Regent University’s New Honors College
As Regent University students bring spring 2021 midterms to a close, it is a good time to reflect on what the school has accomplished during such a hard year. A lot changed leading up to the 2020-21 school year, one of the most notable achievements being the new Regent University Honors College.
Over the years past, Regent has had a very select honors program that invites 25 students from each freshman class to complete their general education requirements with small cohorts. These classes are discussion-based and drive far into classical learning traditions to enrich the educational experience. However, Regent’s new Honors College is inviting more students from each year to participate in an honor’s program that is fully integrated into the Regent community. They have the new challenge of completing five additional courses and the requirement of earning “life leadership points” according to the L.I.F.E. model: great Learning, great Instruction, great Faculty, and great Expectations.
Nearly seventy students, making up the new Honors College, are currently enrolled in HONS 200: The Great Family. This course builds upon the material covered in the fall semester (HONS 150: The Good Person) to discover how the individual influences the family and vice versa, and how the family influences society. In this course, students are exploring great works of literature, theology, and philosophy including excerpts from the Summa Theologia by Thomas Aquinas, Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, the novel The Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dosteoksy, the Odyssey by Homer, The Classic of Filial Piety from the Confucian School, and more. These students are held to a high standard of work as they synthesize and debate the topic of family in lengthy essays to be compiled into a portfolio at the end of the semester. The course titles for the following semesters are The Just Society, The Exceptional Country, and The Flourishing World.
This study of great works would not be complete without a component urging students to leave the comforts of the classroom. Regent’s new Honors College requires students to earn ten Life Leadership points a semester, totaling twenty a year. Life Leadership points are most traditionally earned through lecture series with highly esteemed professors, but students may also seek out research opportunities, mentorships, tutorials, study abroad trips, and internships.
This semester, the Honors College is providing options like documentary viewings paired with discussions led by Dr. Harrington, Zoom lectures such as Dr. King’s “Review and Analysis of Federalist 51,” and classroom tutorial series such as Dr. Hankle’s discussion of “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankl. Students must be vigilant to stay informed as many of the sign-ups for these events fill up within minutes, proving their enthusiasm and commitment to excellence.
The Honors College program is open to both on-campus and commuting students as well as transfer students, a significant change from the past years’ honors program. These students are well rewarded with exclusive scholarship opportunities, proving their hard work worthwhile. Please join us in praying for the new scholars of the 2021-22 school year as they explore God’s plan for their college experience and consider Regent University’s Honors College.
