Policies and Procedures

I. Overview

The Honors Program at Moravian College offers Seniors of proven ability the opportunity to pursue a year-long study of special interest under the personal guidance of a faculty member who serves as the Honors Project Advisor. While Honors students usually choose a topic in their major, they may select another academic area or even a combination of areas. Honors study is invaluable preparation for graduate school; the experience has also proven to useful to students entering the professional world. Honors students should devote at least one-fourth of their academic activity to their projects.

The Honors Program is only open to full-time students enrolled in Moravian College's day program.

The Moravian College Alumni Association generously awards one or two scholarships in the sum of $1500 to Honors candidates each year. For information and an application, see the Alumni Awards page.

Students usually participate in the Honors Program during their last two semesters at Moravian, typically the Fall and Spring of their senior year. However, students are encouraged to apply for Spring/Fall participation (or other sequences) if they have other obligations during their senior year (such as student teaching) or if they intend to finish all of their requirements in the Fall. Hereafter, the two semesters of Honors will be referred to as Semester I and Semester II.

II. Eligibility and Application

Juniors whose grade point average is 3.0 or better and whose average in the field of Honors work is 3.3 or better are eligible submit an Honors Program Application. (Students who fail to maintain this average during the Program may be discontinued.) Students who have transferred to Moravian will have only the course grades at Moravian counted toward their eligibility. Usually transfer students are eligible only after completing two full terms, or eight course units, at Moravian. However, transfer applicants will be considered on an individual basis.

Before submitting an application, students are encouraged to learn more about the Honors Program by browsing through the collection of past Honors Theses in Reeves Library. Students should consult with their academic advisors, and/or the chair or members of the department in which they would like to do Honors. Discussions with faculty members whose expertise matches the student's areas of interest should help to clarify the project's objectives.

Project advisors should guide students in the composition of a statement outlining the proposed project in terms of scope, research methods and, if possible, a working bibliography. The Honors Committee has the authority to accept, reject, or request revisions of any application.

To receive full consideration, applications should be submitted no later than semester midterm. Under normal circumstances, applications will not be accepted after the end of classes.

A student accepted into Honors will receive written authorization from the Honors Committee Chair, at which time the student formally becomes an Honors candidate and is instructed to register for Course 400 during Semester I and Course 401 during Semester II.

All research involving human subjects must comply with the Policy for the Protection of Human Research Subjects. Where appropriate, candidates and project advisors should satisfy the requirements of this policy at the earliest possible date.

III. Withdrawing from Honors

Candidates who wish to withdraw from the Honors Program at any time should submit a written request to the Honors Committee Chair. With their advisor's approval, a grade of WP will be assigned for all withdrawals.Students who withdraw in this manner do not receive any course credit, but their grade point averages are not affected.

Alternatively, a candidate may submit a written petition to the Honors Committee requesting that Honors credit be switched to Independent Study credit. This request must be accompanied by a written note of support from the project advisor. If the Honors Committee supports the petition, then the Honors Chair contacts the Academic Dean of the College and the Academic Standards Committee recommending that they grant the candidate's request to switch Honors credit to Independent Study credit. If the Dean and the Academic Standards Committee agree, then the Academic Standards Committee in conjunction with the project advisor will determine what the student must do to complete the Independent Study Project. The final grade for the Independent Study is determined by the project advisor.

The Honors Committee reserves the right at any time, after consultation with the project advisor, to require that a candidate withdraw from the Honors Program because the candidate's work, overall performance, or grade point average has fallen below the standard expected for all Honors candidates.

IV. The Honors Calendar

So that they are fully familiar with the resources available at Reeves Library, students applying to join Honors are required to meet with a Reference Librarian before submitting their Honors application. Each candidate brings his or her application to this meeting. After the meeting, the librarian will sign the application and add any recommendations for further research orientation that seem warranted.

Candidates are expected to do substantial background work before Semester I begins and to verify that all of the resources needed to complete their projects successfully are available. Among other things, laboratory instruments should be checked and all necessary materials ordered.

Candidates who will need the approval of the Moravian College Human Subjects Internal Review Board will be asked to report on the status of their application to the Board. (See the previous section on human subjects.)

At the beginning of each semester, the Honors Committee hosts a meeting for all Honors candidates. These meetings provide an opportunity for students to meet one another and the members of the Committee and to discuss issues related to the program. Attendance at these meetings is mandatory.

Early in Semester I, the Honors Committee reviews the applications and assigns a liaison for each candidate. The liaison is the link between the Committee and the candidate and his or her project advisor. Candidates are encouraged to contact their liaisons at any time with questions, concerns, or problems. Issues that cannot be resolved by a liaison may be brought before the full Honors Committee for discussion.

