Huntington Beach : Golden West College to Begin Honors Program

Golden West College is launching a pilot program of honors courses this summer for qualified students who plan to transfer to four-year universities.

Instructor Sheila Brazier, who is coordinating the program, said the special classes also reflect the statewide move to offer challenging academic work at the community college level.

“This trend is part of a renewed emphasis by the community colleges for a quality academic program,” she said. “ . . . The time has come to pay some attention to the superior students in our midst. We want to provide superior students graduating from high school with an alternative to going directly to the four-year schools.”

The honors courses will include social science, math, literature, communications, science and the humanities. They will vary from semester to semester, Brazier said.

Some students have asked if taking the more challenging courses will hurt their grade point averages, she said. Her answer is, “Probably not. Research indicates that honors students seem to earn the same grades they would have received if they were in regular classes.”

The honors classes will be limited to 25 or fewer students, allowing for more interaction between students and teacher.