Expanding Access, Redefining Excellence: A Transformative, Cross-Institutional Vision for Honors Education

Honors education often rewards privilege under the guise of meritocracy. This session will reimagine honors not as a predictive reward but as an inclusive investment in student potential. Presenters from three different institution types—North Carolina A&T State University, Rutgers University–Newark, and Bridgewater State University—will share strategies for and challenges to building honors ecosystems grounded in community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), expansive academic excellence (MA DHE, 2020), and full participation (Sturm et al., 2011). The session will explore five key areas of transformation: admissions that center community cultural wealth over test scores; innovative and culturally responsive curricula; inclusive, community-engaged cocurricula; capstones that advance students’ goals and assets; and collaborations with justice-focused campus and community partners. We will also highlight flexible pathways for neurodiverse, transfer, and post-traditional students. Participants will engage in dialogue about how honors can be a site of resistance and renewal, setting a higher standard of inclusion, purpose, and expansive excellence.