Congratulations on considering an honors contract. Here are a few guidelines to assist you in being “committee” approved with the initial submission.

State how the proposed contract differs from what the student would traditionally be expected to complete in your class;

Specify the proposed contract outcome. Is it a presentation, a paper, a research experiment, field study, a competition? You must be able to quantify the end result in your proposal.

If you have multiple outcomes stated in your proposed contract, (a paper and a presentation, for example) ALL components must be successfully submitted to you before honors credit will be awarded. If it is in the proposed contract, a partial submission does not equal honors credit. So, be sure and ask yourself if the contract is reasonable.

If your proposed contract is a paper, specify the number of external resources you will require; the length of the paper, and the type of citation to be used. Clearly, you will want to include how the paper and resources differ from what the non-honors student is expected to do.

If your proposed contract is a presentation or power-point, specify the time and/or length. And, when will you see/hear the presentation before it is presented to the class… proposing a class presentation as a contract should include a time that you will pre-approve the presentation before the honors candidate presents to your class.

The best proposed contracts “name” the faculty mentoring piece. How often will you meet with the student? State the deadline date of the project.