When
the idea was first brought up about starting an Honors Program at
EPCC, it was met with widespread skepticism. That was 20 years ago
and the program is still going strong today.
Drs. Joe Martinez, Larry Milbourne, Ted Johnston, along with retired
instructor Sandra Tate were all instrumental in the establishment
of the Honors Program.
"Among some of the comments I got initially, was that EPCC did
not have 'honors' quality students," Martinez said.
Martinez first presented the idea to Vice President of Instruction
Dr. Enrique Solis. Solis supported the idea if Martinez could get
the resources and the participants. There were only 20 students when
the program first started. The current amount of students enrolled
in the program is about 300.
(L)
Dr. Joe Martinez and Dr. Larry Milbourne are two of the instrumental
contributors to the establishment of the EPCC Honors program.
Photo by Jarred Cynor
The
current coordinator of the Honors Program, Carlos Armendariz said,
"The program is growing a lot and a lot of work has gone into
it."
Milbourne put together an articulation agreement and it was presented
to Lillian Mayberry at UTEP. In 1994 the agreement was official. Thanks
to this agreement, students in the Honors Program at EPCC can transfer
their honors credit to UTEP.
"I feel very accomplished and I could not have done it without
the help of Milbourne, Johnston, and former instructor Tate,"
said Martinez.
"I thought it was a good idea. All students have the potential
to evolve in the Honors Program. It's only a shame there aren't more
honors students," said Johnston.
Still, not everyone is satisfied with the Honors Program today. Milbourne
said, "The program was conceived to challenge students academically."
According to Milbourne, today's program is not challenging enough
and is not reaching the students.
"Standards have diminished significantly. Today, students are
only given extra work that isn't even challenging," said Milbourne.
"The program needs to be more selective with the projects that
are approved for acceptance. They are rewarding mediocrity with honors,"
said Milbourne.
"Instructors have a responsibility to give their students challenging
assignments for qualification into the program, not just 'extra' work.
Students need to be consistent with tasks they are given throughout
the entire semester. They need to take a leadership role in all their
classes," said Milbourne.
Benefits of the Honors Program include: honors credit designation
on your transcript, recognition at the annual Honors Program Convocation,
honors credits transfer to UTEP, and enhances opportunities towards
advanced study and scholarships.
Students must meet these criteria for participation: or have completed
no less than 12 hours of academic (non-remedial) course work and be
in good standing, or completed 12 hours of college level work (non-remedial)
at another accredited institution with a cumulative GPA of 3.25 on
a 4.0 scale.
All the founders agree on one thing, they are proud the Honors Program
has been supported for 20 years.
