2010 Site Visitors - Stephan Flores
| Email: | sflores@uidaho.edu |
| Institution: | University of Idaho |
| Address: | University Honors Program |
| Phone: | (208) 885-6147 |
| Fax: | (208) 885-7722 |
| Institution Type: | 4-year |
| Program Type: | Comprehensive, Land-Grant University |
| Program Enrollment: | 400 per semester |
| Present Position: | Director, University Honors Program (since 1999) |
| Previous Honors Positions: | *Interim Director, UI Honors Program (1998) |
| NCHC Membership Dates: | 1994-2010 |
NCHC Activities Related to Honors Program Assessment (limited to 5):
- Full session presentation on “Renewal and Validation in Honors: How NCHC-Site Visitors Can Help,” at Western Regional Honors Council Conference (6-7 March 2009, Spokane, WA); also accompanied and helped to arrange for 10 honors students to present their research in two sessions and in a poster session at this conference.
- Panelist and workshop presenter on “Internal and External Evaluations of Honors Programs/Colleges,” in the “Developing in Honors” workshop for continuing honors directors, at the National Collegiate Honors Council Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, 31 October 2002.
Participated in the National Collegiate Honors Council Faculty Institute on Honors Assessment and Evaluation, 8-11 July 2004, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Activities in other areas or organizations related to honors assessment or site visits, workshops, etc. regarding honors programs/colleges and/or other academic areas.
- External Review Experience: Evaluation of Northern Arizona University’s Honors Program, Flagstaff, 8-10 May 2000. Co-reviewer with Dr. Len Zane, then Dean of the Honors College at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and past-president of the National Collegiate Honors Council.
- Prepared materials for 2008 Honors Program Self-Study and External Program Review (52 p. Annual Report, also Summary/Introduction with appended data, and additional 200 pp. of documents). Recent program assessment includes one-to-one interviews with 15 honors program faculty; “recruitment” and “retention” surveys of 200 honors students and 200 nonhonors students; related “marketing” consultations.
- 17 May 2007. “Assessment Workshop.” University of Idaho, and other related university workshops on learning outcomes, and direct and indirect measures, during 2007.
- 14 August 2006. Presented materials on “What the Best College Teachers Do” and coordinated honors student panelists, for new UI faculty.
- 2001-2003, UI Top Scholar Task Force, including visit to Arizona State University’s Barrett Honors College, March 2002, and video teleconference consultation with honors director Dr. Steve Wainscott, Clemson University, as part of self-study evaluation of best practices for “top scholars.”
- 1999-2000, Co-chair of the National Collegiate Honors Council Committee on Gender and Ethnicity
- Co-presenter with Dr. Alton Campbell for session at ACADA advising symposium, on advising honors students, 11 September 2009, Moscow, ID.
On the Role of the Site Visitor as Consultants & Program Reviewers
Stephen Flores, Director University of Idaho Honors Program
Site Visitors and Program Reviewers attend to values widely associated with honors education and consult with the host institution and honors director to determine within the context of each program how such values may be understood and realized. As reported recently by Gregory Lanier (co-chair of the National Collegiate Honors Council Assessment and Evaluation Committee) in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of the Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, the NCHC Board of Directors proffered the following list of reasons to underscore the value of honors education: High-caliber students provide intellectual enrichment for the entire campus; Retention and six-year-persistence rates are often much higher for honors students, so graduation rates are better; The higher retention rates for honors students have a significant economic impact on the campus; Honors students bring social enrichment to campus; Honors students bring service enrichment to the community through service activities; Honors students provide an active and effective alumni base; Honors students have good personal experiences: the small college within the large university feel; Honors students create a community of like-minded individuals; Honors residential living enriches campus; Honors alumni create donation/development opportunities; Honors programs foster the exploration and development of new courses/pedagogy; Honors programs provide faculty/student interactions/mentoring opportunities; Honors programs contribute significantly to the institution’s undergraduate research agenda; Honors students provide leadership & involvement on campus (“Towards Reliable Honors Assessment” JNCHC 84). The values represented in this list are understood primarily in the context of honors education and in accord with the institution’s university-wide learning outcomes and strategic emphases, allocations of resources, and recognized and developing strengths. Program assessment also occurs in the context of the National Collegiate Honors Council’s guidelines document, Basic Characteristics of a Fully Developed Honors Program.
As may be noted, for example, in each program’s statement of mission and goals, an honors program typically offers the advantages of an enriched learning community and course of study for students from across the disciplines. Programs may offer small honors core courses in general education and innovative seminars; as part of a dynamic, broad-based education, program members are encouraged to participate in domestic or international exchange programs, and to take advantage of opportunities to engage in undergraduate research programs as well as internships, other forms of cooperative education, and volunteer and service-learning. Program directors/staff act as supplemental academic advisors to all students who qualify for honors study. Beyond the classroom, a program’s extra-curricular opportunities may include support to attend concerts, plays, films, lectures, and off-campus excursions that foster cultural enrichment, friendship, and learning.
As a recent external reviewer of our program has stated: “It is essential that the institution and program regularly complete their own self-study, one that openly and honestly describes the existing program, services, and resources; identifies its mission and objectives; examines its effectiveness; establishes new practices and strengthens existing ones; and develops a strategic plan for future opportunities” (Tamara Valentine, University of Nevada-Reno). And as Rosalie Otero and Bob Spurrier affirm in their monograph, Assessing and Evaluating Honors Programs and Honors Colleges: A Practical Handbook (2005), "The site visitors who are selected will do their best to provide an objective evaluation of the Honors Program or Honors College as well as any challenges that it faces, but they also will be advocates for Honors education."
Reviewers engage with students, faculty, staff, and administrators to develop a comprehensive understanding of program strengths and constraints, and to advocate for opportunities that match the objectives of the institution in its local context, and in view of national and peer aspirations and practices.
As Bob Spurrier declares: “The bottom line for any consulting or external review is that it should be conducted in a manner that can be most beneficial for the Honors Program or Honors College and for the institution as a whole.”