The honors program at EvCC has been designed to give students an opportunity to stand out in their applications for transfer to 4-year schools and on their resumes after college, anyone can take the initiative and begin with the honors program. All that someone needs is a B letter grade or higher in English 101 and at least a 3.5 GPA to get started. Students do not need to be admitted into the honors program to take an HN designated section, however a student must be admitted before beginning work on a capstone project. Only honors program students can participate in making a capstone project.

To start out a student can take the HUM 195 and HUM 196 series course or complete an honors contract with a professor. honors-designated sections will have an HN after the course number. The Honors contract transforms a regular class into a higher-level honors class. If a student wishes to apply for admission to the program later, these courses will all count towards their program progress. Even if someone decides not to apply for the honors program, their transcript will show that they took an honors course such as ENGL& 102 HN COMPOSITION II: HONORS.

Part of completing the honors program is completing a capstone project. Capstone projects emphasize a broader, interdisciplinary view of a topic or a more in-depth study of a topic, as might be expected in 300- or 400-level college coursework. The project promotes active learning and is assessed with rigorous standards. Capstone Projects involve work typically done by a professional in that discipline. 

Rion Sakashita did her capstone project on  “how to become a successful influencer.” Sakashita took 3 quarters to gather articles, learn the process, and take action for the project. “I think this project is a great opportunity for students to pursue their interests more academically.” Sakashita said.

A scholarly paper might satisfy that criterion, but so might the creation of a professional portfolio and website for an art student, or a business plan for a business student, a social science student might conduct a study and write an article for potential publication or a drama student might write a play.

“First, I search articles about the differences between celebrities and influencers, the data of social media users, and social media platforms. After learning the process, I made an Instagram account and started posting pictures I took. And then see how I can get more followers and maintain the number of followers.” Sakashita said she approached the other influencers that have lots of followers to learn how to gain followers.

The capstone project contract the instructor writes with the student will specify how many quarters the project will take and how the 5 credits will be distributed in those quarters. The honors program has reserved the course numbers 291, 292 and 293 for every discipline in the college. When the first quarter’s work is completed, the student receives the course title, (DISCIPLINE) 291: Honors Capstone Contract, on their transcript—and similarly for the second quarter (292) and third (293), depending on how many quarters the project spans. The student can get credit for any quarter of the work completed, even if the project is not completed in its entirety and even if that student does not ultimately meet the criteria necessary to graduate with honors. 

“If you are considering whether to do the honors project, I encourage you to talk to professors first. They would help you to imagine what the honors project means for you. My professor, Jo-Ann Sickles, encouraged me to do the honors and capstone projects, and she helped with my project from the beginning to the end.” Sakashita said.

These contracts seek to give students the opportunity to work closely with an instructor, to do learning more in line with 300- or 400-level independent coursework and to do work a professional in that discipline might do. If any student qualifies, they simply complete and send in their online application once they have completed English 101. For more information on the honors program talk to Dr. Diane S. Brown or visit: https://www.everettcc.edu/honors.