Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Foundations of Honors (Face-to-Face)

HONR 1040-H02

Course: HONR 1040-H02
Credits: 1
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: Library & Information Science
CRN: 31898

Course Description

Students will be introduced to and explore the fundamental skillsets required to succeed as students at Southern Utah University and in the SUU Honors Program by developing an understanding of the complete student experience at college and the interdisciplinary nature of an Honors education. The class will emphasize seminar-style discussions and teamwork, develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and explore issues related to holistic student health and wellbeing. This one-credit seminar course is required of all new Honors students. (Fall, Spring) [Pass/Fail] Registration Restriction(s): Acceptance into Honors Program; Intensive English Program majors may not enroll

Required Texts

There is no required textbook for this class.
Early in the semester, we will read a section of Plato's "Republic" and discuss as a class.
We will also read an essay from The Atlantic on "The Age of Reading is Over" (August 2026 issue) 

After these initial weeks weeks, the students in this class will select the readings and other credible resources to fit the theme of our class. 

All assigned readings will be available on the course Canvas page.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Critical Thinking: Students in this course will develop intellectually disciplined processes of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. Over the course of the semester, students will prepare for and participate in class seminars, explore Big Questions, and work as part of a team to present answers and findings. Students will be assessed via participation in and leadership of class seminars, discussions, and their contributions to a comprehensive class presentation.
  2. Problem Solving: Students in this course will design, evaluate, and implement strategies to answer open-ended questions or achieve a desired goal. Students will prepare for and participate in class seminars, explore Big Questions, and work as part of a team to present  answers and findings. Students will be assessed via participation in and leadership of class seminars, discussions, and their contributions to a comprehensive class presentation.
  3. Communication: Students in this course will communicate appropriately and effectively to peers, the instructor, and others throughout the numerous activities and assignments in this course. Students will interact with peers as they research and prepare for the Big Question seminars, participate with others during in-class activities, and  may write online discussion reflections and other course assignments. 
  4. Teamwork: Students in this course will interact productively with others (in and out of class) to complete assignments, tasks, and projects. Working in an interdisciplinary team, students will identify and define the course's Big Question, investigate relevant credible resources, interact with peers in discussions and reflections, and prepare an in-class team seminar. Students will be assessed via their research sources, their interactions in classroom meetings and discussions, their group seminar.

Course Requirements

This is a Pass / Fail Class.


Students who attend and actively participate in most class seminars, discussions, and activities; complete all assignments; and contribute to the class’s Big Question Project will pass this course and likely officially be invited to continue in the SUU Honors Program. Students who do not come to class or show effort while they are in class and who do not complete at least 60% of the course activities will be in jeopardy of not passing this course. 

ACTIVITIES & ASSIGNMENTS: 
The students in the class will help determine the assignments for this class (e.g. quizzes, preparing discussion questions, reading summaries, reading reflections, podcasts, journal articles, etc.) oriented around the class's "Big Question" (to be determined . . . by the members of the class).

 However, there are five required assignments, in addition to regular attendance / participation in class:

1. Seminar: Seminar-style learning is a hallmark of an SUU Honors education. Students will participate in our Seminars both as facilitators (Seminar Leaders) and as students. All students are expected to come to each class period prepared and willing to engage in seminar-style discussion. In addition, each student will take a turn (typically in groups or teams) as a Seminar Leader in charge of facilitating that week's activities and discussion. Seminar-Leaders select seminar materials and prepare discussion-questions in advance. More specifically:
  • The Seminar Leaders are responsible for locating reading/discussion materials for their assigned class period and sending them to the instructor by 5pm one week prior to their assigned day. The instructor will post the materials and any special instructions to Canvas. The Seminar Leaders are also responsible for preparing 3-5 discussion questions for their assigned class period and topic.
  • Each meeting, all students will share a thought on or impression of the assigned reading or other discussion material.
  • Students are expected to participate meaningfully. Meaningful participation means contributing to the discussion with relevant, thoughtful comments; respectfully engaging in debates and conversations; and being attentive and respectful during class by listening to classmates, refraining from distracting cell phone use (texting, social media, games, etc.), and only having class-related materials displayed on laptops/tablets/cell phones.

2. Academic Plan: After meeting with the university-assigned advisor, students will submit a proposed academic plan that includes the coursework required for their major and the coursework required to graduate with Honors.

3. Mock Honors Contract Proposal: After viewing the contract videos and attending class to learn more about honors contracts, students will design a Mock Honors Contract based on a course they are planning to take in the Spring Semester. Students will acquire the required paperwork, fill it out properly, and submit it for feedback. 

4. Comprehensive Project: Students will incorporate information from the class's “Big Question” into a final assignment or project, to be presented at the final meeting. All students must participate in the creation of this project which should be at least 10 minutes long and completely determined by the class as a whole. This is a great opportunity to be creative, to hone teamwork skills, and to bring the key points of the Big Question project together into one final presentation.

5. Course Reflection & Exit Interview: The last week of the semester, students will respond to a series of reflection questions to explore what they have learned over the course of the semester and how well they have acclimatized to the Honors Program. During the final exam period, students will complete a kind of reflective “exit interview” with the instructor and a member of the Honors administration.

6. Honors & SUU On-Campus Activities: Honors at SUU has long been an "in-person" program. Of course, there is value to remote work and learning, but one of the goals of this course is to foster in-person communities and experiences. So, one of the requirements of this course is to attend Three on-campus events this semester, Two of which must be Honors-related. 

Course Outline

Many of our classes will be determined by the members of the class. 
Broadly speaking, the course will develop along the following lines (although some substitutions might be necessary depending on the schedule of the Honors Director, the number of students in the course, etc):

Week 1 - Introduction to the Class and to the Course
Week 2 - Meet our Peer-Mentors
Week 3 - Model Seminar - Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" (from the Republic)
Week 4 - Devise our "Big Question"
Week 5 - Academic Advising & Four-Year Plans to Graduation with Honors
Week 6 - Honors Contracts & Experience Waivers
Week 7: Model Seminar on "The Age of Reading is Over"
Week 8: Student-Led Seminar 1
Week 9: Student-Led Seminar 2
Week 10: Student-Led Seminar 3
Week 11: Student-Led Seminar 4
Wee 12: Student-Led Seminar 5
Week 13: Work on Comprehensive Project
Week 14: Comprehensive Project (in class)
Finals Week: Reflections & Exit-Interviews

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Deadlines are important, and typically, late work is not accepted. Students should always communicate with the Instructor if an assignment is (or will be) late. Students in extenuating circumstances may turn in late work with the instructor's permission, and any approved late work must be submitted within a week of the original due date. 

Turning in work late and/or failing to communicate with the Instructor about late submissions may affect a student's current standing in the Honors Program. 

Extreme cases will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Attendance Policy

ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION

As this is a Seminar-class, attendance AND participation are vital to the learning experience.
Attendance and participation in this course are required and are vital for this class's Seminar-style teaching and learning.  

To pass: Contribute thoughtfully in each class, take notes, interact fully with others at least 60% of the classes. Complete 60% (or higher) of assignments on time.
To pass with Honors Expectations: Contribute thoughtfully in each class, take notes, interact fully with others in all classes. Complete all assignments on time, make appropriate revisions when necessary.

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.