About the Program
The Honors Foundations program will support between six and ten Honors Faculty Fellows from around the campus per academic year.
Any full-time permanent Morgantown faculty member, with the support of the department chair, is eligible to apply. The deadline for 2024-25 Honors Faculty Fellow applications and course proposals is Friday, November 10, 2023.
Selected fellows will teach one or two sections of the same course, depending on the type of course proposed. These courses can be special topics “big-ideas” classes or enhanced classes with deeply engaged teaching and learning practices that bring faculty expertise to Honors students at the introductory level. They provide innovative course opportunities for Honors students and space for faculty to develop new curricular and teaching ideas to bring back to their home departments.
Learn more about the program and requirements for fellows by visiting the link below.
Learn MoreApplication Process
Applications must be submitted by the deadline to be considered for the coming year.
Applications will be open in Fall 2023 for 2024-2025 Honors Faculty Fellows. Applications, with chair support, will be due to the Honors College by November 10, 2023. Applications should be emailed to Damien Clement as a single PDF file.
REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS:
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A cover letter that outlines:
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Course description
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Faculty member’s qualification to teach the course
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Assessment of the niche for such a course, specifically for how the course is NOT currently covered in course offerings of the fellow’s home department or any other relevant department on campus.
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A detailed description of the proposed course that includes:
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Outline of the material covered including key texts
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Identification of any specific community service or leadership components to the course
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Tentative listing of the section learning outcomes
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Tentative description of how the course will assess section specific learning objectives
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The applicant’s CV
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A statement of support from the faculty member’s chair, including the standard adjunct replacement cost for that faculty member and an indication of Dean’s office support.
Selection Process
Applicants can review the selection process below to know more about how they may be selected
All Honors Foundations Course proposals must first be vetted by the chair in the home department in the statement of support. Except in extraordinary circumstances pre-approved by affected chairs, no more than one faculty fellow will come from any given department within a single cohort.
Efforts will be made to distribute Honors Foundation Course offerings across all six eligible GEF bins (2-7), and across multiple colleges across the university.
Faculty Fellows will be expected to participate in a two-and-a-half-day workshop on course design tailored specifically for them, led by Robynn Shannon in combination collaboration with Teaching and Learning Commons. This workshop will take place May 15-17, 2024. The goal of this workshop will be to provide Faculty Fellows with:
- Professional development in the principles and evidence-based practices of backward course design
- Dedicated time and space to make substantial progress on putting your course together
- TLC support and the opportun ity for peer feedback on course components.
Please note that there will be no expectations that Faculty Fellows have a completed course syllabus for this workshop or anything beyond the course proposal submitted with their Honors Faculty Fellow application.
COURSE SELECTION CRITERIA:
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Fulfillment of GEF goals
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Commitment to and proposed assessment of LEAP outcomes
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Innovative teaching tactics/learning activities
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Interdisciplinary learning opportunities
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Priority will be given to courses that fall within one of the above areas and that explore inclusion and representation across categories of identity and experience in their subject matter.
Selection Timeline
A tentative guideline for the fellow selection process.
Here is a proposed timeline to help students plan ahead for the process of submitting their request, allowing ample time for a dialogue between Honors EXCEL staff, the instructor and the student to occur prior to final approval for the proposed experiential learning course.
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September 11, 2023
Call for Applications
Call for applications for 2024-25 Honors Faculty Fellows
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November 10, 2023
Deadline for Applications and Course Proposals
Deadline for Honors Faculty Fellow applications and course proposals. The Associate Dean will perform an initial review of all applications. If an applicant proposes a course that extends into another discipline, the Associate Dean will seek sign-off from the chair of the department in question, before reinserting it into the batch of applications.
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January 8, 2024
Honors Faculty Fellows Confirm Participation
Selected Honors Faculty Fellows confirm participation and Honors curriculum committee submits selected courses to Faculty Senate GEF committee for information, ideally by February 2024 Faculty Senate Meeting.
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March 2024 (estimated)
Courses Made Visible to Students
Fall 2024 courses are made visible to students.
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May 15-17, 2024
Course Design Workshop
Faculty fellows course design workshop
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July 2024
Fellows Receive Course Development Stipend
Fellows receive summer course development stipend
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August 2024
First Semester of Courses
Fellows teach first semester of courses.
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Fall 2024
Fellow Lectures Held
Honors Faculty Fellows lectures held.
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November 2024 - January 2025
Next Cohort Selection Process Begins
Fellows participate in selection process for next cohort.
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December 2024
Retrospective Review of Year
Honors Faculty Fellows meet for retrospective discussion of the year to offer feedback about the program.
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January 2025
Second Semester Begins
Second semester begins.