Loras College > Academics > Honors Program > Mission & Goals of Honors Program

Honors Program Mission and Goals

The Loras College Honors Program is dedicated to enriching the academic, social, and ethical experience of academically talented and intellectually curious students at Loras College through a series of courses dedicated to nurturing an ethical and imaginative engagement with the world and introducing "Great Ideas" from around the globe that have helped shape perceptions of justice and society.

The program offers a sequence of courses taught by excellent and creative instructors that challenges students to work hard, think creatively, and see the world with understanding, compassion, and imagination. The sequence of classes, entitled "Imagining a Better World" focuses on what Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship can offer to community, society, and the globe. It asks students to face the challenges offered by Jesus Christ to "love your neighbor as yourself" and Mohandas Gandhi to "be the change you wish to see in the world" in their own areas of interest and special ability. Incorporated into Honors courses is attention to issues of diversity, discovery, and service. All courses are interdisciplinary and interactive, introduce students to some of the most important "Great Ideas" that have helped to shape the ethical and social foundations of societies, and many have a significant experiential component and involve independent or group research.

The Honors Program does not require students to take substantial additional credits, but instead provides an alternative means by which students can fulfill the liberal arts general education requirements in the Loras College curriculum. The learning community that develops in Honors is one that is designed to embrace the principle "pro Deo et gentibus et mundo"--in other words that it finds meaning in service to God, humanity, and the earth. It understands the Catholic mission of the College as one of hospitality in an environment of global diversity, community in the context of change, and mediation in a world of need and discontent.

Goals and Outcomes: Intellectual Curiosity, Moral Inquiry, and Vocational Outreach

Outcomes

To attract intellectually gifted, creative, and curious students and excellent teachers
To foster a vibrant community of learning in the classroom and in social and co-curricular activities
To urge students to become actively involved in the life of the college community through leadership, organizations, the arts, or athletics
To offer challenging, stimulating, and innovative courses
To provide opportunities for research for students and, ideally, faculty
To provide opportunities for meaningful and reflective service for students and faculty
To encourage growth in personal compassion, empathy, and cross-cultural competence through experiential learning and language study
To provide students with opportunities for professional and/or vocational development
To offer students a foundational education in "Great Ideas"¨ from a range of cultural, geographic, chronological, and social settings that can cross-fertilize and inform each other

Goals

To develop in students an understanding of needs in society and the world
To facilitate in students a desire to use their talents, abilities, and expertise to contribute in creative and positive ways to the betterment of the world
To offer students substantial reflective opportunities through exposure to diverse ideas and experiences
To nurture in students an appreciation for and understanding of "moral inquiry"
To encourage in students the highest level of performance academically in order to empower them professionally and ethically, motivating them with a keen sense of justice