In keeping with the standards set by the National Collegiate Honors Council, the FGCU Honors Program in consultation with the Honors Executive Board (HEB) has established guidelines for Honors Faculty at FGCU.  These standards are officially effective Fall 2011.

Standards 

There are two levels of faculty membership: (1) Affiliated Honors Faculty and (2) Honors Faculty.

(1) Affiliated Honors Faculty are either faculty who have an interest in getting involved in the Honors Program, but who have no prior experience or participation in the Honors Program or faculty who wish to be involved in limited aspects of the Honors Program.  A faculty member may apply for a two-year renewable Affiliated Honors Faculty membership.

(2) Faculty who have participated in Honors Program activities or otherwise contributed to the Program and wish to continue with or increase their level of participation in the Program may apply for Honors Faculty membership.  Honors Faculty membership will be evaluated and renewed on a yearly basis.

To become Affiliated Honors and Honors Faculty, a faculty member will …

• hold the highest degree in their field or have academic/professional credentials that are otherwise exceptional.
• attend  mandatory Fall and Spring semesters Honors Receptions. These are information sharing sessions intended to introduce/update faculty to Honors Program activities, to request suggestions on how to better serve honors students, and to highlight the areas in need of faculty participation.
• submit an application packet. The package will include a C.V. and a statement that outlines the areas in which the applicant would like to serve the Program. This statement, once approved by the HEB, should appear in the applicant’s PDP under the appropriate category.

Membership in good standing

Affiliated Honors Faculty:

At the end of each academic year, the Honors Program Director and the Chair of the HEB will present a letter to each member of the Affiliated Honors Faculty outlining the faculty member’s Honors activities throughout the year. This letter should be included in the faculty member’s respective Annual Professional Summary/Report. 

Affiliated Honors Faculty may renew their membership upon completion of a two-year term by submitting their C.V. and a statement that outlines the areas of continued interest and service to the Program.  Affiliated Honors Faculty may also apply for Honors Faculty membership upon completion of the two-year term.

Honors Faculty: 

Honors Faculty will be expected to participate in at least two Honors Program areas every year, in addition to participating in Honors Receptions.   

At the conclusion of the evaluation year, the Honors Program Director and the Chair of the HEB will present a letter to each member of the Honors Faculty outlining the faculty member’s Honors activities throughout the year. This letter should be included in the faculty member’s respective Annual Professional Summary/Report. 

If at the end of the evaluation year, an Honors Faculty member has not been an active participant in the Honors Program, the faculty member will enter probationary Honors Faculty status.  After one year of probationary status, the faculty member may regain Honors Faculty status, become an Affiliated Honors Faculty, or no longer hold Honors Faculty status as determined by the Director and the HEB in consultation with the faculty member.   A faculty member may re-apply for Honors Faculty or apply for Affiliated Honors Faculty membership at any time.

The Chairs and Deans of individual Honors Faculty and Affiliated Honors Faculty members will be given clear guidance as to how Honors service, teaching and scholarship will be treated in the evaluation and promotion process.

Some areas in need of faculty participation are as follows:

1. Teach 3-credit honors courses
2. Teach 1-credit honors courses
3. Serve as a college liaison to the HEB (Honors Faculty only)
4. Serve as the liaison to your program
5. Direct honors theses
6. Offer scholarly lectures
7. Guide honors experiential learning trips
8. Work on honors committees as needed
9. Shepherd new Honor initiatives
10. Direct honors research and internships
11. Provide honors programming
12. Mentor honors service experiences
13. Interview prospective students during honors admissions  
14. Develop faculty-initiated honors activities (propose to Director)

Honors Faculty will have the privilege of being able to suggest improvements to the Program through the Chair of the HEB, to serve on the HEB, participate in faculty development programs within Honors and represent FGCU Honors at national and local honors conferences.