Honors Link

Oregon State University and the Honors College were the proud hosts of the second Honors Education at Research Universities Conference (HERU) on May 18^th and 19^th, 2015. Approximately 180 honors administrators and faculty from 43 states, the Netherlands, and Canada attended this two-day conference to share ideas and discuss the future of honors education.

“This is the only place where people can come together and talk about the best practices in honors education specifically at research universities,” says Honors College (HC) Associate Dean and HERU planning committee member Tara Williams.

The inaugural HERU Conference was held at Penn State University in 2013. The planners sought to recognize the vitality and strength of honors education and emphasize the practical applications of scholarship that define and distinguish research universities. The conference will continue as a biennial event, moving to a new host university every two years.

This year, staff and faculty from all facets of honors colleges and programs—including administration, admissions, residence life, public relations, fund development, and curriculum—benefited from presentations and discussions surrounding honors education. The sessions covered a broad range of topics, from globalization and community to thesis research and mentorship.

“At this conference, all attendees are dealing with similar populations of high-achieving students,” notes HC Director of Student Success and Engagement LeeAnn Baker. She presented on the steps the HC at Oregon State has taken to remove the barriers to completion of the thesis, including the creation of a “Thesis Success in Stages” (TheSIS) process. The TheSIS program helps students succeed by utilizing predictive analytics to track their progress and offer support at every phase of the thesis process.

“The program was well received, and people had a lot of energy and questions about what we’re doing. Many institutions wanted to take our ideas and adapt them to fit their specific program,” says Baker. “It was exciting to share the new things we are working on, and it feels like we at the HC are ahead of the curve in many ways.”

Several HC faculty members attended the conference to compare notes on the development of courses for high-achieving students that integrate research components. “Since I recently began teaching in the Honors College, I was interested in learning about the ways that faculty teaching honors courses across the country integrate student research projects in their courses,” explains Assistant Professor of English Rebecca Olson. “Honors programs and colleges, including the HC, are encouraging students to take risks: to try something innovative and creative. This element of risk for reward seems to be at the heart of what makes an honors class ‘honors.’ Taking risks benefits students and challenges their skills.”

It is cutting edge ideas like these, from the more than 70 participating institutions, that HERU planners hope will foster collaboration, strengthen the case for honors education at research universities, and offer faculty and administrators new answers to the question, “How can we help our students succeed?”

By: Emma-Kate Schaake, Contact Tara Williams.