OUR VIEW:
To be an honors student means to be successful in academic achievements, to be hard working, and to take action and responsibility, but to most importantly represent the university in a bright light. Unfortunately, the administration does not follow these attributions itself, even though they expect them. The decisions for the new Redwine Scholars Program were made under the table and didn’t not cause rebellion, until the red wine was spilt on the white table cloth.
A new Honors Program is going to start with the freshman class in September and is supposed to bring good changes with it. The amount of the Honors-level scholarships will double, from $2,000 to $4,000. Those students who put in the extra hours, who do more community service and who participate in more campus activities than most deserve an upgrade in scholarship money. Further, the new program will require students to complete a research or creative project.
Still, the problem isn’t that they have to create a project to satisfy the needs of our accrediting agency or state officials.
It is not a secret that most honor students think differently than the average student and enjoy putting in extra work. Some even join the program just to do research.
There were, however, problems with the revisions to the program and the process administrators used to bring it about. The disadvantages and problems with the process of creating this new program are endless.
Provost Betty Stewart said the new program will get undergraduate students more involved in research and make honors students more “high-profiled” on campus.
The high-profile students that Stewart is talking about can be found in the current Honors Program. So why change?
Administrators think “high-profile” students are the ones who are below the current requirements of the present Honors Program. They lowered the SAT and ACT score requirement for incoming freshmen and raised the required in class rank from top 10 percent to top 25 percent.
Our Honors Program requirements are even higher than those at Tarleton State, where they require incoming freshman to have similar requirements found in the Redwine Scholar Program.
So they are lowering the standards of the Honors Program for research purproses?
Don’t think so.
We doubt that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board would be pleased to hear that Midwestern is lowering its requirements to get into a honors-level program.
Let’s cut to the chase and address what this is really about — recruitment and retention. It is no secret that Midwestern has had issues with enrollment. Stewart mentioned in the meeting last week with honors students that this was recommended by Noel-Levitiz, a marketing firm hired by the university.
Administrators thought they could use the Honors Program as a tool to attach more students. They thought lowering the standards would recruit more incoming freshman.
A university who already has the repetition of being a “back-up plan” college thought lowering the standards of an honors-level program and throwing away scholarship money would recruit more incoming freshman, who are applying to larger university.
And we didn’t forget to mention the fact that administrators did this without consulting with students. But why would they?
Not like they care what we think. The application for the Redwine Scholar Program was up two weeks before the meeting that brought the scandal to light. And top academic administrators on campus have been discussing this for months without involving any students.
We’ll end this by saying that we agree with the Facebook posting former Honors Program Director Mark Farris: “MSU Honors Program, August, 1964 – Jan. 14, 2013. May she rest in peace.”