Honors Program
Honors Program
The diplomas of graduates receiving associate or baccalaureate degrees will show recognition of completing the honors program based on the following tiers:
Honors Associate
To be recognized as an Honors Associate requires the honors student to complete at least 12 credit hours in the Honors Program. Similar to the FSL 101 requirement for incoming freshmen, all incoming Honors Program students with less than 24 credit hours must enroll in HON 101, First Year Honors Seminar. The remainder of the HON courses can be at the 100-400 levels. All Honors courses must be passed with a "C" or higher.
Honors Scholar
To be recognized as an Honors Associate requires the honors student to complete at least 21 credit hours in the Honors Program. Similar to the FSL 101 requirement for incoming freshmen, all incoming Honors Program students with less than 24 credit hours must enroll in HON 101, First Year Honors Seminar. Furthermore, Honors Scholars must successfully pass HON 496, Honors Capstone Project. The remainder of the HON courses can be at the 100-400 levels. All Honors courses must be passed with a "C" or higher.
These tiers are announced at commencement based
on a student's completed honors program hours and those enrolled in the
graduating semester. If at Commencement, a student's completed honors
coursework awards a lower tier then this will be assigned to the
student's final record. The student's official transcript will reflect
the appropriate honors tier based on the completed honors hours. Honors
tiers do not apply to graduate students.
Honors Workload Requirement
Honors Program students should enroll in at least one Honors course per academic year. This will allow a four-year student to graduate as an Honors Associate (12 hours completed). Students who do not meet this requirement will be placed on "Honors Suspension", but have the right to appeal to the Honors Council and explain the mitigating circumstances that might not allow the student to enroll in at least one course per academic year.
Retention Requirements
Students in the Honors Program must maintain at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Any Honors Program student that falls below 3.25 will be placed on "Honors Probation" after one semester and "Honors Suspension" after two consecutive below 3.25 cumulative GPA. In addition, no Honors Program student may earn less than a "C" in an Honors Program course. Any grade lower than a "C" in an Honors Program course will result in automatic "Honors Suspension" from the Honors Program. Honors students who are suspended from the Honors Program may appeal to the Honors Council for permission to continue in the Honors Program.
It should be noted, "Honors Probation" and "Honors Suspension" are not the same as "Academic Probation" and "Academic Suspension". However, Honors Probation/Suspension can result in Academic Probation/Suspension.
Honors Contracts
Students in the Honors Program will have the opportunity to contract with individual professors for two (2) courses within their program of study. Students can only contract courses at the 300-400 levels. Students cannot contract HON 496, Honors Capstone Project. All Honors contracts require prior approval from the Honors Council. Any student that wants to contract a course must initiate the Honors Contract with a professor in his/her program of study and follow all procedures outlined in the Honors Contract Application Form, which can be obtained from the Honors Program Director.
Transfer Students
Students who transfer with Honors credits from another institution will have their transcript evaluated in the same manner as all other majors/minors in order to allow comparable Honors courses to transfer. Students who transfer into Cumberland University's Honors Program are eligible to pursue any of the program tiers offered by the Cumberland University Honors Program. The Honors Program will allow for students to transfer or apply for the Honors Program as long as they meet all three of the following criteria:
- 27 ACT or 1280 SAT,
- 3.50 High School GPA, and
- 3.25 College cumulative GPA
Any student who does not meet one of the above criteria can apply to the Honors Program through a 750-word essay that explains how their background and experiences qualify them for the Honors Program.
You can review additional requirements and policies related to the Honors Program in the program section of the Catalog.