The Honors Program in General Education provides highly qualified
students with an integrated foundation for their future studies. It
consists of a challenging, interdisciplinary curriculum that satisfies
general education requirements for graduation and prepares students for their
major. Administered by the College of Arts and Sciences, the program is intended
for students who are willing to cross traditional disciplinary boundaries
and to make connections that transcend the limits of conventional subjects.
Through intensive discussion in small classes led by outstanding faculty
members, students learn to question the foundations of knowledge, to develop
new skills in addressing complex issues, and to think independently, imaginatively,
and ethically. The program offers students special access to the technical,
intellectual, and artistic resources of the university and the national capital
region and seeks to develop among its students a sense of intellectual community
with the faculty and a commitment to life-long learning.
ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP
I.1. Members
I.1.1. The faculty of the Honors Program in General Education
(hereafter: the program) consists of teaching faculty and associate
faculty. Both have voting rights.
I.1.2. In any given year, the members of the teaching faculty are
those who are scheduled to teach that year or the following year and those
who taught the previous year. For example, the teaching faculty in academic
year 1999-2000 will include the faculty scheduled to teach in 1999-2000,
in 2000-2001, and those who taught in 1998-1999.
I.1.3. Associate members of the Honors Program faculty are those who have taught in the program previously but who are not currently teaching and who wish to remain affiliated with the program. Faculty members who have an interest in the program but are not teaching faculty may also apply for associate membership.
I.1.4. All full-time faculty members in the university are eligible to apply for teaching or associate status. In the first instance they should submit a curriculum vitae and summary data from their teaching evaluations for the past three years to the Director. This should be accompanied by a short statement of interest indicating which course(s) they envision teaching, and what their disciplinary background allows them to bring to the course(s). The Executive Committee will review all applications and will make recommendations to the Director. Program faculty should be exemplary teachers and have strong scholarly records. They may be appointed for three-year renewable terms.
I.2. Responsibilities of Members
I.2.1. To foster the aims of the Honors Program in General Education, to support the work of the Director and Executive Committee, and to participate in program activities.
I.2.2. To make recommendations concerning curriculum, extracurricular programming, admissions, and policies to the Director, the Executive Committee, and other committees.
I.2.3. To debate major changes to the honors curriculum and approve them for mail ballot by the program faculty.
I.2.4. To debate motions to overturn motions passed by the Executive Committee whenever 25% of the program faculty files a petition to do so and to approve them for mail ballot. To overturn a motion passed by the Executive Committee requires a 2/3 majority of the faculty who vote.
I.2.5. To debate changes to the by-laws and approve them for mail
ballot by the program faculty.
I.3. Meetings
I.3.1. Meetings of the program faculty may be called by the Director
when there is business for the faculty, but at least once a year.
I.3.2. Members may request the Director to call additional meetings by a petition of 25% of the faculty.
ARTICLE II: DIRECTOR
II.1. Responsibilities
II.1.1. To act as the official representative of the program in
negotiations with the college, the university, and the public, and to
serve as a channel of communication on program, personnel, and budget matters.
II.1.2. To call and preside over meetings of the Advisory Committee, the Executive Committee, and the program faculty, and to serve as an ex officio member of all other program committees.
II.1.3. To be responsible for the academic program, including the
curriculum, the quality of instruction, the planning and scheduling of
extracurricular honors programming, and student advising.
II.1.4. In consultation with the Executive Committee, to supervise the allocation of program resources, including GTAs and GRAs.
II.1.5. In consultation with the Executive Committee and the
appropriate departments, to appoint faculty to teaching and associate status
and to negotiate with departments concerning their faculty's participation
in courses in the honors program .
II.1.6. To evaluate annually faculty members' participation in the
program and to share this evaluation with department chairs to be used in
annual reviews, salary, promotion, and tenure decisions.
II.1.7. To be in charge of recruiting new students for the program and coordinating the admissions process.
II.1.8. To ensure that regular communications of the honors program and the Executive Committee (announcements, agendas, minutes, reports) are distributed to the program faculty and the Advisory Commmittee.
II.1.9. To fulfill the other duties and responsibilities of program
directors stated in the Faculty Handbook and GMU catalog, including
academic actions performed ordinarily at the departmental level.
II.1.10. To make available to the Dean and the university community a year-end summary of program activities.
II.2. Appointment and renewal
II.2.1. The term for the Director shall be four years and is renewable.
In case of foreseeable temporary leaves, the procedures
below shall also be followed to appoint an acting director.
