UTAH TECH UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE | March 29, 2024

Dixie State University sets new honors program into motion

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The newest Honors Program will offer a challenging curriculum and a different classroom experience for students in the fall. 

Smaller class sizes and mentoring by honors faculty are just a few of the benefits students in the program will receive. Students will also have more opportunities for undergraduate research, scholarships and graduation recognition.

Honors Program Director Sue Bennett said faculty will be approaching these courses differently than regular classes.

“[The classes aren’t] more work; it’s just a different approach,” Bennett said. “[The classes are] much more student-led and student-driven [with] much more input from students rather than just passively listening to a lecture.”

The faculty teaching the courses were recommended to Bennet by the different departments. She said some of the best professors at the college will be teaching the honors classes.

Sociology Professor Matt Smith-Lahrman will be teaching the sociology honors class in the spring.

“[The classes will] be slightly different than the regular courses,” Smith-Lahrman said. “We’ll be more involved in some sort of community activities for instance, or maybe we’ll get out of the classroom a little bit more.”

Since the sociology class is not offered until the spring, Smith-Lahrman said the course is still in the planning stages.

Bennett said the new program is geared toward incoming freshmen because it is still in its early stages. All of the classes offered in the fall semester are general education courses, including English, biology, psychology, music and math. The sociology course will be offered in the spring instead of psychology.

Bennett said the program must establish a core group of students before upper division classes will be offered.

Although the program is geared toward incoming freshmen, current students can also be in the program. An associate degree with honors will be offered to students in the program, and a bachelor’s degree will be offered in the future.

In order to receive an associate degree with honors, students must have and maintain a 3.5 GPA or better, be enrolled as a full-time student, complete 12 hours of honors courses, complete an introduction to honors course, and submit an e-portfolio of their academic work.

In order for students to be admitted into the program, they must fill out an application at www.dixie.edu/academics/honors_program.php and write a 300-word essay. All applications must be submitted by March 1.