Notes and News from the Honors College

Updated February 12, 2008

• Recently over 1,700 first-year students were contacted about considering applying for Honors College membership. Approximately 350-400 probably will follow up and begin the application process. They meet with one of us here at the Honors College to get the application and talk over some general matters regarding membership and the application. Then they will begin meeting with the departmental Honors advisers to finish up the application process. They will turn in, by March 25, an application cover sheet, essay, and paper Academic Progress Plan with the signature of an Honors adviser in their major. By April 11 they will follow up with an online Academic Progress Plan as well. Thank you in advance for working with these students.
  
  
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings (Hollings) scholarship program is now soliciting applications for its 2008 awards. APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2008. Note: all materials (including letters of reference and transcripts) must be RECEIVED by this date - not postmarked. For additional information regarding the Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program, please see Jenni Marsh, National/International Fellowships and Scholarships Coordinator, Eustace-Cole Hall or email her at marshje3@msu.edu.
  
  
• Department of Defense (DoD) plans to award approximately 200 new three-year graduate fellowships in April 2008, subject to the availability of funds. The DoD will offer these fellowships to individuals who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude for advanced training in science and engineering. For more information Contact Jennie Marsh (marshje3@msu.edu) or visit the website http://www.asee.org/ndseg
  
  
• Honors College Fall 2007 freshmen are being asked to submit an Academic Progress Plan for their first year by November 30, 2007. They should be contacting advisers in the coming weeks to talk about their first semester and discuss possible changes for spring 2008.
  
  
• Ronald Fisher left the Honors College effective August 1, returning to the Department of Economics, and Professor Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore is the new Dean of The Honors College. She comes to us from the School of Social Work.
  
  
• There has been a minor problem with advisers reviewing and acting on APP forms that students have not yet submitted. I think I have solved this problem, so you should now see a "warning" on the APP page for any unsubmitted APP form and you should have only the CANCEL button available on such APP forms. Let me know of any problems.
  
  
• MORE INFORMATION -- From the left hand menu of the student main page you now have a link (Find H-Advisers) that allows you to search for other Honors advisers by college and department.
  
  
• NEW LIST -- On the main page of the APP system you have the option of listing all the departmental Honors advisers in your college. This gives you the possibility of communication with other faculty in related fields. Department and e-mail address are included
  
  
• Each APP form has a link to a student's academic history. This is a link from the student APP page itself. Note that the academic history is not a link to the Office of the Registrar databases, but rather a periodically updated file that I have created. I will update it several times each semester.
  
  
• APP processing note: If you enter a decision on the APP, and then click the SAVE/FINISH LATER button, the Honors College is NOT SENT notification of your action on the APP. Therefore, if you have entered a fianl decision on the form, and want the Honors College staff to know the APP is ready for further review, then please click the SUBMIT/SEND TO HC button.
  
  
• ADVICE NEEDED: Assigning new Honors College freshmen to a departmental adviser each fall semester is a process that has no standardized procedure. Where departments have one adviser, obviously there is no problem. But where departments have 2 or more advisers we need to figure out how best to approach this matter of assigning new freshmen to the proper person. Please send to me any ideas on this matter. We can certainly do it differently in each department. Contact me via e-mail at conwell@msu.edu.
  
  

Michael Conwell
I will try to update this every couple of weeks.