The Honors College - Information Session

Need something?

Penguin 1

Bangor, Hut.

OK.

2.

Hi Bingo.

Papa loves you.

Papa does.

The.

Hey Angela, you are listed as a leader.

And your permission say that you can control the Mike and the UM slides.

Yeah, I see.

Settings please.

1.

Each other.

Sure.

OK.

OK, sounds good. Well so far, um, it's I think it's only Heather and me and you in the session, so um.

Is that true? Oh that's great. OK, uhm?

OK good OK.

Oh, that's wonderful. That's great.

OK, we can hang up and call me back if you need me.

OK, bye.

Single big deal, huh?

Angela, can you hear me?

Answer, can you control the slides?

I don't have any slides currently in my session.

Hum.

Hey.

Welcome to.

Apple atunes state's open house.

My name is Jeff Albisheim, Dean of the Honors College at Appalachian.

Um, I'm going to assume that you can all hear me, and perhaps one of the students who just joined.

Could send us a question.

That would let me know that you can hear me.

Or perhaps one of my colleagues could let me know if you can hear Maine.

Obviously, we've never done this before.

No.

OK so I just got a text which says you can hear me so I will begin again. My name is Jeff Alba, Sean Dean of the Honors College at Appalachian State University. There are nine Deans on campus and six colleges.

And we are the 7th college. Actually, the Honors College. Welcome to the session on the Honors College. We have 30 minutes together actually 29 now and I want to alert you to the fact that we also have.

Uh, a 3 hour a session where you can drop in Villa Zoom an will give you the link at the end of this session to talk to students to talk to me, to talk to faculty members in more depth and detail about the Honors College in the wonderful opportunities that we have. We're joined today by doctor Angela Meade as well. She's in the background. You can't see her. She's director of advising and student services in the Honors College. Doctor Heather waldrop is the associate director of the Honors College, who is also present.

Um and able to answer questions as well, and there may be other staff members as well. One thing to remember, and something we're terrible at advertising when we talk about the Honors College at Apple action is we have actually 11 staff members to serve 500 or 550 students and we have five to six students staff members as well. So we have an extraordinary richness of people in the honors college to help our students.

They're not all full time. Many are professors in the academic colleges department's across the University, but all are dedicated to honors education. An really to giving unconditional support to our students. That's what we're all about. Is unconditional support.

We have advisors in every academic area, arts and Humanities, Business Education, Pre health careers, prelaw, social Sciences, STEM fields, etc. Who actually work in the honors college that are dedicated to working with students? All our academic advisors have terminal degrees, so I'm sorry I can't see you. If we were on campus in the vibrant, pulsing, wonderful excitement that is.

Um open house on campus. We would be doing this in a small room. Uh, we be able to interact and I probably wouldn't be talking at you. I would be talking with you and we would be talking together again. We do have the zoom session little later in the afternoon from 11:00 to 2:00. That will give us a chance to actually look each other more or less in the eye and talk more in depth about about honors.

I'll get up students there were going to staff members there as well so the chat window is open. Excuse me, the question window is open and you may submit questions to us to me at anytime and will try to get to those and answer them. I'm going to talk today a little bit about what the honors college is going to 1st talk a little bit about what is honors education than what the honors college is at Apple action. Y all students who are interested in honors ought to apply to Apple action. Apply to the Honors College.

And will give you if we have time at the end. Some tips on how to apply will also absolutely be available to give tips during the zoom session a little later today will also tell you how to stay in touch with us between now and when you send in your application. After we're happy to give you advice to consult to answer questions as we as we go forward, please know that we in the Honors College at Apple action are here to support you.

Um, in your application? Uh, we're not the kind of honors college that says you good enough for us and then send you away feeling hurt when we decide that you're not what we're trying to do is encourage you to apply to the Honors College at Apple action. And I'll get to the process of that in a second. We have some slides that one of my colleagues will be clicking through just sort of general normal scenes of honors education.

Apple action, we have two residence halls. We have amazing classrooms. We have a student centered building and we sit around in rooms and talk to each other. We also go out and serve and interact with the community and indeed the world.

So what is honest education?

Under education is undergraduate education as well as it can be done.

That's our goal. That's what we strive for everyday. It's what gets us out of bed in the morning. Undergraduate education as well as it can be done.

Uhm, it's not more stress.

It's not necessarily more work. It's not rigor for the sake of rigor. A word that I never use when I talk about honors education. Uhm, it's not giving you a second backpack. Filling it with rocks and making you run up and down the stairs. Students. That's high school. OK, college honors is very, very different. It's not necessarily more work, but it's always different work.

