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Based on personal observation of Honors programs and Honors colleges that I have visited during the last decade in several parts of the U.S., I have found that in virtually all cases, their deans and directors are talented, highly motivated individuals who have been chosen as Honors administrators for all the right reasons: they are capable leaders who have not lost touch with their faculty roles and their fundamental commitment to the ideal of a liberal arts education. Running such programs in the midst of a fundamental transition in the nature of American higher education has proven difficult, however; many U.S. colleges and universities are becoming so focused on the growth of graduate education and the advancement of externally-funded research agendas that the original purpose of the university – to produce well-rounded, inquisitive, liberally educated undergraduates – is becoming more difficult to discern. So I have found that many Honors colleges and programs are swimming upstream against the challenges of flat or decreasing budgets, declining institutional commitment to excellence in undergraduate education, and reduced availability of faculty to teach Honors courses (in consequence of increased faculty commitment to graduate education and research).

In light of this situation, my sense of the proper role of an NCHC-qualified site visitor is not only to provide a fair and objective review of the Honors college or program, but also to serve as an advisor, mentor, and advocate for the often-beleaguered dean or director. The site visitor needs to acquire a thorough understanding of the challenges that the Honors program faces in the total institutional environment of the college or university. The site visitor’s report, if based on a prior self-study report and grounded in a broad and thorough series of interviews with all stakeholders in the Honors college or program, should result in a set of recommendations that serve the interests of those stakeholders and convey to upper administrators a persuasive statement of the value of sustaining the achievements and nourishing the possibilities of Honors education on that campus. A site visitor should be a welcome, supportive presence within the Honors program offices, a persistent, inquisitive investigator who finds the “real facts” of a program and its broader institutional context, and a passionate advocate for the role of Honors education in his/her meetings with the Provost and President. The site visitor must clearly articulate the challenges and external threats faced by an Honors program, and most important, envision realistic, cost-effective ways of addressing those challenges and moving the program forward. It’s always best for the site visitor to present just a few detailed, concrete proposals for improvement, rather than a long list of impossible goals! A good site visitor not only evaluates what’s currently in place, but also imagines things that are not there, and helps the dean or director (and other program stakeholders) to become engaged in truly transformative change.

A good site visitor is above all an educator. He or she must help the Honors program dean or director understand where their program stands in the context of national best practices. And an effective site visitor will also find ways to educate upper administrators, many of whom (in their best selves) still remember and value the historic mission of American higher education, to inform and enlighten students from all walks of life and prepare them for leadership in the real world.