Elizabethtown College Honors Program incoming director Kyle C. Kopko revealed a list of changes to the Honors Program that will help students graduate despite other obligations.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, Kopko held a Q&A session about the future of his presidency. The Honors Council, along with their interested fellow students, attended with the opportunity to present ideas and opinions about the alterations in the works. Kopko believes students “shouldn’t have that burden of feeling ‘am I really going to be able to finish the Honors Program?’” The list of changes proposed several new ways to adjust credits and Honors requirements to make it easier to stay in the program. “I don’t think honors education means more work or harder work, it means different work,” Kopko said.
One way of making the workload easier on students is the introduction of two-credit honors courses. These would be student-run classes own texts. “We’re actually going to be able to speak freely instead of catering to those who are teaching us,” first-year Honors Representative Otis Stathan said.
In addition, a two-credit course paired with an average semester’s 16 credits would bring the course load to 18 credits, saving honors students an overload of credits and, thus, more money. This is especially helpful for students with busy schedules. According to Stathan, the Honors College “is not very forgiving at the moment for students with a high -credit major.”
Stathan and fellow first-year Honors Representative and Service Committee Member Zach Dennin are both currently studying mechanical engineering. It is sometimes difficult to find room for honors courses with their majors and Dennin believes it would be more beneficial to pick up a dual concentration in sustainable design and mechanical engineering than graduate with honors. Therefore, they both said that two-credit honors courses would be the most exciting change out of all the ideas presented in the meeting.
Kopko plans on making it less stressful for students to travel abroad. He hopes to offer four honors credits for a semester-long study abroad experience. First-year Chair of the Honors Events Committee Jerica Shuck thinks this is likely to improve Honors retention rates. “It’s really helpful because that’s something that everyone wants to do, but they don’t think they have the time to do it,” Shuck said. “If they can stay in the Honors Program and travel, then that’s awesome.”
In addition to helping students with their schedules, Kopko plans on better representing the Honors College across campus. “We’re not really seen on campus yet,” Shuck said. “Honors Council is kind of just a ‘thing that is,’ and we want to change that because we’re in a program that needs both representation and for everyone to know what’s going on.”
To accomplish this goal of visibility, Kopko hopes to find ways to make the achievements of honors students better known on campus. In addition, he plans to encourage a better sense of community by bringing back formal Honors dinners and other events. Currently, the Honors Events Committee is planning an end-of-year formal where seniors will be recognized. The committee is also putting together an Honors field trip to either the Boston Aquarium or the Philadelphia Mutter Museum. These events are intended to give voice to the Honors community.
Other changes in the works include the following: a two-credit sophomore leadership course, a two-credit guided writing and research course utilizing the College archives, discounts at the bookstore for Honors students in good academic standing and petitions for an honors diploma if the student is 0.03 points below the required GPA.
Honors students with any complaints or suggestions are invited to speak up. “I am the director of the program, but I do not view myself as the dictator,” Kopko said. He hopes to be accessible to the students and to collaborate with them to the best of his ability. “If something looks really great here, let me know. If something looks awful or horrible, please let me know; that’s probably more important,” he said.