Honest education at Apple action is intellectual personal professional development.

At the highest possible levels, that's the goal.

Intellectual personal professional development notice.

That we're doing everything right? Yes, we're doing the academic. Yes, we're doing the personal, and yes, we're preparing you to go out and Lee.

This is intellectual, personal professional development done in a collaboration TLE fashion. We don't do it to you.

We don't do it for you or on your behalf without your input. We do it together.

OK, it's students. Honors education is students its faculty IT staff members, its administrators working together to achieve an extraordinary education.

OK, honest education is deeper, measurably deeper, measurably, broader, measurably, more complex and intense.

Then other regular education.

OK um.

What is the honors College in Appalachian? It's a small college devoted to unconditional support.

It's a place, it's people. It's a process. It's a unit. It's a budget.

Dedicated to intellectuel personal professional development of all members of our community.

At the highest possible levels, again, that is our goal.

Continuing with the notion of what is honors, what is the honors college at Appalachian?

Our goal is that students feel as responsible for the success of the individual class period.

As the faculty member does who's teaching?

Students who are responsible we want you to be responsible not only for your learning but for the learning of your classmates and the learning for your professor. OK, this is collaboration TLE education. OK, it's a place the Honors College where students and faculty are colleagues.

The Honors College is honors courses.

Culminating in a thesis or a major senior project.

It's honors community with two residence halls, four student organizations that you can get involved in many extracurricular and Co curricular activities.

A growing number of service and civic engagement opportunities.

Outstanding on her second imic mentoring and advising.

Unconditional support and the connection to opportunities.

Some financial support which is really good news for study abroad an for research.

And the Honors College is a place where feeling at home and feeling like you belong.

Is easy because you do.

OK, we're getting questions about the application. Is it too late for fall 2020 about housing about the differences between honors and regular education at Appalachian? Yes, it's too late for fallen less. You're a transfer student. OK, so you're going to be wanting to apply if you're coming in to Apple action in the fall and not a transfer student, you're going to be wanting to apply for spring. And I'll talk a little.

About spring admission in just a second.

Will talk about the application in a minute. Will talk about housing in a minute and I'm continuing. I think to highlight the differences between.

Education at Apple action and non honors education at Apple action. Both are extraordinary and our students in honors.

Do 20% of their courses and experiences as honors courses?

80% of their courses and experiences are out in the wider University, right? Apple action is an extraordinary place. I've been here for three years and I'm Marvel everyday because I learn new things about how wonderful this place is. OK, so honors education you do with us. For 20% you do 80% of your education out there in the wider University. Both are terrific places.

Students, I want all of you who are interested in honors education and Apple action who are hearing.

Things that appeal to you.

I want you to apply.

We have no minimums in test scores, no minimums, ranking class, no minimums. In GPA, we got rid of those in order to become. We hope the most inviting.

Honors College in.

The country, certainly in the state.

OK, we want you to apply. We want you to teach us who you are. We want you to make the case that this is a community that you would love to join and that you would love to contribute to.

We in the honors college, exists to connect students to opportunities.

In and outside the classroom, on and off campus in bunan around the world Coed 19 obviously has gotten a little in the way of our international education experience, which is a requirement in the Honors College at Apple action, but will get back to that as soon as we absolutely can.

We want these opportunities that we connect with your help that we connect you to to help you develop to grow again, intellectually personally, professionally.

Into human beings into intellectuals, into citizens and into liters.

Hey intellectuals, human beings, citizens and leaders.

And we're looking for students who want what we have to give.

Who want the kind of experiences that I'm describing right now?

And who want to help us work with us? Work with other students and faculty and staff?

To achieve these things right, This is again collaborative education.

At its best.

I say a lot when I talk about honors.

Honors at Appalachian is honors done differently.

OK, I'm going to segue and move toward.

Who were looking for.

How'd how to apply?

Um?

And the first thing I'll say is we don't know who were looking for until you teach us.

We don't know who you're looking forward looking for until you teach us.

In general, we're looking for students who are high achieving.

High potential.

And highly motivated.

I say sometimes that you don't have to be especially highly motivated.

24/7 365

Right, we're also human in the Honors College. We don't expect you to be superhuman. It's OK if your motivation flags occasionally mine certainly does.

And that high potential.

Idea is really opening the door for who you are.

And who you want?

To become.

OK.

So we're looking for high achieving, high potential, highly motivated students.

But we the honors college, did Apple action have a broader, deeper, richer, more nuanced definition of those things than many, many, many honors colleges and programs across the country?

