (Admin. Coord.)
○ Jeri Preston (Engagement Coord.)
○ Jacquelyn Turkovich (Academic Auditor)
Jacquelyn Turkovich
Barb Frecka
Jeri Preston
Honors Staff & Introductions ● Academic Advisors
○ Stephanie Chervin, Pre-Health Advisor○ Denise Guillot, Pre-Law Advisor○ John Cantu, Academic Advisor
Stephanie Chervin
John Cantu
Denise Guillot
Goals for this Session
● Understand the Mission of the LSA Honors Program○ LSA Degree Requirements○ Honors Program Requirements○ Sophomore Honors Award○ Graduating with Honors○ Questions & Answers
● Honors Housing & Programming○ Questions & Answers
● Orientation, Advising, and FERPA○ Questions & Answers
Honors Students, 2016
What is the LSA Honors Program?
● The LSA Honors Program is not a university-wide program. ○ It is an academic unit within the College of Literature, Sciences, and Arts (LSA).
● The Honors Program is not an Honors College○ It is the largest of the Michigan Learning Communities within LSA○ Honors Program students fulfill the same degree requirements for the Bachelors of Arts (BA) and
Bachelors of Science (BS) as all other LSA students● The thematic identity of the Honors Program is intellectual curiosity,
engagement and excellence. ○ This theme is connected to each of our requirements and activities.
LSA Degree Requirements for BA & BS
● 120 credits○ Average 15 credits/semester X 8 semesters; courses typically 3-4 credits
● Core requirements (~20%)○ First-year and upper-level writing (2 courses)○ Quantitative reasoning (1-2 courses; can be fulfilled outside of Math Dept)○ Second language (4th term proficiency)○ Race & ethnicity (1 course)
● Major (36-50 Credits = 30-40%)● Distribution (30 Credits = 25%)
○ 7 credits each of HU, SS, and NS outside of major department○ 9 additional credits of HU, SS, NS, CE, MSA, ID outside of major department
● Electives (~25-40%)○ 2nd major, minors, individually selected courses
LSA Degree Requirements for BA & BS
https://lsa.umich.edu/lsa/academics/lsa-requirements.html
LSA Honors Overview: One Program, Two Phases
● Learning Community Phase (1st and 2nd year)○ Student enter via Admissions (~400/year)○ Honors Core courses for First-Year Writing and Distribution○ Honors Housing (optional)○ Honors Community Building Activities○ Sophomore Honors Award
● Honors Major (3rd and 4th Year)○ Students join by declaring an Honors Major in their department○ Honors thesis (optional in Honors Mathematics)○ Some departments have additional required courses in junior/senior year
● Honors in the Engaged Liberal Arts or HELA (3rd and 4th Year)○ Year-long engagement project takes the place of an Honors thesis
Minimum Requirements for Honors● 3.4 GPA● Learning Program
○ Honors First-Year Writing Course○ At least one additional Honors Core Course
● Honors Major○ Declaration in junior year○ Some departments require a 3.5 GPA within the major
Honors Students at Yost Ice Arena, 2020
Honors Core Courses ● Designed specifically for Honors Program students
by some of the best teachers in the College○ Taught on a 3-year rotation○ Each course fulfills a Distribution requirement (HU, NS, SS, or
ID)● Examples:
○ “What is Cancer?” (ID, co-taught by biologist and medical sociologist)
○ “The Corporation” (SS, taught by an anthropologist)○ “Westworld and Philosophy of Mind” (HU and FYWR, taught
by a Comparative Literature professor)○ “Great Books” (HU and FYWR, taught by the Classics
Department) Honors Student Mentors, 2019-2020
Sophomore Honors Award The Sophomore Honors Award recognizes students who have:
1. Earned at least 30 Engagement Points 2. Averaged 14 credit hours each full (Fall/Winter) term3. Completed an Honors Core class which meets the first-year writing
requirement (FYWR)4. Completed of a total of three Honors Core courses (inclusive of # 3 above) in at
least two different distribution areas (HU, ID, NS, or SS)5. Achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.400 with all classes graded or credit/no credit
(no elective P/F).
Sophomore Honors Award with Distinction1. Earned at least 30 Engagement Points (see your GradeCraft account)2. Averaged 14 credit hours each full (Fall/Winter) term3. Completed an Honors Core class which meets the first-year writing
requirement (FYWR)4. Completed of a total of three Honors Core courses (inclusive of # 3 above) in
three different distribution areas (HU, ID, NS, and SS)5. Achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.700 with all classes graded or Credit/no credit
(no elective P/F).
Honors Engagement Points● 1 point per credit for Honors Core courses ● 1 point per credit for additional Honors courses taken for a grade (not optional
pass/fail)○ Department designed Honors alternatives to introductory courses
■ E.g. PSYCH 114 Honors Introduction to Psychology (instead of PSYCH 111)■ E.g. MATH 285 Honors Calculus III (instead of MATH 215)
○ Honors sections of regular introductory courses■ E.g. the Honors discussion section of Cultural Anthropology 101■ E.g. Structured Study Group option for CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry
○ Advanced elections■ 300- or 400-level courses for first-year students■ 400-level courses for sophomores■ Language courses beyond the LSA Language Requirement taken in first semester
Honors Engagement Points Cont.
