All LSC students take their core classes, capstone course and senior thesis in the Scholars' College. They may choose to complete our individualized major or minor in Liberal Arts and Sciences within the College, or may pursue a traditional major or teacher certification through joint agreements with the other colleges at NSU. Northwestern and all of its academic programs are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and all programs having specialized accrediting agencies have additional departmental accreditation. |
Types of honors education: Many universities offer honors classes, usually accelerated or enriched sections of standard courses such as English composition, calculus, or general chemistry. Another common offering is the honors seminar, often interdisciplinary and devoted to current topics of interest, such as the ethics of genetic engineering. A student may earn departmental honors by completing a number of accelerated courses, achieving a certain GPA in his or her discipline, or completing a senior thesis. The typical honors program is usually a combination of the previous options. Special courses in these programs are often taught by top faculty in individual departments, in addition to their regular classes. Students are often assigned a faculty mentor to guide them in the selection of their courses and the development of their program. Most curricula require 18 to 30 semester hours of honors courses. A true honors college offers a comprehensive curriculum, with a faculty which teaches predominantly within that curriculum. Working with their colleagues, these faculty members follow students' progress throughout their undergraduate careers to assure that weaknesses are addressed and strengths enhanced. Courses are often linked or integrated, allowing students to build upon earlier courses as they grow academically. The Scholars' College is an honors college. We have an integrated curriculum, accelerated classes, and interdisciplinary seminars. All students complete at least 66 semester hours of courses in the College; in some majors, students may take no outside courses. All of our students complete a senior thesis in his or her area, working one-on-one with a faculty mentor. Our faculty teach most of their courses within the College, and are responsible for the development of Scholars' students.
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| Qualifying for admission: Just as there are different models of honors education, institutions have different methods of admitting students to their honors programs and colleges. Each method has advantages and disadvantages. Admissions are usually based on quantitative or qualitative measures of potential student success. Quantitative measures include your high school grades and your performance on the ACT, SAT, AP or IB exams in specific areas, or on a screening exam. Qualitative measures include recommendations from teachers or counselors; extracurricular, service, and leadership activities; writing samples or portfolios; and personal interviews. Institutions may also consider assessments of the high school curriculum attempted and the relative academic difficulty of the high school. Qualitative measures give a more complete picture of the applicant. There are still major drawbacks to relying on qualitative measures alone. School size may affect how well teachers and counselors know their students, and thus influence the quality of their recommendations. Size or location may also determine the types and numbers of extracurricular, service, and leadership opportunities available to students. It can also be unclear to applicants whether they might be well suited to the program. Needless to say, qualitative applications must be reviewed by an admissions committee and may require a large investment of time and effort. The Scholars' College uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures in our application for admission. Our Admissions Committee is composed of faculty from the College who read each file and deliberate over the strengths and weaknesses of each applicant. They then recommend full or provisional admission to the College or refer the applicant to another program at Northwestern State University. |
| Costs: Despite the extra benefits available to Scholars' College students, there are no additional costs associated with attending the College. The fee schedule for fall 2006 will be set this summer; the current schedule of fees is available on NSU's web site. All applicants for admission are considered for scholarships, and out of state students meeting the College's admissions standards qualify for a wavier of out-of-state fees. |