II.2.2. In the case of a search for a new director, the search
committee will consist of five members, no more than two of whom shall be
from any one department. The CAS Dean will select a chair from among the
faculty of the college but not of the program. The Dean will appoint two
other members from the program faculty. Two additional members will be
elected by the faculty from their ranks.
II.2.3. The task of the search committee will be to solicit input from
the program faculty on the qualities sought in a new director, to seek qualified
candidates for the directorship, conducting an outside
search, if necessary, according to the Faculty Handbook guidelines
2.13.3.1, to moderate discussion of candidates by program faculty, and to
conduct balloting of the program faculty to determine their
preferences. The committee will submit to the Dean an assessment of the candidate(s),
the results of votes taken, and its own recommendations concerning the directorship.
II.2.4. If the incumbent director wishes to stand for reappointment,
the CAS Dean constitutes a committee to elicit and formulate the view of
the program faculty. The committee will be constituted according to the
same procedure as for the search for a new director.
II.2.5. The renewal committee will consult with the program faculty,
students, and other persons it deems appropriate concerning the past performance
of the Director and the desirability of the Director's renewal. The committee
determines the will of the program faculty and makes recommendations to
the Dean.
ARTICLE III: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
III.1. Membership and meetings
III.1.1. The Executive Committee will consist of the Director and six
members of the honors faculty, two elected by and from the faculty
teaching the first year courses, two by and from the faculty teaching the
second-year courses, and two by the program faculty. The terms of the elected
members will be two years, are staggered, and are renewable.
III.1.2. The Director will call meetings of the Executive Committee
regularly.
III.1.3. The agenda and minutes of Executive Committee meetings will be posted to the faculty in a timely manner.
III.2. Responsibilities
III.2.1. To advise the Director on policy and internal governance of
the program, including the allocation of program resources and staffing of
program courses.
III.2.2. To assist the Director with recruitment, advising, and
extracurricular Honors programming.
III.2.3. To approve of curriculum and other major changes in program design to be voted on by the program membership.
III.2.4. To conduct faculty elections for standing and search
committees.
ARTICLE IV: COURSE LEADERS
IV.1. Those courses which meet in multiple sections will have a course leader appointed by the Director, usually for a term of two years.
IV. 2. The course leader is responsible for coordinating the content
of the individual sections of the course and for ensuring that the
general education equivalencies of the course are being met.
IV.3. The course leader will arrange for and chair meetings of the
instructional team, see that the administrative business of the course gets
done, and facilitate communication between the team and the program administration.
ARTICLE V: ADVISORY COMMITTEE
V.1. Membership and meetings
V.1.1. The Advisory Committee will consist of at least one
representative from each college, school, or institute that is served
by the program (appointed by the Dean or Director of the unit), two
representatives appointed by the Dean of CAS, and the program
Director.
V.1.2. The Director will call meetings of the Advisory Comittee at
least once a semester.
V.2. Responsibilities
V.2.1. To provide a university-wide perspective to the current
operation and future direction of the program.
V.2.2. To give input to the Director on such matters as articulation
between the honors program and other academic units, articulation
between honors in general education and honors in the majors, and
curriculum reform.
ARTICLE VI: COMMITTEES
VI.1. The program faculty, Executive Committee, or Advisory Committee may establish standing or ad hoc committees.
ARTICLE VII: CURRICULUM CHANGES
VII.1.1. Proposals for curriculum changes can be initiated by the
Director, course teams, course leaders, the Executive Committee, the Advisory
Committee, or by petition of 25% of the program faculty.
VII.1.2. Proposals for curriculum changes must be discussed in these forums before final action is taken: a meeting of all course leaders, the Executive Committee, and the program faculty.
VII.1.3. Proposals for curriculum changes must be approved by a
majority vote of the Executive Committee.
VII.1.4. Proposals for major curriculum changes must be approved by mail ballot by a 3/5 majority of all program faculty who vote.
VII.1.5. Curricular changes in the honors program must be approved in the same way as changes in other CAS departments and programs.
ARTICLE VIII. ACCEPTING AND AMENDING THE BY-LAWS
VIII.1. The by-laws will be accepted provisionally by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences until the program faculty is constituted.
VIII.2. The by-laws must be approved by a mail ballot of a 3/5
majority of all program faculty who vote.
VIII.3. Amendments to the by-laws may be proposed either by the
Executive Committee or a petition of 25% of the program faculty.
Proposed amendments must be debated at two meetings of the program faculty
before being submitted to a vote. Amendments must be approved by a mail ballot
of a 3/5 majority of all program faculty who vote.