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In this issue, we highlight activities at each of the Honors Programs in the District. We also are looking forward to the second year of the Honors health study topic, Dimensions and Directions of Health: Choices in the Maze, which will focus on health policy.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College
Students in the Chandler-Gilbert Honors Program may choose to serve as a math tutor or as a mentor in an ESL (English as a Second Language) or WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) class as their semester's Honors project. As part of the process, students keep a reflective journal and write an analytical paper about their experience. Significantly, the Honors students often realize that this experience as a tutor or mentor teaches them as well.
Estrella Mountain Community College
The Estrella Mountain Honors Program is very active and is known for its cultural enrichment activities. These activities have included visits to the theater, the Phoenix symphony, and lecture events. Other enrichment events have included visits to the Biosphere 2 Center, Kartchner Caverns State Park, and the Grand Canyon, as well as the Museum of Tolerance, the Getty Museum and the Huntington Library in Los Angeles.
GateWay Community College
The Honors Program at GateWay Community College offers some features that are unique to the college's relatively small campus. The Honors Program uses the independent-study format, which pairs faculty acting as Honors Mentors with students in a contract setting. This experience allows students greater flexibility to explore topics of interest in greater depth than possible in the traditional classroom setting. The Honors courses are reflected on the student transcript where potential employers can see the quality of the student's education.
Glendale Community College
The Glendale Community College Honors Program centers on more than thirty designated Honors courses that encourage critical thinking, thoughtful writing, and lively discussions. The Honors courses encourage interactions among students and faculty, both in and out of class. Last semester, Honors students in Ideas and Values in Humanities and a team of three faculty members attended a guided tour of an art museum, a symphony performance, and the dress rehearsal for an opera. This semester's Honors students have the option of participating in a learning community based on this year's Honors health study topic that combines First-Year Composition with Medical and Bio-Ethics.
Mesa Community College
The Honors Program at Mesa Community College stresses the value of community service for Honors students by requiring at least one credit (50 hours) of Service Learning. The Honors Program also expects each Honors academic experience to include research, writing, and public presentation that will prepare students for success in future academic and employment experiences. The Program also is moving forward with its commitment to providing more Honors-only classes.
Paradise Valley Community College
The Paradise Valley Community College Honors Program is growing each semester and the Honors faculty are working hard to meet the educational, practical, and creative needs of their promising scholars. In addition to studying the Honors topic, the Honors Forum students build individual portfolios to use when applying for scholarship and employment opportunities. Service learning is a requirement of the class and students are encouraged to submit individual projects related to their field of study. Currently, a journalism student is writing the Honors newsletter; another maintains the Honors web page; and yet another is making a videotape of the PVCC Honors students. The individual learning opportunities and service learning components rank high on student evaluation of the program.
Phoenix College
The Honors Program at Phoenix College emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach, connecting academic disciplines and multiple cultures. The Classical Studies Program is an Honors learning community where students take designated Honors classes designed to give them a solid academic background transferable to any liberal arts major, law, or business.
Rio Salado College
Consistent with Rio Salado College's non-traditional mission, the Honors Program has adopted the distance learning model, which allows the Honors faculty to include students with disabilities, mothers at home with children, students in rural areas, and students who work full-time. These students earn Honors credit in designated distance Honors courses, special projects, and the Honors Forum class.
Scottsdale Community College
There have been some changes at Scottsdale's Honors Program. Neil MacKay, Biology faculty, is now Honors Coordinator. Jorge Rodriguez is the new Honors office manager, after having served in that role on a temporary basis in the fall semester. In addition to the usual Honors routine, both Neil and Jorge are busy transitioning the present co-enrollment classes/contract classes model into a closed Honors class model. The first wave of changes will occur in fall 2003.
South Mountain Community College
The South Mountain Honors Program strives to provide academic challenges for a diverse population, focusing on expanding the minds of its students through active discussions, presentations, and projects. Through conferences, electronic dialogue, and shared social and educational activities, the Honors Program integrates extensively with the development program of the Phi Theta Kappa chapter, which provides opportunities for students to not only be enlightened by what they learn but also to spread this knowledge to others.
 Betsy Hertzler, Ed.D., MCC, and Jeffrey Pommerville, Ph.D., mcli
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