Scholars Program

FAQ

Typical Concerns of Prospective Student Scholars
As Answered by the Director of the Scholars Academy

1. What is the Scholars Academy?
Scholars Academy faculty and students form an interdisciplinary and interactive learning community. The Academy is guided by the qualities of an engaged education, a set of intellectual pillars of the Scholars Academy (Dialogue, Holism, Creativity, Experimentation, Value Inquiry, and Social and Political Awareness), and by the mission of the university. The program is a wonderful opportunity for students to satisfy their intellectual curiosity and their desire for community in a non-traditional format.

2. Who can be a Scholar?
The Lewis University Scholars Academy is open to students of all majors.
For first year students, a 3.25 GPA or above and a 24 ACT or above is required for full admission. For transfer students, a 3.25 GPA or above is required for full admission. Provisional admission requirements are the same for all students: 3.0-3.24 GPA and a 21-23 ACT. Provisionally admitted students gain full admittance once they attain a 3.25 GPA or above at Lewis University.

Exceptionally talented students are invited to apply for membership in The Connections Program – a program that enables students to move through a series of paired general education courses with the same group of students.

3. Quickly, and don’t mince words, what am I going to get out of being in the Scholars Academy? Name some things.

• You'll get to meet people with similar interests, people you would not otherwise have met (how many times have I heard students say: "I don’t think I ever would have met you unless we met here . . .")
• You'll broaden, deepen, and add value to your education at Lewis.
• You will be recognized at college awards events and at university graduation ceremonies.
• You'll work more closely with professors.
• You'll be participating in an Academy known nationally for its non-traditional approach to honors education.
• You-ll be more competitive on the job market with a Scholars or Distinguished Diploma in hand, Scholars activities listed on your transcripts, Scholars awards, contacts you make through Scholars activities, and a letter of recommendation from the Director detailing your accomplishments in the program.
• You'll have fun. You design your own projects, travel (if you want), and meet people with similar interests.
  

4. I work a lot. Can I be successful in the Scholars Academy while working?
Student Scholars manage their time to create the education they want and deserve. Peer support from other Scholars is a key to effective time management.

5. I'm on a team. Can I be successful in the Academy and still play a sport?
Quite a few student members are involved in athletics and they are able to work to blend the two. The flexibility of contracts and colloquia provide opportunities for athletes to participate, especially in non-sport semesters.

6. I am a first-year student and don’t want to get deeply involved until I settle in, get my feet wet, and feel comfortable. I don’t want any more on my plate during my first semester at Lewis.
This is not unusual. Student Scholars pursuing the Contract Option are not required to participate in any Scholars activity during their first semester or two. So there are opportunities to get started in the program while getting adjusted to academic life.

7. How much flexibility do I have in choosing the curriculum?
If you are pursuing the Contract Option, you have considerable flexibility. You can construct your own Scholars curriculum to fit your interests and work around your work schedule. You are not obligated to take x number of Scholars activities per semester. You don’t have to take Scholars activities every semester, though you do have to make progress towards the diploma if you want to maintain active status.

8. This won’t affect my GPA, will it?
No. Grades on course contracts do not affect your overall GPA. Scholars grades are listed on a separate part of your transcripts. Course grades are separate from scholars projects. Grades are given for participation in out-of-class activities, but these grades remain internal to the program.

9. Do instructors in my major offer Scholars contracts?
Over 100 faculty from almost every major participate in the program. More than 200 university courses have a Scholars component to them. A current list of major field faculty participating each semester can be obtained from the Director.

10. What kind of interaction is there between Student Scholars and Faculty?
Most Student Scholars report an open and equal relationship with Scholars Faculty.

11. How much is this going to cost me?
Students pay nothing for Scholars courses, contracts, and on-campus colloquia. The Academy partially subsidizes many off-campus Scholars activities.

12. What are contracts and scholars activities?
Contracts are extensions and enhancements of courses that you already take at the university. You can elect to do a contract for virtually any course at the university. If, for instance, you wanted to take Culture and Civilization as a contract, you would approach the instructor at the beginning of that semester about that possibility. The instructor and you negotiate assignments and meeting dates. At the end of the semester, you would turn in your assignments and receive a grade for the contract.
Contracts are not busy work, but are a means for you to deepen your understanding of a subject. Contracts can involve field work, faculty research projects, travel, or student research. They involve texts of any form: books, journals, web pages, netservs, museums, field trips, plays, videos, Cds, essay contests, articles for the National Collegiate Honors Council, and interaction with members of the Scholars community.

Scholars activities take a number of different forms. Colloquia bring together small groups of Scholars Faculty and Student Scholars to examine a specialized departmental, cross-disciplinary, or pillars theme. Arts and Ideas Enhancements are opportunities to delve more deeply into topics presented through Lewis’s fine lecture and performance series. City-as-Text activities are opportunities to visit stimulating places in distant cities as well as in the vibrant Chicago metropolitan area. Each activity bears a designated number of units, roughly equal to the time spent on the activity. Specially tailored scholars activities are available to students who study abroad and who compete in a university-sponsored service project.

13. How is the Scholars Academy of Lewis University different from similar ventures at other colleges and universities?
The Academy places a premium on interactivity and student responsibility and student-initiated projects. You will find great freedom in the Academy because it allows you great flexibility and input. Furthermore, there are numerous entry points into the program, not simply one at the beginning of your matriculation.

 

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