Why Honors?
Honors education ignites passion for lifelong learning and encourages student creativity, collaboration, and leadership in the classroom and beyond.
It is characterized by in-class and extracurricular activities that are measurably broader, deeper, or more complex than comparable learning experiences typically found at institutions of higher education. Honors curriculum serves as a laboratory for inventive and experiential education that can be implemented in the traditional classroom. Honors experiences include a distinctive learner-directed environment and philosophy, provide opportunities that are appropriately tailored to fit the institution’s culture and mission, and frequently occur within a close community of students and faculty.
NCHA Membership
All North Carolina Honors Colleges and Programs are welcome to join NCHA.
NCHA dues are $25.00 per year per institution. Current dues-paying member institutions can register for the conference at a reduced rate for all faculty and students attending. Note: dues are separate from conference registration.
NCHA now offers PayPal!
Many Honors Programs and Colleges have asked for the convenience of paying dues by credit card. Dues paid via PayPal are $25.00 plus an additional $3.00 fee to cover processing costs. You may pay your $28.00 directly to NCHA via PayPal here. Please be sure to note the name of the member institution are paying dues for in the comments of your payment in PayPal.
NCHA still allows dues to be paid via check. Dues paid by check remain $25.00.
Please send your check (payable to NCHA) to:
NCHA
c/o Kate Bruce, Treasurer
PO Box 537
Kure Beach, NC 28449
Contact Dr. Kate Bruce (bruce@uncw.edu) at UNCW for more details about joining or paying annual dues.
Annual Conference
The Whitehurst Family Honors Program at Barton College is proud to announce our hosting of the 2023 North Carolina Honors Association (NCHA) conference. This year, the event will be held online on November 3–4. Save the date! An official call for proposals will be released in due time, but the submission deadline is expected to be late-September/early-October.
The 2023 NCHA conference theme is Infinite Possibilities: Sharing Innovations in Honors Education.
In the face of ever-changing student populations with characteristics and proclivities that vary from year to year, honors colleges and programs continually evolve and adapt to maximize the academic and cocurricular experiences for undergraduates. Drawing from similar recruitment pools, it behooves NCHA member institutions to share their unique approaches to how they define and deliver honors education, thereby inspiring other institutions through stories of their success.
Expect a forthcoming call for proposals both exploring interpretations of the conference theme as well as ones unconnected to the theme.
Proposal Submission Details:
- Deadline for submission is expected to be late-September/early October
- Conference registration is expected to be mid- to late-October
Presentation Options for Honors Students:
- Oral Presentation (12 minutes max, with brief Q&A to follow; in a session with other presentations)
- Poster Presentation (Available throughout the conference in an online format accompanied by a 3-5 minute recorded presentation)
- Creative work or performance: visual, musical, theater, poetry reading, etc (12 minutes max, with brief Q&A to follow; in a session with other presentations)
- Individual or Joint Presentation: 1-3 presenters from the same institution (20 minutes max with 10 minute Q&A to follow)
- Roundtable/Panel: 3+ presenters from different institutions (max 45 minutes with additional 10 minutes for Q&A)
Future Conference Hosts:
2024: Western Carolina University
- 2023: Barton College, Wilson, NC
(NCHA President: Gerard Lange, 2022-23) - 2022: UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
(NCHA President: Angela Bolte, 2021-22) - 2021: Catawba College, Salisbury, NC
(NCHA President: Maria Vandergriff-Avery, 2020-21) - 2020: Conference Postponed
- 2019: NC State University, Raleigh, NC
(NCHA President: Carolyn Veale, 2018-19) - 2018: High Point University, High Point, NC
(NCHA President: William Carpenter, 2017-18) - 2017: UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
(NCHA President: Cherese Childres-McKee, 2016-17) - 2016: UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
(NCHA President: Angela Bolte, 2015-16) - 2015: UNC Asheville, Asheville, NC
(NCHA President: Patrick Bahls, 2014-15) - 2014: The University of Mount Olive, Mt. Olive, NC
(NCHA President: Norman Crumpacker, 2013-14) - 2013: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
(NCHA President: Leslie Sargent Jones, 2012-13) - 2012: East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
(NCHA President: Kevin Baxter, 2011-12) - 2011: Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC
(NCHA President: Brian Railsback, 2010-11) - 2010: North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC
- 2009: NC State University, Raleigh, NC
- 2008: Meredith College, Raleigh, NC
(NCHA President: Cynthia Edwards, 2007-08) - 2007: Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC
- 2006: Saint Augustine’s University, Raleigh, NC
- 2005: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
(NCHA President: Leslie Sargent Jones, 2004-05) - 2004: UNC Asheville, Asheville, NC — Meeting Canceled due to Hurricane
(NCHA President: Merritt Mosely, 2003-04) - 2003: UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
- 2002: UNC Pembroke, Pembroke, NC
(NCHA President: Carolyn Thompson, 2001-02) - 2001: Greensboro College, Greensboro, NC
(NCHA President: George Cheatham, 2000-01) - 2000: UNC Asheville, Asheville, NC
- 1999: UNC Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
(NCHA President: Kate Bruce, 1998-99)
Constitution and Executive Board
Constitution of the North Carolina Honors Association
North Carolina Honors Association Constitution and Bylaws approved 9.25.21
Executive Board Members for 2022-2023:
- President (2022-2023): Gerard Lange, Barton College
- Future President (2022-2023): Jill Granger, Western Carolina University
- Immediate Past President (2022-2023): Angela Bolte, UNC Greensboro
- Secretary (2021-2024): Eric Toler, UNC Greensboro
- Treasurer (2020-2023): Kate Bruce, UNC Wilmington
- Faculty Member at Large (2022-2023): Joshua K. Busman, UNC Pembroke and Lynn Swafford, Wayne Community College
- Student at Large (2022-2023): Fernando Cuevas, UNC Greensboro
- Student at Large (2022-2023): Casey Perkins, East Carolina University
Contact
Questions about the NCHA website should be directed to