The HPU Honors Program: how it is different from a traditional honors program 

The Honors Scholar Program is one of High Point University’s most misunderstood programs. In the last six years, this program has gone beyond the typical notion of what Honors is. Honors students are roughly 7% of the population, but the program has rapidly grown and formed into a community of like-minded young adults.  

 

“I have the best job because my task, essentially, is to enroll the sharpest students who happen to also almost always be really kind and try to find the coolest faculty and put them together. So, I get to see all of the truly greatest things that HPU students do. I get to see all the best stories among all the majors, often coming from an actually quite small subsection of the population,” said Dr. Nathan Hedman, the director of the program.   

 

Honors Program is a familiar term that is used by schools all over the world. The HPU Honors Scholar Program is a cumulation of both standard Honors practices and some more of the radical ones, such as having freshman and sophomores live together. 

 

Finch Hall, a dorm-style building outside of the Slane Student Center, is where these students call home. This is the first detail of the program that many people question. Dr. Hedman and his team had the goal of building a tight-knit, supportive community right in the heart of campus. 

 

“Honors has given me a true community to engage with and belong to. Because of Honors, I met my best friend and roommate of four years, someone I know without a doubt will be a lifelong friend,” said Courtney Collar, a senior in the Honors Scholar Program at HPU.   

 

Aside from Honors students living together, the difference between other national programs and the Honors Scholar Program are the contrasting ideologies. At most universities, an Honors Program is simply just a title and not much work is needed besides keeping your GPA high. 

 

Standard Honors students are essentially in a give-grades-for-money process, where these schools are just looking for high GPAs and in return students will receive a scholarship.  

 

To keep an upper level GPA is no easy task, but when all that is being asked of you is to pass your classes and do well on assignments, there is no room for creativity or depth. Dr. Hedman had cut loose this notion of grades for money, and has instead adopted the technique of pushing students to explore beyond copy and paste courses.  

 

The next radical move was to create a completely separate gen-ed track called the Honors Core Curriculum. With this, Honors students get priority registration and make their schedules before the rest of the university. This is to make sure they can best fit their Honors classes and major classes, while also allowing time for extracurricular activities. 

 

Students are engaged in hands-on projects and research is encouraged. These classes typically do not have exams but are based on discussion, writing, group projects and presentations. They are not about memorizing information to just pass a test. 

 

The Core Curriculum is meant to enhance understanding in awareness, ethics, communication and collaboration. Students get more space to explore their academic interests and the opportunity to start their major courses sooner.  

 

The Honors person actually tends to be undecided, not because they don't know what they want to do, but because they like too many things. They are usually juggling a lot of different things because they're the kind of person who finds everything fascinating. 

 

Honors students get the chance to build relationships with similar types of people and learn from faculty that are willing to spill over the bounds of their expertise. This has produced a culture of really interesting, thoughtful problem solvers that aren't scared when they don't know something, but instead want to learn about it.     

 

“Honors has reminded me what it’s like to be intellectually curious, to want to learn and explore a topic simply because it is interesting. I feel like I have learned so much about myself, my purpose, my beliefs, and my values as a byproduct of my time in Honors,” said Collar.  

 

Placing Honors students in classes with each other has proven to create a more welcoming environment. Students say they feel comfortable speaking up and sharing their ideas with everyone, which helps them get more out of the classes.  

 

Honors Scholars are given endless opportunities and they typically become the leaders in all departments.   

 

“The Honors Program has been the most defining component of my college experience. Over the past four years, it has shaped me into the thinker, learner, and person that I am, inside of and outside of the classroom,” said Ava Taylor, also a senior in the Honors Scholar Program.  

 

One radical move is good, but by putting both together, it is a cooperative concept where students are taking a class or two together, hanging out, studying together, etc. 

 

A major aspect of the program is to form that community, where Honors students are spending a lot of time together, but they are also on different academic tracks. These students have completely separate parts of their life from the program, but they are surrounded by others that understand what being in Honors means.    

 

“From the sentimental memories of living in Finch Hall as an underclassman, to the curiosity that was fostered in problem-based courses, to the genuine life-long relationships established, I can easily say that the Honors Program has meant more to me than I ever could have imagined. The Honors Program has a special place in my heart, and I have it to credit and thank for my personal growth, best friends, and favorite moments of college,” said Taylor.  

 

Dr. Hedman said it is important for incoming students to realize that Honors does not mean faster pace classes and more work. 

 

“It is doing something else entirely. When students are nervous and show up in one of those first classes, I think the first discovery is that it is exploratory, interesting and asks of you something else other than just taking notes and memorizing,” said Hedman. 

 

Being in the Honors Scholar Program means that you are experiencing a liberal arts education on a much higher level. Honors students demonstrate curiosity, passion and interest in something more than just hitting the marks and getting the grades.    

 

“Brace yourself, what has been Honors is not Honors. How we do Honors is much more. We think of it as a head and heart, community-building experience. You are whole people and we are interested in you being whole students as well,” said Hedman.  

 

For more information about High Point University’s Honors Scholar Program, visit the HPU website on the honors program.