To complete the Honors Program, get special consideration by transfer institutions, and receive recognition on the IVC academic transcript, Honors Program students must accomplish the following.
Coursework
Honors Course Requirement: Students must complete a minimum of five honors courses during their academic career at IVC (Honors courses taken for pass/no pass do not count towards the five required Honors courses). To be eligible for transfer agreements, students must complete these course requirements by the end of the spring semester before transfer.
Honors Course Progress: To maintain good standing, Honors students are required to complete at least two Honors courses within two semesters of admittance to the program, and at least two Honors courses each year thereafter. For example, if an Honors student is admitted to the program in spring and does not take an Honors class the following fall semester, they must complete 2 Honors courses by the end of the following spring semester. Students are not required to take Honors courses during the summer term, as Honors course offerings are limited during the summer, but Honors courses taken in the summer do count towards program completion. Students must complete at least two of the 5 Honors classes prior to their final spring semester.
Honors Courses Taken at Other Colleges: Honors students can take up to 2 honors courses (6 honors units) at another community college and apply those classes towards IVC Honors Program completion. At least 3 of the required 5 Honors classes must be completed at IVC. Any courses taken at Saddleback will appear automatically on the IVC transcript. However, if students decide to take an Honors class at another college, then after they complete the course, they must submit to the Honors Program office an unofficial transcript listing the class and the grade received.
GPA
Students must maintain a 3.25 GPA in their UC-transferable coursework and a 3.25 GPA in their honors courses. For UCLA TAP consideration, students must attain a 3.5 UC-transferable GPA; for UC Irvine Honors-to-Honors, students must attain a 3.7 UC-transferable GPA.
Portfolio
Students must submit an Honors Student Learning Portfolio at the end of their final semester at IVC.