The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees voted to establish the UConn Honors College last Wednesday.
According to the Board of Trustees’ agenda last week, the establishment will build on the already existing Honors Program and address issues caused by financial deficits. The Honors College has requested an additional $500,000 annually from the university to meet its needs.
“The Honors College allows us to have a bigger impact, both on the faculty that advises us as well as the students that are in the college,” Ryan Krishna, a seventh-semester honors student and speaker at the Board of Trustees meeting, said.
Over the past 10 years, the college’s funding has decreased by 13% due to tight budget constraints, according to the agenda. Simultaneously, the number of honors enrollments has increased by 17% to about 2,648 students, inaugural Honors College Dean Jennifer Lease Butts said.
These trends have led to possible challenges such as the college exceeding its capacity. Due to decreased funding and low staff numbers, the Honors College only allows enrollment for 600 incoming students, 550 on the main campus and 50 on other regional campuses, according to the agenda.
Lease Butts said she doesn’t want to deny any students’ entry into the Honors College.
“I want every student who wants an honors education to have one,” she said. “I don’t want to have to turn students away because we don’t have the resources and the support to provide them.”
The requested amount will help support the current enrollment and the consistent increase over time, according to the agenda.
“There’s been a lot of individuals that want to be in honors, but there aren’t enough spots,” Krishna said. “Having an Honors College widens that so now we can accept more students that want to pursue honors.”
Besides the possible capacity issue, the decreased funding has increased the number of staff cuts. Lease Butts said four staff positions were cut and have yet to be fulfilled. This has led to other positions doing multiple jobs to keep up with the demand, she said.
“Everyone’s willing to do their best, but at the end of the day, there’s only so many hours,” Lease Butts said. “It’s truly a loss of work hours and productivity when you lose a staff member.”
The requested amount will create a dean position, expand the current staff and develop an Honors Faculty Fellows Program, according to the agenda.
Anna Baltsevych, a third semester honors student and speaker at the Board of Trustees meeting, said additional staff would greatly benefit honors students.
“With more faculty and advisors, students would have greater access to honors courses and not rely on converting regular classes to honors, which can be a hassle,” she said.
The main goal for the Honors College is to provide a better educational experience and widen the opportunities for students, Lease Butts said. The college will have more ability to fundraise and obtain donor support for scholarships and enrichment awards. The college will also be able to offer more honors courses, advising and housing with the university’s support, Lease Butts said.
Baltsevych reflected on how the Honors College builds on the previous program.
“The requirements that were needed to get into the honors program stay the same,” she said. “But now we have more resources, fundraising and a dedicated budget going towards us.”