During Semester I, candidates and their advisors are invited to a conference with the liaison. The conference lasts no longer than 30 minutes. Candidates are asked to give a brief (five to ten minute) oral presentation on their projects and their progress, and may use any audio-visual aids deemed necessary for this presentation. The candidate's presentation is followed by a brief question-and-answer period. The objective is to get substantive feedback from the candidate and advisor regarding their individual and collective perspective on the candidate's progress to date. After the conference, the liaison files a Conference Evaluation reporting to the Honors Committee about the status of the candidate’s project.

During the first weeks of Semester II, candidates attend a second Honors conference with their adviser and liaison. In addition, candidates prepare their Final Oral Examination Panel Nominations . The examination panel has five members: the liaison, who chairs the panel; the project advisor; and three other individuals knowledgeable in the candidate's area of research. At least one of these three people must be from the department in which the candidate is doing Honors work unless the liaison is from that department. The Honors Committee expects that one of the three individuals be an outside examiner, i.e., someone from outside of the Moravian College faculty.

Candidates completing Honors during the Spring semester will prepare a poster summarizing their project for the college community. (See the section of this page entitled Honors Poster Presentations.) Candidates will appear with their posters to answer questions about their work. Candidates who complete Honors during the Fall term are encouraged, but not required, to participate in the Spring poster presentation.

The Final Oral Examinations are scheduled approximately two weeks after the thesis has been sent to the panel. The oral examination panel evaluates the candidate's completed project and assigns the single grade which carries double course credit for the two terms of Honors work. In addition to the candidate and the panel, other members of the College community (faculty, staff, and students) may attend the examination with the permission of the candidate, advisor, and liaison. Such guests may only participate in the examination at the invitation of the liaison, and are excused during the panel's deliberations. Successful candidates are told what changes need to be made (if any) and when the final corrected copy of the thesis must be filed with Reeves Library.

V. Examination Procedure

1. When the candidate and all panel members are assembled for the examination, the Liaison will confirm that all panel members have been introduced to the candidate. The entire examination process should not exceed sixty minutes, including the time taken for the closed session vote. Observers may be present during the examination but may not participate unless invited by the Liaison.
2. Following the introduction of all panel members, the Liaison will invite the candidate to present an oral summary and description of his/her project. In no case should this oral presentation exceed ten minutes. The candidate may briefly review the chief points in the project, comment on issues that remain unresolved, and/or suggest directions in which the project might be taken in the future. If it seems advisable, the candidate is welcome to use PowerPoint or an overhead presentation, but this is not mandatory, and it should not be a distraction. Where a computer or projector is used, the candidate is responsible for making certain that the equipment is available and operational in the examination room. Whatever the format, it is important not to cover too much material, and the presentation should be practiced carefully in advance.
3. The summary is followed by a questioning period of no more than forty minutes, during which issues not discussed by the candidate may be addressed in response to questions asked by panel members. Each panel member should be afforded an equitable opportunity to ask questions. The Liaison should ensure that participants speak only to the issue. Tradition grants outside examiners the privilege of the first question, although the outside examiner may waive this privilege. With the consensus of the panel, the Liaison may shorten or briefly extend the examination period if such action does not interfere with the panel's sole objective. The examination should test the candidate's qualifications for Honors, not his or her physical stamina.
4. After the questioning period, the candidate and all observers are excused, and the final ten minutes of the Examination are reserved for the panel's discussion of the candidate's performance and for the final voting procedure (see below). Candidates are asked to wait while the panel deliberates, and are informed of the outcome of the Examination by the Liaison as soon as the panel reaches its decision. Grades for Honors are determined in a closed session by secret ballot. The Liaison will remind the panel of their stated function, the criteria for judgment, and the grading options (see below). Each panel member has one vote unless there are two advisors, in which case the ballot of each advisor counts as a half. With the consent of the Honors Committee, a panel member may invite a colleague who is not a member of the panel to participate in the examination and the determination of the grade. In such instances the adjunct panel member is assigned half the regular member's rights (half a question period, half a vote). The panel's discussion of the candidate's performance and the voting will be conducted in closed session with only panel members present. At least ten minutes should be reserved for this session.
5. At the conclusion of the examination, the Liaison will complete the Oral Examination Report and have each panel member sign it. The Liaison will inform the candidate orally immediately after the examination, but remind the candidate that the grade is official only upon receipt of a letter from the Honors Committee. The successful candidate will be given all copies of the thesis immediately after the exam. A successful candidate may be instructed to make editorial changes in the thesis. The Liaison will inform the successful candidate of the deadline for these changes and for filing the corrected copy with the Reeves Library Periodical Librarian (4:00pm on the Friday of Final Exams Week). Failure to meet this deadline will jeopardize the awarding of credit. It is the responsibility of the project advisor to ensure that the changes requested by the panel are made adequately. The Liaison has the authority to request a copy of the corrected thesis for his or her approval.
6. Under no circumstances will the Liaison tolerate the intrusion of non-academic considerations in the examination. The Liaison has the authority to require observers to leave the examination room, to call for a recess, or to dissolve the panel and to call for a new examination date should such action become necessary in the interest of academic standards and fairness. The Liaison's ruling in such instances is not dependent upon the judgment of panel members, but may be appealed to the Honors Committee which is the source of the Liaison's authority.

