The Honors college announced changes to its curriculum requirements to create more flexibility for students while maintaining the academic rigor, high standards and distinctive opportunities that come with being an honors student. The announcement was made in an email sent to all honors students on Aug. 18, 2026.
The email mentioned three major changes that will take effect immediately: reduction in honors credits required for transfer honors students, replacement of the Star Lecture requirement with new Campus Lecture requirement and modifying CLIPS (Cultural exploration, Leadership, Intellectual, Professional development and Skill development) requirements in three different ways.
The first change addressed in the email is a reduction in honors credit requirements for students pursuing transfer honors. Each Honors Pathway has different requirements for the number of credit hours a student must complete by taking honors courses. Initially, transfer honors students were required to complete 18 credit hours in honors courses; now the requirement is that they complete 15 credit hours. This credit requirement applies to both current and incoming transfer honors students.
Prior to the new changes, all honors students had to complete the Star Lecture requirement. Every academic year, the Honors College would host six lectures between the two semesters that fit that year's theme. Students were required to attend three different lectures all within one year and write a reflection paper on them. This is being replaced by the new Campus Lecture requirement.
The Campus Lecture requirement is designed to allow more flexibility in student's schedules and allow them to explore more lecture topics, the email said. Students pursuing university honors, highest honors or departmental honors are required to attend four campus lectures throughout their time at EMU, not just in a single year, while transfer honors students are required to attend three.
Any Star Lectures or campus lectures current students have attended in past years may be submitted for credit, and students who have already attended three Star Lectures to complete the requirement do not need to attend a fourth lecture. Students are still required to write a reflection essay on each lecture attended.
Students can attend any lecture hosted by EMU, with proof of attendance, to meet the Campus Lectures requirement. Additionally, each lecture the student attends must fit into a chosen theme. Themes can be related to the student's major, personal interests or other. They can be specific or very broad, as long as each lecture can be woven together in some way.
“We want students to pick lectures that are really meaningful to them. We changed this requirement because we want it to be more in the students' hands for whatever they’re interested in,” said Nick Malendowski, assistant director of the Honors College. “Not only does that help students not feel super boxed in by what we’re putting on as lectures, it also has more flexibility for students.”
With students no longer being required to attend Star Lectures hosted by the Honors College, they will no longer be hosting them. The Honors College wants to host two lectures each academic year to help students meet the requirement. Instead of following a specific theme decided by the Honors College each year, the new lectures will focus on topics that can be applied to a wide range of different themes to meet students' different needs and interests, Malendowski said.
Kim Waldroop, an honors student majoring in environmental science with a concentration in biology, said the new rules allow more freedom and flexibility for students.
"It allows students to find a common theme between what the presentations they are attending, but to also apply it to their learning and reflect on their ideals, thoughts, and academic integrity as a student," Waldroop said. "Star Lectures often felt confining because the topics didn't always resonate with me and my learning, but with the new Campus Lectures, I have so much more to choose from, and [it] even encourages me to attend more lectures on campus."
Additionally, the email outlined three changes to the CLIPS requirement. A variety of CLIPS, or cultural exploration, leadership, intellectual, professional development and skill development, experiences are required for each of the honors pathways. Now, students are only allowed to count one Skills Development experience toward their total CLIPS requirements and that experience must be tied to involvement in a recognized organization or EMU course.
The requirement did not previously have a determined amount of work time required for completion. CLIPS experiences now require a minimum of 20 hours of work associated with them. CLIPS requirements that have already been completed or pre-approved will still count as completed whether or not they meet this new guideline.
Waldroop said the CLIPS change gives her pause, because students have other commitments that could interfere with fulfilling the requirement.
"I believe the idea is good in theory — it definitely allows you to apply your requirements in real world situations while also getting hands on with what you choose. However, realistically speaking, I'm not sure if a full 20 hours could truly be applied to CLIPS learning," Waldroop said. "Most students, such as myself, work more than one job to afford tuition or housing while also having to focus on classes and put the necessary hours into them. This takes a good chunk of your week and weekend, and students deserve to also have time for themselves to enjoy their social life."
Waldroop said the new requirements are an improvement, but she hopes to see continuous evaluation of the system.
"Things slip under the radar pretty easily, and I believe students will not prioritize [the] CLIPS 20 hours as the Honors College might hope they will, which would leave many to fall behind on their honors graduation requirements," she said. "I believe it's still better than our former system, but I believe the CLIPS section will be best if it's continuously reviewed and revised."
Malendowski said the Honors College would often receive questions on what counts as enough work for a CLIPS requirement because there were no specific guidelines. The requirement has not changed much, as most CLIPS experiences are things that would take students 20 hours or more to complete. The new requirement is just putting a numerical value on that amount of time. Students with questions or concerns about what counts as too little, enough or too much for a CLIPS experience can fill out the pre-approval form to make sure.
“We have really leaned into a 'designed by you' mindset which means we want everything you are doing to be beneficial for you, so that you can really take those CLIPS experiences and mold them to what you need post-graduation,” Malendowski said.