We have nothing against high test scores. We have nothing against high ranking class high GPA, but we don't think that those things tell us very much about you.

About students and their potential.

OK, we practice holistic admissions in the Honors College.

And that's a fancy phrase. For this we actually read your application.

We read every word we read, your essays. We read your list of activities, right? We read your interest statements. We look at your transcript. OK, an we gather all that information.

Including information that you give us when you reach out to us and send us emails and call us and have conversations right.

We take notes When we're reading your stuff. We Ponder. We talk about you and your application. We consider and reconsider and we invite the students based on every bit of information that we have.

OK.

So we don't have minimum test scores ranking class GPA. We highly encourage all students to apply. We want you to make your case OK. We want you to teach us who you are.

That's the job in your essays.

We don't know what we're looking for until you tell us, teach us and show us.

Why you want to be a part of our community? Why you want to get a nurse education?

And how you want to contribute to what we're doing?

Teachers who you are.

Teach us what makes you special.

Get us excited about working with you.

Show us spark.

And dare.

When you.

Teach us who you are.

OK, we can get into more detail later in this conversation and especially in the zoom about what it would mean.

In an essay to teach us who you are.

OK, but that's in general our approach to.

Application.

And to reading applications into holistic admissions.

Now.

You want to apply to the Honors College for fall. So many of you, I think in the audience right now are thinking about applying to Apple action this fall for entry in the fall of 2021. OK, if that's the case, you're going to write.

SS, you're going to fill out the rest of the application.

Um, and you're going to be competing, um, innocence with lots and lots of other applicants for admission to the honors college right? We have about 150 spots. UM, every fall we're going to try to increase that by a little bit, so we increase it 16% this year. Over last year, we're going to try to increase it 16% more.

Going forward, so, um, you can do the math.

Will have, somewhat, um, more than 150 students coming in in the fall of 2021. OK, so students it's competitive, right? You're in control of your admission, because if you work **** ** the essays, if you teach us who you are, if you show spark right, you're likely to get in. What happens if you don't?

Honest Apple action again is honors. Done differently. We don't say tough, sorry you don't get in what we say is, well, I write you the nicest rejection letter you'll ever receive if you don't get into the fall. And I'll say be in my office the first week of the fall semester to talk about spring admission.

So there's a next step in honors admission you can apply for spring.

After the fall, if you didn't get in OK, some students don't apply.

They can apply for fall as well, OK?

And spring admission is your safety nut. Spring in mission is easy.

We don't look at high school. We don't look at your high school record. We only look at your performance at Apple action in the fall semester. You need one essay. You need a 3.5 GPA and you need two faculty letters of recommendation from folks who have taught you in your fall semester. OK, safety net. Last year, 42 students applied in the spring and 35 got in.

OK in the fall.

14150 students applied.

We made about 600 offers and we're going to yield about 150 students. OK, so it's a lot harder to get in the fall. But guess what? It's not impossible, especially if you do that work, and you do that teaching and keep us.

Interested in in who you are and what you're all about OK?

So we don't send you away if you don't get in the fall. We say apply, try, strive.

Will help you to reapply for spring.

OK.

Now.

I think I will look at some questions if there are any.

Please send questions.

OK, just got a text.

OK, questions about housing very good.

So I mentioned that we have two residence halls in the Honors College that Apple action. We have two residence halls and we have a wonderful purpose, built modern.

College building right? They are clustered together cone Hall. Where are first year students live summit Hall. Where are continuing upper class students may live and then Apple action haul those three buildings, build a kind of quad in the centre of which we have what we call the Bailey, which is a wonderful little grassy area where you can play quidditch and son. And if you're looking at some of the pictures in the slides that I hope we're going around right now.

You can see that we have class out there very very often. OK, cone Hall is an old dormitory that was completely gutted and renovated about 10 years ago. It looks new IT feels new on the outside. It is the.

Corner called old-fashioned style. We're you're in your room in bathrooms and facilities are down the Hall, right? We love that for entering students because you students you can't get isolated, right? You have to brush your teeth at least once a week, right? You've got to go down to the facilities and do that, right? So you're out in your room, your building community with the other honor students that you're living with.

If you ask any honor student and you can try this out, uh, between 11 and one in 11, and two skews me in the zoom, you ask, any honor student with the three best things in their opinion of the honors college about the honors college, are they're going to say life in Cone Hall in their first year extraordinary community building. Extraordinary activities, friend making philosophical discussions till 3:00 in the morning and a trip at 2:00 in the morning out to Appalachian Cookie Company? I mean, that's the kind of things that.

