Information For Parents
Research and personal experience confirm that students perform better when surrounded by other talented students. They rise to the challenge presented by those of similar intellectual capability and motivation, discovering their own potential that much more quickly and fully.
Yet parents may have questions as to the type of commitment required. Below are answers to commonly asked questions regarding honors programs in general and ours in particular:
What is the workload?
Some parents fear that their child will have a difficult workload by joining an honors program. According to our Honors students and faculty, that just isn't so!
At UIW, students may have one or two honors classes per semester during their first two years. The challenge of those classes is in the type of work given rather than as a weight of extra assignments. In other words, students are expected to think more deeply in completing their assignments but they do not complete a higher number of assignments. From our experience, the students look forward to their classes together and find themselves continuing those conversations outside the classroom.
Is the Honors Program right for your child?
UIW's Honors Program is for curious students who are interested 1) in connecting knowledge from different disciplines and 2) in applying the notion of social justice personally and professionally to make a difference in the world.
The students who get the most from Honors are interested in developing themselves as well-rounded individuals with sensitivity beyond their major discipline. The UIW Honors Program enhances the degree program by providing a way for students to reflect upon how they may apply knowledge from the larger world to conduct their lives after college graduation.
What is the time commitment?
The time commitment to the Honors Program--beyond the classes--is comparable to a student club on campus. Students attend monthly meetings plus they choose from among a variety of events to attend each semester according to their interests and availability. We offer flexibility for fulfillment of their obligations; for example, Honors students can "double dip" by using a required lecture attendance for a class or a service outing with another student group as one of their Honors events. In this way, we encourage students to be involved with other clubs and/or athletic teams within a manageable schedule. The success of this approach shows in the fact that almost every one of our Honors students is also active in at least one other student organization or varsity athletics. We have representatives in everything from Student Ambassadors to Student Government to Campus Ministry.
What is the cost?
There is no added cost to be in the Honors Program.
When should my student apply?
Some students wonder if they should wait to apply when they are sure of the college they are attending or if they should go ahead and apply earlier. Others wonder if they must be invited to apply or if they are free to apply on their own.
Students applying to UIW who meet our target eligibility criteria will receive an invitation to apply to the Honors Program. However, we encourage those eligible and interested in the program not to wait for the invitation to apply. The number of applicants per honors slot has been growing each year, especially with transfer and current UIW students now eligible to apply. We anticipate that placement for those limited slots will continue to become more competitive as time goes on.