● 1 point per credit for Honors Conversions○ Individually arranged supplementary projects that convert
regular courses to Honors courses○ E.g. research projects, presentations, related co-curricular
projects● 1 point for designated engagement activities
○ HonOnline Digital Citizenship Canvas Course (summer)○ Undergraduate Research (whether or not in UROP)○ Honors 170 “Navigating Honors: First-Year Experience”○ Honors Reads (fun, optional reading group; they’re reading
Dune this summer and will attend a screening of the movie later in the fall)
○ Honors Cinema (film series and discussions)
Honors Kickoff, 2019
Honors Engagement Points Cont.
https://lsa.umich.edu/honors/current-students/academic-information/honors-requirements.html
Questions about
LSA or Honors
Requirements?
Photo courtesy of U-M Photography
Honors Community
● Honors Housing: ○ ~500 students in South Quad○ 80% first-years, 20% sophomores
● Honors Residential Advisors lead a variety of community building activities
○ All Honors students are invited to participate in these activities, even if they are not living in Honors Housing
● Honors Kickoff (September), Academic Symposia, Honors Graduation and Awards Ceremonies
● Lunch with Honors Series○ Catered lunch with guest speakers from U-M faculty or
visiting dignitaries
Honors Kickoff, 2016
Summer 2020 Engagement● #hononline: Canvas Course
○ Speaks to best practices in digital (and in-person) "studenting" and discusses digital literacy at the undergraduate level
○ It's open NOW and runs through 8/24 (1 or 3 SHA engagement point(s) depending on level of participation)
● All-Honors Summer [Virtual] Event: DUNE○ Digital community engagement through weekly discussion of
book led by peer and alumni team○ Three "live" events (June/July/Aug), also chatting on GroupMe,
now through 8/24 (1 SHA engagement point)
Honors Student Orientation, 2017
Fall 2020 Engagement● Class of 2020 Kickoff
○ Annual welcome celebration for incoming Honors freshmen!○ Will not be a large in-person event, but we are actively planning
for a safe, fun and informed event around the start of the semester
● Honors Reads & Honors Cinema ○ Students will hear more about these engagement opportunities
closer to F20 term, but they are ways to meet other Honors students and to earn SHA points
● Parents Weekend○ In keeping with LSA pandemic policies, we will not have an
in-person event, but we are looking into a digital tour of Honors; students will hear more about this as we progress
Honors Kickoff 2016
Honors Communications & Engagement
Honors Graf-Meiland Recipients, 2020
● Honors Emails○ Weekly email newsletter, This Week in Honors○ Incoming students will receive several additional emails
throughout the summer: ■ Deadline reminders■ F20 term info■ Honors spirit wear sale
● Honors Social Media○ Facebook (look for the Honors Class of 2024 group!)○ Instagram (@LSAHonors)○ Twitter (@LSAHonors)
● Honors Engagement Coordinator○ Jeri Preston, [email protected]
Questions Honors
Housing or
Engagement?
Photo courtesy of U-M Photography
Summer Orientation Online
● Honors Orientation Canvas Site○ Modules explaining LSA Degree Requirements, Honors Courses, Sophomore Honors Awards
● Office hours and “backpacking” sessions with Honors Peer Advisors● Registration Advising
○ Pre-registration meeting with their assigned advisor○ Registration “appointment” in the afternoon after their advising meeting
■ Students can change their registration selections any time prior to the 3-week Drop/Add deadline in September using Wolverine Access
○ Follow-up advising appointment with their assigned advisor■ Students may also make follow-up appointments or correspond with departmental advisors
regarding placement and course availability
Honors Advising Model
● Each student has an assigned Honors advisor for four years○ Students are free to make appointments with any advisor in the Honors Program
● Students will add specialty advisors ○ Specialty advisors in Honors
■ Pre-med (Stephanie) and ■ Pre-law (Denise)■ The Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships (Henry)
○ Advisors outside of Honors■ Study abroad advisor (CGIS)■ Financial aid advisors (OFA)■ Internships and postgraduate job searches (Opportunity Hub)■ Major and minor advisors in departments
Final Advice for Orientation
● Students’ primary task in Y1 and Y2 is targeted exploration○ LSA has 85 majors and over 100 minors○ Think you’re interested in psychology?
■ Social Psychology; Brain, Cognition, and Neuroscience; Neuroscience; or Cognitive Science? What about Sociology, Anthropology, or Organizational Studies?
○ LSA does not expect students to declare until junior year○ Exploration courses can be used for pre-reqs or distribution
● Think about sequences of courses○ E.g. if you’ll start a new language will need to achieve 4th term proficiency○ E.g. if you’re pre-med or majoring in a science that requires sequenced pre-reqs
● Don’t worry too much about degree requirements (“checklist mentality”)○ Almost all Honors students graduate in < 4 years
Questions about
Orientation or
Advising?
Photo courtesy of U-M Photography
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
● For more detailed information see https://ro.umich.edu/records-registration/student-rights-records
● Encouraging self-advocacy● FERPA Waiver available upon request in the
Honors Office○ Must be signed and submitted by the student○ Typically only used in specific, time-limited
circumstances
Honors Student Mentors, 2018
Questions? Email us at
All photos courtesy of LSA Honors Instagram , @lsahonors, and website
