Faculty encouraged to mentor students via honors contracting

As faculty are prepping their courses for the fall semester, the John Martinson Honors College is offering the opportunity to engage with and mentor honors students through honors contracting.

There are often honors students in departmental courses who would like to learn more. Faculty can accomplish this (and assist students in earning honors credit at the same time) through an honors contract.

The contract is an agreement between an undergraduate student and a faculty instructor that allows the student to turn a standard course into an honors one by going beyond the course’s standard requirements.

The honors contracting process is usually completed at the beginning of the semester, with signed contracts due by the Office of the Registrar’s H (Honors) grade mode deadline. Registrar deadlines for fall are available here. The deadline to submit honors contract paperwork for 16-week sessions is Sept. 1.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions related to honors contracts:   

How does an honors contract function within a standard course?

In general, honors contracts allow the student to go beyond the material of the regular course and produce work that engages deeper learning. A student may, for example, delve more deeply into methodology, structure, theory or application of the course material; perform additional or alternative research; develop a service project; or present findings in some format. 

The contract involves two parties: the student and the instructor. Students are expected to initiate the request and submit contract forms and the course syllabus with the honors addendum.

The instructor and student can work together to develop an honors syllabus/addendum with clearly outlined expectations and deadlines.  

Faculty are encouraged to invite students to participate in a contract at the beginning of the semester. Many instructors have found it helpful to include a standardized honors contract addendum in their syllabi. The benefit of this is twofold: students are aware of their ability to contract the course, and the instructor has already incorporated honors elements, allowing for group contracting.    

What are the expectations for an honors contract?

The workload varies depending on design, but it should be reasonable, representing roughly 10% of the student’s overall course grade.

A student should expect to spend more time on an honors contract course than the standard version of the class. 

The contract can take a variety of forms, from having students engage in activities that support individual faculty research and pedagogical goals to creating additional class materials and repositories, expanding on existing course assignments or engaging in service projects.

Many instructors even work preexisting modules, materials or experiences outside of the course (e.g., certification programs, conferences, research fairs) into their existing syllabus and offer an individual or group contract. 

Who may offer an honors contract course?

All West Lafayette faculty members may offer a contract course. Visiting faculty and lecturers with the terminal degree in their field must have the approval of their department head and/or disciplinary college.

Graduate student instructors may not offer honors contracts. 

For more information on contracts, including forms and processes, click here. Contact Renée Gaarder at rgaarder@purdue.edu for questions or resources.