Honors track slow to change

The much talked about expansion of UNC’s Honors Program has hit a standstill, as officials continue to search for funds that could make the initiative a reality.

Chancellor James Moeser first highlighted the proposal in his 2002 State of the University address, arguing that bolstering the program would ensure that UNC stayed competitive with its peer schools.

But the University has yet to line up a major sponsor, and no changes will occur until officials secure about $20 million in funding through the Carolina First campaign.

The campaign, UNC’s private fund-raising effort, has pledged to raise $40 million for the Honors Program by June 2007.

Del Helton, director of communications for the Arts & Sciences Foundation — the fund-raising arm of the College of Arts & Sciences — said the campaign has raised about $12 million to $13 million of that money.

The expansion would include at least 10 additional faculty positions, which in turn would help increase enrollment, said James Leloudis, associate dean of the program.

“A smaller program definitely puts us at a competitive disadvantage,” he said, noting that he hopes to find a funding source within the next year.

The Honors Program accepts 200 students from a pool of about 3,500 incoming students each year.

Leloudis said he wants to see annual enrollment bolstered to 350 students, or 10 percent of each class.

Such an increase would place the number of students in the Honors Program in line with peer universities.

Steve Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions, said the Office of Admissions often uses the Honors Program as a selling point when recruiting potential students to campus.

“Students are attracted to the notion of working within a smaller community,” he said.

Farmer added that additional honors spaces might attract higher quality students to the University.

“We could increase the quality of the student body and our ability to recruit students from North Carolina and around the country,” he said.

“If a student is admitted to another school’s honor program and not ours, it isn’t hard to imagine what school they’ll pick.”

Students often cite their failure to gain admission to the Honors Program as one of the factors they turn down admission at the University, Farmer said, though it is not the leading factor in those choices.

But the University’s program does come with some advantages.

Officials said its inclusive nature is one of its strong points. Any student with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher can enroll in honors classes if space is available.

“Programs at other schools work on the assumption that 18-year-olds are fully intellectually formed,” Leloudis said.

“That is just not correct.”

Ashley Castevens, a member of the Honors Program Student Executive Board, said administrators and faculty have tried to make the honors experience more cohesive and community-based during the last few years.

“We have been working on creating an environment where we have more than just a listserv,” she said.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.