That that happened there. Summit Hall. We don't ask. We don't make you live in summit in your second semester, but it's a terrific dormitory. It was voted last year with cone is the two best residence halls on campus. Summit is suite style, so two students on either side of facilities in their own rooms and very often folks in cone move on Moss and occupy a residence Hall.

Floor in in some it so that is pretty terrific. OK, we do ask first year students.

To live in come.

And that means, unfortunately, that you cannot pull in a non owners roommate. OK, that's something you just need to know. We unfortunately don't have enough space to be able to pull in an honors roommates. We have nothing against non honors roommates, but we just don't have enough rooms to do it. With 150 students that were bringing in in the fall. So housing is a terrific benefit of honors education.

Um, and it's something that we take seriously and are very proud. I've got another question here. Can I do honors an Watauga at the same time, uhm?

If I've been accepted for fall, what do I need to do? Um, what specific courses so I need to take in his community? Service required? OK, lots of questions here, that's great. So honors College in Watauga Residential College. Yes, students if you're interested in doing both, get all the information possible. Talk to us, talk to Watauga, but yes, it is possible to do both programs. There are terrific.

Obviously, when you make a choice like that, you give up, um, all the things. Some of the things that you would get in Watauga if you were only doing Watauga and some of the things that you would get an honors if you're only doing honors. But Yes, there are possible to do both.

If you've been accepted for far, what do I need to do? Um, Pat yourself on the back smile alot, congratulate yourself and we'll be in touch very soon with emails were pointing out award.

Summer orientation, which is going to be on line, but we're going to have a quintessential honors advising experience. You're going to meet your advisor going to get the information that you need your going to fine tune your schedule, and you're going to get honors courses into it so.

That's the answer to that question. Is community service required? No.

The honest college requires only 24 credits of honors courses.

OK, which is 20% of your 120 courses that you wanted 20 credits that you're going to need for a degree. 24 credits of honors courses in 120.

And we ask you to live in cone. Your first year. We don't require anything else, but we give you lots of opportunities I don't like treating students like students. I don't like making people do things I like to.

Induce them to do things. I like to invite them to do things and invite them to do the kind of things that they want to do to help their growth and their intellectual, personal, professional development.

OK, so courses I want to say one or two words about honors courses. Hon seminars we require you to do three of those.

One at the 1000, one of the 2001 at the 3000 level, when you think about honor seminars, please think about small.

We average about 12 students in a number cylinder with at least one faculty member and sometimes too.

And very occasionally 3.

OK, so think.

Great students from every major across the University because the honors college serves every matrix serves students in every major and serves faculty in every major. You think small. You think? Great faculty.

You think happy faculty?

And if we were together, I would ask you a question. Why are honest faculty happy? But I gotta answer my own question right now. Right wire, honors faculty happy honors faculty or happy because one, they're they're teaching you.

They're teaching students who are.

Highly motivated, high achieving, high potential right? We want to be there who are excited about helping teach each other about helping each other learn.

And.

You're sitting around a problem in the centre, or a question or a topic, or a book or a wicked problem out there in the world, and you're bringing all of you to bear all of yourself to bear all of the disciplines that you care about. All your interest to bear on that problem, and you're collaborating and working together. That's initial in summer, right? That is what we get you involved in in your very first semester.

Small classes, happy faculty interesting difficult complex scintillating problems right?

We sit together.

And we could do it electronically.

But we like face to face better. We sit together and work on those problems. Those are.

Miss ordinary.

Thanks.

OK, we're getting.

Close.

To the end of the session.

It's very hard to do this without feedback and reactions, right?

I don't know that I've ever made a presentation quite like this before.

But I want to see if I can.

Work through the slides.

Just a little.

Give you a little sense.

That's the courtyard. the Bailey in the Honors College.

This is a good sense of what the honors college looks like inside.

On his trip to the farm.

The University has a farm we go every at the beginning of every year.

More farm.

More farm.

More farms you never hold, hold, hold the chicken never held the chicken. You can do it.

Soon, faculty research, collaboration, research, collaboration, and our wonderful building.

Contact information, get it online as well.

And then here's the link.

To click in to join us for the zoom that's also available on the honors.

Excuse me on the open house website.

Very good, I think I'm at the end of what I can do. Please come drop in between 11 and two into the zoom session. I'll be there. Colleagues will be there. Lots of students will be there. I think we have 12 students signed up in shifts for those three hours looking really forward to meeting you face to face and having some more in-depth conversations. Thank you so much. Thank you for your interest in the Honors College and I really encourage students listening to apply.

Thank you.