Honors program officials plan to ask UCLA students for suggestions to redesign the College Honors Program for the next academic year.
Jennifer Lindholm, interim director of UCLA Honors Programs, said she wanted to revise the current model of the program after the former assistant vice provost for honors stepped down last spring. She added the honors curriculum has not been significantly revised for 30 years.
“We need to think creatively about how to enrich student learning and get advice from students themselves,” Lindholm said.
She added she has been working with Janina Montero, vice chancellor of student affairs, to involve more students in the program’s redesign. In a Tuesday afternoon email, Montero invited UCLA students to apply to be a part of a student advisory board that will assist the new program director.
Mark Santos, administrative specialist supervisor of the honors program, said the number of students who applied to the honors program declined by 13 percent, from 1,260 last year to 1,093 this year.
Santos said student retention in the program has been consistent over the years, and about 500 honors students graduate each year. Santos added about half of the students accepted into the honors program graduate with honors, but he isn’t sure why students drop out of the program.
“We’ve never conducted any surveys, so we don’t have the answers,” Santos said.
Shaina Kashanirokh, a third-year English student in the honors program, said she thinks students who graduate with honors have an upper edge in applying for jobs. Other students said they think the program should reach out to students to ask for their feedback.
Julian Araujo, a third-year political science student in the honors program, said the program doesn’t provide students with updates, unlike other programs, such as the Academic Advancement Program, which regularly send out emails.
“I am subscribed to their Facebook page, but they don’t post anything,” Araujo said. “Their last post was on Dec. 23 and only said their offices were closed for the winter.”
Lindholm said the program’s office has increased outreach to students by increasing their social media presence last spring.
Joaquin Luna, a third-year sociology student in the honors program, said he thinks the program also fails to provide opportunities for students to interact with each other outside the classroom.
Students can apply to the board by sending their resume and personal statement to jlindholm@college.ucla.edu by Feb. 1.