Honors add pop (and rock) to college experience

Joe Hoppe

Assistant Professor W. Joe Hoppe has organized an ‘Intro to Poetry’ class for honors students.

Literature and pop music sound like different topics for the classroom — unless you’re enrolled in the honors program at Austin Community College. The ACC honors program is designed to encourage talent and ability in highly motivated students as they prepare to transfer to a four-year college or university.

Classes such as English Composition II (ENGL 1302): “Reading Rock: Literature & Pop Music” and U.S. Government (GOVT 2305): “Globalization and U.S. Politics Post 9/11” are just a sampling of courses offered in ACC’s honors program. (Click here to view upcoming courses.)

“Often the professor will have an area of interest he’ll focus on,” says Dr. Judy Sanders, chair of the program.

English Professor W. Joe Hoppe, for example, has developed an “Intro to Poetry” honors class for this fall.

“I’m real excited because I love to teach poetry,” he says, “but our focus is going to be for students to write a manuscript for national contests, or something they can self-publish.”

Students wishing to enroll in the honors program must meet one of four criteria:
• A 3.25 college GPA;
• A 3.5 high school GPA;
• A score of 1200 or higher on the SAT; or
• Graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Between 250 and 300 students join the honors program each semester. They can begin taking honors classes as soon as their application is accepted.

Honors classes fulfill core curriculum general education requirements but are typically smaller than other basics classes — a factor English Professor Doug Dawson enjoys.

“There’s a better student-teacher ratio,” he says.

Debbie Kessler recently completed Dawson’s English Composition I (ENGL 1301) course, “Rebels and Revolution.”

“Our class was amazing,” she says. “I couldn’t believe how well-read everybody was.”

Kessler served in the Army for 20 years and enrolled in several college classes there, but wanted to improve her writing skills. She took other honors classes taught by Dawson and Lee Moore.

“When they were teaching, you could absolutely see the passion,” she says. “It really showed in the class, and they brought that out in the students. The students were excited about the classes. Nobody would want to leave.”

Kessler graduated in spring with an Associate of Arts in government, but she plans to come back to ACC for more honors classes.

“They are the best things since sliced bread,” she says.

Kessler doesn’t plan to get her bachelor’s degree right away. However, when she transfers, the honors designation will show up on her ACC transcript.

Many ACC honors students also apply to be a member of the ACC chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK). The international honors society provides several benefits to students, including recognition for academic achievement locally and internationally and automatic nomination for the National Dean’s List publication of outstanding students of two-year, four-year, and graduate schools.

Criteria for PTK include being enrolled in a degree program; currently completing at least 6 credits of coursework; and minimum hours completed at ACC, with corresponding GPA requirements: 12-23 credits, minimum GPA of 3.5; 24-45 hours, minimum GPA of 3.4; or 46-plus hours, minimum GPA of 3.25.

For more information: Visit the honors program website and the Phi Theta Kappa website.

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