Academic Engagement
Honors professors are not the gatekeepers of learning, they are active partners who often learn from their students just as much as they teach. At SIUE, we break the mold of rote memorization that is, unfortunately, endemic to a large number of K-12 programs across the country. Interdependence and dialogue in the classroom demands contributions from each member of an honors course.
Just as the honors program helps shape its members, its members shape the program. We understand that educational needs evolve over time, and we encourage and empower our students to guide the program and its courses in fruitful directions. Students serve on the governing body of the Honors Program—the University Honors Advisory Council (UHAC)—and help advise the director. For example, students in the past have successfully advocated for the creation of honors courses dealing with particular topics, including ignorance, social justice and anti-racism, and citizenship.
In this way, each honors student is encouraged to take full ownership of the trajectory and richness of their educational experience with the promise that their engagement will pay off later in life.
Academic Engagement
Jackson Hoang
Class of 2020, Biology (Medical Science)
“One of the most important factors in choosing a university involves its potential to help you achieve your goals. Through honors courses, my ingrained patterns of thinking were challenged. I learned the importance of being empathetic and open to new ideas. When I started at SIUE, I wanted to become a physician, and now I’m a medical school student at the University of Wisconsin, studying with a full ride.”
