The second-annual Honors College research conference, hosted in the Arkansas Union Oct. 23, allowed Honors students to learn more about different resources as thesis deadlines approach.
One requirement for the Honors College is that every honors student must complete and successfully defend a research thesis in order to graduate, according to the U of A Honors College website.
“Our motivation here was to give students examples,” said Katherine Wilson, associate director of student success at the Honors College. “Examples and the names of the people that can help them to start thinking about that thesis project from any stage of the Honors’ experience.”
The associate dean of the Honors College, Jennie Popp, said she and other Honors College officials created this event last year because there were reoccurring questions amongst students about their dissertations.
She said students are often afraid to address the issue of starting their dissertations. This is the number one reason why students drop out of the Honors program.
Michael Zachary, technical director at the Honors College, said the event helps thesis mentors assisting students to become more organized.
“Because it is such a hurdle to get over, we thought it would be best to kind of open that landscape up to other colleges, other disciplines to try and remove those issues and make it something that students strive for and understand,” Zachary said.
Honors College officials said they want to bring in more faculty members in the future so that students can find a mentor and begin their thesis processes sooner.
“Faculty are the number one thing we want to bring in here,” Zachary said. “We’re trying to introduce students and faculties together to try and get that bond for a mentor.”
Zachary also said this seems to be the root of the problem. The goal is to grow a better relationship. Whether it’s by meeting a faculty member or connecting the student with another mentor to help start that process.
Honors College faculty said they hope this conference will grow in the future.
Popp said the overall turnout for this year’s conference was even higher than the last. The conference is just one part of an extended process that the Honors College has organized for this school year. Eventually she would like the event to take place over an entire week, giving students multiple chances to gain information about the work ahead of them.
Wilson said she thinks the major focus for organizers next year will be communicating with students. Some just show up and don’t know what’s going on and don’t have a schedule.
Zachary said he thinks the biggest thing they need to overcome is how to organize thesis project discussions with students while under a time constraint.
“We are going to start implementing new and smaller groups to bring more mentors together in a more discipline-oriented grouping,” Zachary said.