The Leon S. Peters Honors Program is now allowing students in good academic standing to enroll in honors classes without being officially enrolled in the program. Students who have a GPA of 3.3 or higher and are either eligible to take English 1A or have completed it, can enroll in open honors classes, and upon successful completion have the possibility of gaining official admission to the program.
There is also one new honors class being offered this semester, History 12 Honors, which covers “political, social and economic development since Reconstruction,” according the the Fresno City College website.
According to Honors Program Coordinator Michael Roberts, an email was sent out in December inviting eligible students to enroll in open honors classes. Roberts estimates that roughly 30 to 40 students have taken advantage of the opportunity.
“The [Honors Program classes] will have a class with the same curriculum, but the classes will go much more in depth,” according to political science instructor Dr. Sarbjit Johal. “There is much more writing involved in the honors classes.”
Dr. Johal teaches both the honors and non-honors Political Science 2 courses, which cover the various institutions that make up the American government.
One of the benefits of the Honors Program, Roberts said, is the smaller class sizes. “My class has 35 students right now, and that is the largest … but most classes are capped at 25 students.” Roberts explained that because of small classes sizes, “there is significantly more personal attention [in the Honors Program.]”
Other advantages include having a counselor dedicated exclusively for Honors Program students. The Honors Counselor will advise students on the requirements for transferring to a four-year college, as well as how to take advantage of the Transfer Admission Guarantee program.
Transfer Admission Guarantee, or TAG, is a program which allows students to “receive early review of their academic records, early admission notification and specific guidance about major preparation and general education coursework.”
Students in the TAG program can receive a guarantee of admission to a participating University of California campus provided they maintain a certain GPA and complete particular prerequisite classes required for their major. Of the 9 UC campuses that admit undergraduate students, 7 participate in the TAG program.
Students enrolled in the Honors Program may also apply for the The Leon S. Peters Honors Scholarship, which awards the top 25 students participating in the program with a $1,000 scholarship.
The minimum GPA to apply for the scholarship is a 3.5. The scholarship will take a holistic approach to evaluating students based on work, volunteering, and other extra-curricular activities, but Roberts says the main factor is the student’s academic performance.
Students who meet the minimum requirements and are interested in enrolling will need to contact Michael Roberts or Honors Counselor Forouz Radnejad to receive permission.
However, the biggest advantage offered to prospective students, according to Dr. Johal, is that “students have the opportunity to challenge themselves.”