VI. The Function of the Final Oral Examination Panel and Criteria for Judgment

The panel must establish (a) the academic merits of the candidate's project and (b) the acceptability of the written format of the candidate's Honors Thesis. The scholarly practices and standards prevailing in the candidate's discipline in each instance will serve as the panel's standard for judgment. Deviations from such standards must have been approved by the Candidate's project advisor, and a signed statement to this effect must be included in the Thesis.

The panel will judge the thesis using the following criteria:

1. scholarship
2. originality in terms of the Candidate's handling of the project
3. fulfillment of stated objectives, allowing for reasons why these objectives were not or could not be reached
4. external standards of the thesis (structure, style, spelling, etc.)
5. effort required to achieve the results presented

The Liaison has the authority to postpone the award of the grade of Honors or Pass until the Candidate has met the panel's instructions regarding changes to the Thesis.

VII. Grades for Honors

Grades for the Honors Program are Honors (H), Pass (P), and No Credit (NC). Deadlocks occur when the first secret ballot results in one of the following possible cases: (i) 2-H, 1-P, 2-NC; (ii) 1-H, 2-P, 2-NC; (iii) 2-H, 2-P, 1-NC. A discussion by the members of the panel will precede a second secret ballot. If the panel remains deadlocked, an open vote will follow a second period of discussion. If the deadlock remains unresolved, the assigned grade will be Pass because each of the above three possible cases shows at least 3 votes for a passing grade.

For Honors, an "H" is entered on the transcript and computed as eight quality points in the grade point average, i.e., the equivalent of an "A" in Courses 400 and 401. For Pass, a "P" is entered on the transcript and the Candidate receives two course credits for Honors, but the Candidate's overall grade point average is not affected. For No Credit, "NC" is entered on the transcript and the Candidate receives no credit for either of the two Honors courses.

Each Candidate who receives an "H" graduates "with Honors" in the field of his/her Honors project. The Candidate's diploma carries the appropriate Latin phrase and the Commencement program specifies the applicable notation. The Theses of Candidates who receive Honors are bound and placed in Reeves Library.

VIII. Appealing the Final Grade

The right to appeal a panel's grade is recognized only when the appellant intends to provide evidence that the grade was the result of a violation of academic standards or ethics. Appeals are to be filed with the Honors Committee Chair. The full Honors Committee will rule on the merits of an appeal and will determine by majority vote whether to accept or reject an appeal for reconsideration. The Honors Committee does not have the authority to change a grade established by an examination panel, but it does have the authority to schedule a new examination. The ruling of the second Examination panel then becomes final and is not subject to appeal.

IX. Services Provided by Reeves Library

Reference: The Reference Librarians are available at the Reference Desk to assist Candidates in their research at the following times during the semester: 8:30- 5, and 6-10 Monday through Thursday; 8:30-4 on Friday, and 6-10 on Sunday. Candidates must schedule an appointment with a Reference Librarian in order to complete the application for the Honors Program. Librarians will offer suggestions on topic analysis and research strategy.

Circulation: Honors Candidates may check out books relating to their projects for an extended period of time, i.e., all Honors books are due on the last day of Semester II. To obtain the extended loan privilege, Candidates must tell the circulation desk staff (not a student assistant) that the book is being used for Honors research so that the due date can be changed on the system and a special date due stamp can be used. If Candidates do not inform the staff that a book is being used for Honors, the extended loan period will not be recorded and the usual fines will be imposed on overdue material. The Library may recall any book requested by another member of the Moravian College community.

