Last month, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) made a proposal to combine the University Honors and Scholars programs. Details of the proposed merger have not yet been confirmed, nor is it certain that the programs will merge.

Administrators hope that the merge would be a co-localization of the programs, instead of rebuilding the Honors and Scholars programs. A proposal that is well-received by administrators is letting Honors and Scholars students share a semester experience together. Some students have met the idea with enthusiasm, stating that it would be good for students to have access to a mix of what both programs offer, including trips and academic classes. 

“I think it might be good, because Scholars [students] take Honors classes, but they are limited to Honors students first, and I think it should be at the same time,” said Kimberly McAllister, a second-year studying psychology. 

Sammy Legg, a second-year studying animal science and psychology, and a member of the Scholars program, shared the belief that the merger could be beneficial.

“I think new students would benefit from this since the two programs have a lot of similarities anyway,” Legg said. ”This way they wouldn’t have to choose between the two, and they would have more to say in an interview setting about what the program taught them.”

Other students and Legg discussed concerns about requirements for the two programs changing and how those changes would affect students who have been in the programs for a significant amount of time.

“I think that it would be a good change as long as the requirements only changed for new students, and students in their respective programs now would finish out that program’s requirements,” Legg said.

With the uncertainty around how the possible merger would look in the future, there are concerns about melding the dynamics of the two programs. Some students, like Valeriia Litvinova, a first-year studying animal science, and a member of the Honors program, believe that the lifestyle in the Honors quad is too different from the Scholars lifestyle to merged.

“I feel like our ways of life in the quad would be too different to be combined, plus it is harder to get into the Honors program, therefore there should be more benefits for the Honors students such as guaranteed spots in the Honors quad,” Litvinova said.

Ashleigh Venezia, a third-year studying sociology, and a member of the Scholars program, is worried about offering Scholars trips to Honors students because of the already limited availability. 

“I have already completed my requirements and the only thing left for me in the program would be the trips Scholars go on,” Venezia said. “The trips fill up so quickly that is almost impossible to attend them, so I really do not care how the programs change as long as it does not affect my requirements.” 

DASA says that they will taking students opinions into consideration as they determine what would be most beneficial for students in the programs.