Honors Option

Honors students can earn Honors credit in non-honors courses by going beyond regular class requirements. Completing an Honors Option increases the scope and depth of learning in a non-honors course and enriches the student's experience.

Guidelines for Honors Option Projects 

Delta's Honors Program serves the needs of students who tend to be strongly motivated and who are capable of responding to intellectual and creative opportunities. The Honors Option is intended to increase the scope and depth of learning in a non-honors class section.

Honors Option Projects (HOPs) involve more than just compiling information from sources. They need to clearly demonstrate that the student has engaged in independent, creative and critical thinking involving evaluation, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, theory production and imaginative thinking. If research is involved, the project must include a correct works cited page. The project should also demonstrate sufficient commitment and effort to warrant Honors credit.

HOPs could be a more in-depth version of an existing course assignment, or Honors students could propose a completely new project. 

Completing an Honors Option

You must be accepted into the Honors Program to be eligible to complete an Honors Option and receive honors credit for the course.

Step #1: Meet with your instructor
We recommend that you meet early in the semester to ensure enough time to complete the Honors Option project. Remember that the HOP must exhibit higher-level thinking skills.

Step #2: Initiate the project
You initiate the HOP Proposal by completing the student section of the HOP proposal. When you submit the completed form, it will be forwarded to your instructor. When your instructor completes the instructor section, the proposal will be sent to the Honors Program for review.

If the HOP proposal is accepted by the Honors Director, you and your instructor will receive an email notification. Your HOP proposal must be submitted and approved early in the semester to meet the deadline to qualify for priority registration. Please work closely with your instructor throughout the semester so the project can be completed on time.

If the HOP proposal is rejected by the Honors Director, you and your instructor will receive an email notification. The email notification will indicate the reason(s) for the rejection and provide recommendations for changes and improvements to the project. If the recommended changes are made, initiate a new HOP proposal. Complete the student section of the HOP proposal. When you submit the completed form, it will be forwarded to your instructor.

Step #3: Completing the project
If you complete the project, your instructor must submit the instructor verification indicating completion of the HOP and explaining how it met Honors-level higher thinking skills. The Honors Director will evaluate the information submitted. If the completed HOP is approved, you and your instructor will receive an email notification. If you earn a C or better grade in the course, honors credit, indicated by a + symbol, will be posted for this course on your transcript.

If you do not complete the HOP, your instructor must still submit the instructor verification form to indicate that the project was not completed. You will not receive honors credit for the course.