LVAIC: Moravian College students, including Honors Candidates, may use facilities and check out materials from the libraries of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC): Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University and Muhlenberg College. Students must present a Moravian ID.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL): Reeves Library provides interlibrary loan services for all students, faculty and staff of Moravian College so that books may be borrowed and articles may be copied from thousands of other libraries. Reeves interlibrary loan staff will process all interlibrary loan requests; the borrower does not need to know which library owns a specific item. Candidates should submit requests in priority order; Reeves ILL staff is required to process only five requests per person per day. During busy times, some requests may be deferred. The length of time required to obtain material varies greatly, from a few days to a few weeks. For this reason, requests should be submitted well in advance of the date needed. At times, material may not be available at all due to lending libraries' restrictions. Candidates will be notified when the items they requested are ready to be picked up at the Circulation Desk or if an item is not available. All notifications (arrival or non-availability of material, new due dates for renewals, etc.) are made by phone call/phone message or email. Notices will be sent to campus mailboxes only as a last resort. Books borrowed through interlibrary loan have a due date assigned by the lending library, which is usually different from the due dates for Reeves Library. The Candidate is responsible for returning his/her materials on time to the Interlibrary Loan Office and for any fines resulting from overdue materials. A renewal request should be made several days before the item is due. National ILL guidelines allow only one renewal, but this is at the discretion of the lending library and may not be granted.

Interlibrary loan requests may be submitted in several ways:

1. Most of the online databases have a button to be used to initiate a request.
2. The library's homepage has electronic forms for borrowing books or ordering photocopies of articles.
   1. For books go to: http://home.moravian.edu/public/reeves/books/illBooks.htm
   2. For articles go to: http://home.moravian.edu/public/reeves/articles/illArticles.htm
3. Paper forms may also be used: pink forms are for book requests and yellow are for periodical article requests.
4. WorldCat and EZBorrow are end-user interlibrary loan services. Please see a Reference Librarian for assistance.

Photocopies obtained from one of the LVAIC libraries are 10 cents per copy. Photocopies not available through LVAIC libraries will be provided by Reeves Library at no cost to the Honors student. Note: Candidates who make photocopies on Reeves Library's copiers must pay 10 cents a copy.

X. The Honors Program and The Alumni Association

The Moravian College Alumni Association has been a loyal and generous supporter of the Honors Program for many years. Each year a Candidate is selected to receive the Alumni Association Honors Award. The $1500 Award is granted in two $750 installments, one at the beginning of Semester I and one at the beginning of Semester II. It is designed to enable a financially needy Candidate to devote more time to his or her project by reducing his or her employment obligations.

In 1981, the Moravian College Alumni Association provided the Honors Committee with the necessary funds to build ten locked library carrels. These carrels are assigned to Honors Candidates who have no laboratory space. If any carrels remain unassigned, they may then be assigned to other requesting students. Carrels must be requested through the Reeves Library reference librarians.

The Alumni Association also sets aside a modest amount of money every year to assist Honors Candidates with any extraordinary out-of-pocket expenses they incur as a direct result of working on their projects. In the past these monies have been used to subsidize attendance at professional conferences and/or seminars, the cost of mail surveys etc. Candidates may apply for this funding by writing a formal letter to the Honors Committee Chair along with an itemized account of relevant expenditures. Under most circumstances Candidates will receive full or partial reimbursement for those expenditures. This fund is limited and, therefore, Candidates are encouraged not to submit requests for support that exceed $100. Requests that do exceed that amount may be considered, but as with all requests only partial support may be granted. Before submitting a request Candidates should confirm that the department within which they are doing Honors cannot provide financial support for such expenses.

Finally, the Alumni Association sponsors several events during the year. Each semester, there is an Honors Colloquium, which serves several purposes. Semester II Candidates give a poster, short talk, or other presentation of their work in progress. This provides Candidates with early feedback on their work, and allows other members of the College Community to see what they have accomplished. Semester I Candidates and their advisors have the opportunity to meet their Liaisons, other members of the Honors committee, their fellow participants in the Honors Program, and special guests from the Alumni Association. Eligible Juniors contemplating the Honors Program are invited to learn more about the Program from current participants.

The Alumni Association also sponsors the Honors Banquet at the end of the Spring semester, just before the Final Oral Examinations. With the projects finally completed and on reserve in the Library, the banquet is a time to relax and to celebrate the hard work of each and every Honors Candidate. Candidates are encouraged to bring a family member or friend along to join the celebration. All project advisors and members of the Honors Committee are invited, along with a number of other special guests. Since 1993, Alumni celebrating the 25th anniversary of their having graduated Moravian with Honors also have been invited to the banquet. It is a wonderful Honors tradition that would not be possible if it were not for the generous support of the Alumni Association.