Honors Program Community

Cohort-based Education

The honors cohort is a critical part of the creation and sustaining of community within the honors program. For the first two years at Northwest, you will take two classes per semester with your cohort. This structure allows for more in-depth educational opportunities, but it also enables you to form relationships based on shared experiences and knowledge. A crucial component of this approach is a willingness to engage in a respectful and loving manner with your peers. Keep in mind that even though you may have differences in interests and experiences, you are joined together by your love of Christ and by your passion for learning.

One final note on the cohort model is that we deliberately are not creating an entirely separate academic experience for honors students. We are committed to providing a community within your honors cohort, but also allowing space for you to join in with the larger NU community in whatever ways you choose. The honors program will work to provide you with avenues for engagement with campus life.

Colloquium and Events

In addition to classroom learning with your cohort, there will also be opportunities for community building through various colloquia and events throughout the academic year. There will be three types of events. The first will be specifically for your cohort. In the first semester, this will usually take the shape of a reading group, Bible study, or some other extra-curricular activity organized by members of each cohort. Second, once or twice per semester we will bring together all of the cohorts for a large group event, such as a trivia night, board game tournament, or off-campus performance/lecture. Finally, we will occasionally have events that reach beyond the honors program and into the broader campus community. These will combine service and community, as you will be involved in these events both as participants as well as creators, sharing your interests, gifts, and talents with the entire student body.

Space to Grow

One of the chief points of emphasis in our desire for community is an acknowledgement that true community needs space to grow. The honors program is committed to providing that space. Practically, this means that we will not fill your time with “busy work," even in the name of community building. Our emphasis on community will be intentional and deliberate yet non-intrusive as we encourage you to mirror our intentionality with your own efforts to develop and strengthen your ties to your cohort, campus, and broader community.

One final note is that if you are struggling with community, either through too many commitments preventing you from growing deep roots or from difficulties in making initial connections, please talk with Dr. Thompson, the Honors Program Director.

Service to Others

In addition to excelling at academics and growing through community, as a student in the honors program, you will also be required to engage in service activities. This requirement, however, is not something you will be expected to arrive at Northwest and immediately know exactly how to serve. Your first semester will largely consist of figuring out, in conversation with your cohort and the honors leadership, where you have a desire to serve. This service may be fulfilled through tutoring, mentoring, serving in ASNU, traveling with the debate team, or through participating in any number of other opportunities both on- and off-campus.

While there will not be mandatory service activities, service itself is required of all honors students. The honors program will sponsor several service opportunities throughout the year, as well as providing a list of regular service opportunities on campus and in the community, along with contact information. We are committed to helping you fulfill this commitment. In your semester meeting with Dr. Thompson, you will be asked to provide proof of service activity.