New Redwine Scholars Program cause students, faculty uproar

The Honors Program as students know it will soon cease to exist.

Instead, it will be replaced by the Redwine Scholar Program, which is funded by the endowment left by the Redwine family. Provost Betty Stewart introduced the Redwine Scholar Program at an Honors Program meeting last Monday.

The scholarship will be doubled from $2,000 to $4,000 and the Redwine Scholars Program will be administered by the Provost’s office. Stewart, who is a former chemistry professor and College of Science and Mathematics dean, will even be teaching a senior-level research seminar.

Both Stewart and university president Jesse Rogers cited the reason for the change to linked to a recruitment and retention plan by Noel-Levitz, a marketing firm hired by the university, and a new research component required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

“In the last several weeks, the Provost has spoken to the college deans and others about the ways in which the program will be restructured and the rationale for the changes,” Rogers said.

According to Rogers, the new research component that will be required of students in his or her junior year fits nicely with a major quality improvement program the university is initiating as a part of its reaccreditation by SACS.

“The research component also will connect the Honors Program more definitely to the university’s designation as a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, a group committed to joint student-faculty undergraduate research,” Roger said.

However, in a meeting last week where honors students and staff were presented with this revised program, many for the first time, several voiced concerned about the adjustments to the programs.

“As sometimes happens when change comes to an existing program, rumor and misinformation abound,” Rogers said. “This is the case with the decision to revise the honors program.”

Stewart made it clear these alternations have nothing to do with budget cuts; instead she said the Redwine Scholar Program would be costing the university more money.

In the meeting, Stewart said thanks to the suggestions by Noel-Levitz the administration decided to alter the Honors Program to further distinguish the students by giving it a new name and function.

“When we looked at the Noel-Levitz recommendations for attracting and retaining students, the scholarships that are in [the Honors] program now are less than what we’re going to give out in merit scholarships,” Stewart said in the meeting. “The quality of students in this room is better than the general merit scholarship.”

According to Stewart, seniors would not benefit from this program and juniors would have difficulties as well due to the new requirements. Current honors students who chose not to participate in the Redwine Scholars Program will be able to keep the $2,000 scholarship if they maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher.

Even though Stewart stated repeatedly in the Monday meeting  the requirements for the Redwine Program would be identical to the current Honors Program, the Redwine Program actually has lower standards when it comes to ACT and SAT scores and high school graduation ranking.

The Redwine Scholar program will take 22 students per year and be capped at 88 students when at full capacity. Yearly, two slots will be reserved for current MSU students and the 15 other slots are open to all applicants. Five slots will be reserved for students in the Wichita Falls area,  which would be 25 percent of the Redwine Scholar Program.

Students like Heather Baker, student committee treasurer, thought this gives a disadvantage to international students, who make up 37 percent of the current Honors program.

“We were also worried that the new program would limit diversity, making it harder for those who live outside of Wichita Falls, especially international students, to gain admittance into the program,” said Heather Baker, student committee treasurer.

In the meeting last Monday, an honors student asked Stewart about what activities, such as the brown bag forums, would be available with the new program to encourage community among honors students.

Stewart answered by saying honors students will still have the Honors floor in the dorms and will be able to participate and have community activities there, but admitted to not knowing the extent in which students participate in terms of community, but was up for suggestions.

“As an officer, our main concern is keeping the community alive in the program,” Baker said. “We feel that some of the requirements for current Honors programs students promote that community because we band together to go to these outside lectures and brown bags. It’s a form of higher learning.”

Baker said those who make the choice to switch to the Redwine Program would be socially disconnected from those who chose to stay with the current program.

The Honors Program student committee agreed during the meeting that they wanted their input considered in the development of the Redwine Scholar Program. In which Stewart questioned, “So the question is, you want to fight to receiving a $4,000 scholarship?”

Since the initial meeting, Stewart and Keith Lamb, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, met with the student committee on Friday and plan to work on a compromise.

Chair of the student committee Clinton Wagoner said he was originally against what was happening with the program, but now has a better understand of the plans. He said it was aware of the changes prior to the meeting, but was not given any specifics.

“I am excited to see some of the changes. The lack of understand that caused much of the anger and frustration Monday night,” Wagoner said. “Myself and many of the students in the honors program need specifics and the plan Dr. Stewart showed on Monday was too vague for us to be comfortable with.”

Wagoner said at Friday’s meeting that the Provost showed a willingness to listen and agree with our suggestions concerning the new program’s less defined areas. He admitted the administration handled this situation with the Honors Program poorly.

“There was no information exchange between the administration and faculty or the administration and student body,” he said. “While I may think the changes to the program are beneficial, the administration has set a dangerous precedent that needs to be addressed.

According to Wagoner, the student committee was not consulted prior.

“The administration made a decision with no input from student or faculty and implemented it in only a few months,” Wagoner said. “We got lucky. The changes being done to the program are beneficial. That being said, I think the administration needs to be aware that making these backroom decisions without consulting the people directly impacted cannot continue.”

The communication between the administration and students is virtually non-existent right now, Wagoner said. But he hopes with Stewart taking an active role in a student program that will bring a change.