College: College of Liberal Arts
Student Type: Traditional Undergraduate
Campus: Lisle Campus

Program Requirements

Scholars members are required to enroll in one HNRS course each semester. To remain in the Program, students must earn a grade of C or better in each HNRS course and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20.

Freshman Entry Requirements

1. Coursework: in place of the regular University General Education Program, Scholars students must complete:

   Course List

   Code	Title	Hours
   HNRS 1190	First-Year Colloquium I	3
   HNRS 1191	First-Year Colloquium II	3
   HNRS 2195	Leadership	3
   HNRS 2201	Catholic and Benedictine Intellectual Traditions	3
   HNRS 2294	Creativity, Art & Culture	3
   HNRS 2393	Global Interdependence	3
   HNRS 3291	Electronic Portfolio Workshop	3
   HNRS 3301	Human Dignity or the Common Good	3
   MDLG through 2211 or equivalent		3
   MDLG through 2212 or equivalent		3
   Approved Ethics course		3
   Approved Economics course		3
   Approved Mathematics course at or above MATH 1111		3
   Additional elective courses that meet the distribution requirements of the University General Education program as indicated on the Scholars Program Checklist.		15

2. Service-learning:
   1. Students must complete an approved 40-hour individual service-learning project accompanied by a service-learning journal and reflective essay by May 30 of their fourth semester at Benedictine.
   2. Students must participate in the spring Sophomore Scholars Service-learning Trip (LCOM 2210 Learning Community: "Houses to Home" Service Learning Experience), including fundraising, budgeting, meal-planning and preparation, and submission of pre- and post-trip reflections to the appropriate drop box on the LCOM 2210 Learning Community: "Houses to Home" Service Learning Experience Scholars Program D2L site.
3. Scholarship:
   1. Presentation of the student’s research at an approved academic conference such as URSA or ACCA.
   2. Submission of a Scholars Program Electronic Portfolio followed by an oral defense of the portfolio before the Scholars Portfolio Review Committee. The student’s portfolio and defense must be approved by the Review Committee. The Review Committee may find that the student’s portfolio does not meet the minimum requirements for graduation as a Scholar, may approve the student for graduation as a Benedictine Scholar, may recommend the student for graduation as a Benedictine Scholar with Distinction, or may require that the student prepare a resubmission to determine whether the student merits graduation as a Benedictine Scholar.
4. Leadership: Students must participate in all Scholars Program meetings and meet the requirements of leadership activities including the Scholars Peer Mentoring Initiative.

Transfer Entry Requirements

Students who enter the Scholars Program having completed a semester or more of university study (excluding hours earned through AP, dual-enrollment or other proficiency credit) must complete a modified version of the requirements outlined above. The Director of the Scholars Program will determine the modifications appropriate for transfer students on a case-by-case basis. Within two weeks of beginning her/his first HNRS course, the student will meet with the Director individually to complete a modified Scholars Program Checklist, which both the Director and the student will sign. The student will be given a physical and an electronic copy of the modified checklist for his/her records, and the original and an electronic copy will be archived by the Scholars Program. 

Scholars Program Benchmarks

Membership in the Scholars Program and the award of the Scholars Program scholarship continues automatically for enrolled students provided that, in addition to maintaining the required 3.200 cumulative GPA and enrolling in the appropriate HNRS course each semester, students meet the benchmarks indicated in the Scholars Program Handbook that they receive upon admission to the Scholars Program. In order to request modification of a Program requirement or benchmark, a student must petition the Director of the Scholars Program in writing and obtain a written exception from the Director explaining the nature of the modification granted prior to taking any alternative course outside the Program requirements. The Scholars Program scholarship may be revoked at any time for failure to meet Program benchmarks.

Students in the Scholars Program will achieve the following student learning outcomes (SLO):

Student Learning Outcome 1:  Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 
• University SLO:  2. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills; 5. Analytical Skills

Student Learning Outcome 2:  Communication
• University SLO:  3. Communication Skills

Student Learning Outcome 3:  Information Fluency 
• University SLO:  4. Information Fluency

 Student Learning Outcome 4:  Global Perspective
• University SLO:  6. Global Awareness and Cultural Competence

Student Learning Outcome 5:  Social Responsibility
• University SLO:  7. Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility; 8. Stewardship

Student Learning Outcome 6:  Personal Growth
• University SLO:  9. Personal Development 

Student Learning Outcome 7:  Breadth of Knowledge and Integrative Learning
• University SLO:  2. Critical and Creative Thinking Skills

Student Learning Outcome 8:  Catholic and Benedictine Traditions
• University SLO:  8. Stewardship; 9. Personal Development 

 

The Essential Student Learning Goals (ESLGs) of the Scholars Program require its members to meet or exceed at a Scholars level the ESLGs of the General Education curriculum and to meet or exceed additional ESLGs unique to the Scholars Program.