Submitting to the NCHC Convention

Westminster College is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), which sponsors an annual convention attended by about 2000 undergraduates, professors, and administrators from Honors programs around the country. Representatives from Westminster College attend the convention each year to participate in workshops, attend sessions, and enjoy the many entertaining diversions of the host city. Students who are interested in attending should consult the director of Honors and read the following guidelines about making a proposal. This year's meeting will be on Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2009 in Washington, D.C..  Our Honors program would like to have about 6-8 students participating, so please consider submitting a proposal.

1. It costs about $1,000 to send a single student to the meeting and we will do our best to underwrite much of that cost for students whose papers are accepted. Certainly we will pay the $250 registration fee for everybody and offset as much as possible the flight and hotel costs, depending on how many proposals are accepted. However, given the expense of flying across country and staying in DC, students will be asked to pay for some of their expenses.

2. Submitting is easy! There are three primary ways for students to participate:

• a poster session on your own research (i.e. "Biodiversity in the Great Salt Lake")
• a student panel discussing some aspect of Honors education or administration (i.e. "The New Honors Orientation Program at Westminster College")
• an interdisciplinary student research panel, on which you summarize for 15-minute a high-level research paper (i.e. "Gender and Desire in T. S. Eliot").

Other alternative ways to participate include diversity panels, idea exchanges, and master classes.  All you need is an idea and a way to describe it clearly. All application forms are available online at the conference website. The different types of proposal options are discussed as well. In most cases you will just need to describe your idea in 50 words.

The panel sessions also require 150 word abstracts, while the student research panel sessions will require you to mail copies of your paper in April and get a sponsoring email from the Honors director. To brainstorm about ideas for paper proposals, see old copies of the NCHC program in the Honors Resource Library or download an electronic pdf version of the 2006 meeting in Philadelphia.

3. The final deadline for online submission is Feb. 20, 2009. Professor Badenhausen or Professor Goldmsith must sign off on your project by sending NCHC an email certifying your project, so let one of them know what you are up to--otherwise, NCHC will not accept the submission. Don't wait until the final deadline to do it.

4. The NCHC runs hundreds of sessions, so be as creative as you want. You can propose a session consisting of just yourself; a session with one, two, or three other students interested in the same topic; or a session with a professor (and other students) from a class. There are also idea exchanges, diversity workshop opportunities, and master classes for those interested in the arts. See the conference forms for different options.

5. If you have an idea for a session and are looking for fellow panelists for your proposal (perhaps students who might be interested in the same topic), why not run your idea by other Westminster College Honors students by sending an email message to the Honors students email distribution list?

6. Email Prof. Badenhausen or Prof. Goldmsith if you want to talk about your idea. He is also available to help you write your 50-word description. Submission of a proposal is your acknowledgment that you will attend NCHC if your application is accepted.

7. The deadline for proposals is Feb. 20, 2009, so start early!