SJCC gives students the chance to enhance skills and add to resume<\/p>\n
For students looking to take their education to the next level, San Jose City College offers a unique opportunity within the honors program.<\/p>\n
The honors program is for exceptional students who enjoy an intellectual challenge and have shown distinct dedication and purpose in their studies, according to the honors program brochure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a way for students to achieve an honors program experience at a school that doesn\u2019t have separate honors classes,\u201d said Sean Abel, dean of social science and humanities.<\/p>\n
The program was designed to motivate participation in academic discussion with small groups of peers and faculty, according to the brochure.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have five students in a class, all in the honors program, and each of them would do a different type of project,\u201d Abel said. \u201cOne person might do a service project, one might do a research project; and they could all do different things based on their personal interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
History instructor Khalid White worked with a student in an introduction to sociology course this semester.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe looked at a bunch of different images and she surveyed about 100 people on campus to see how the images we see on TV, magazines, etc. affect our self-esteem,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
White said this is his first time working with a student in the honors program, and he thinks it might have something to do with the fact that not every student knows the program is available to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought in a million years that I would be asked to do this, being on the other side of the table in terms of being a teacher who\u2019s helping students in the honors program,\u201d White said. \u201cIt\u2019s gratifying in that regard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abel said the program has been dormant for some time and it differs from the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.<\/p>\n
\u201cPhi Theta Kappa is an honors society and you gain admission to Phi Theta Kappa based on your passport (qualifications),\u201d Abel said. \u201cThis is an honors program where you\u2019re creating an honors project in a specific course so the two are different, but of course not mutually exclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students also receive an honors notation on their transcripts and graduation programs, as well as transfer assistance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure that it creates any quicker transfer, but depending on where they\u2019re going, they can say they took honors experience classes,\u201d Abel said. \u201cIt\u2019s a student resume-building experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
White said the honors program also adds to the credibility of SJCC.<\/p>\n
He said SJCC is serious about student scholarships and serious about providing students with academic rigor, contrary to some of the stereotypes that may be out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I have seven active students (in the program) and my goal is to have 200 to 250 active (students), which is still less than 5 percent of our student body,\u201d Abel said.<\/p>\n
He said students can apply to be in the honors program at any time during the semester, though there is a specific timeline laid out in the brochure to make it easier for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can apply to be in the honors program right now,\u201d Abel said, \u201cbut they couldn\u2019t start their project until spring semester because it\u2019s not really possible to do over intersession; it\u2019s too short a period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
English instructor Martha Oral said she worked with a student who needed somebody outside of their department to help them with their project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe student was Carolann Espino who did the Day of the Dead installation,\u201d Oral said. \u201cFor whatever reason the art department couldn\u2019t sponsor her so they needed somebody else to sponsor her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oral said she fully supported the idea of Espino doing a Day of the Dead event this semester because she knows she worked really hard on it last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe set up all the artists; she got people to help her do the altars, the videos, the dance and the music,\u201d Oral said. \u201cShe got all these people to do this and it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students eligible for the honors program must meet specific requirements laid out in the brochure.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor continuing students, they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher in 12 or more college units and they must be eligible for or have completed English 1A,\u201d Abel said.<\/p>\n
After a student is accepted into the program, Abel said the next step is completing an honors program contract with the instructor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey create a proposal and fill that out together,\u201d Abel said. \u201cI approve the project, and then I don\u2019t see anything again until the end of the semester.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SJCC gives students the chance to enhance skills and add to resume For students looking to take their education to the next level, San Jose City College offers a unique opportunity within the honors program. The honors program is for exceptional students who enjoy an intellectual challenge and have shown distinct dedication and purpose in…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":88909,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"staff_name":[631],"class_list":["post-9025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campus-life","staff_name-taylor-atkinson"],"yoast_head":"\n