Why not honors? Understanding students' decisions not to enroll and persist in honors programs

This study gathered, analyzed, and compared perspectives of students who were honors-eligible but never began the program, students who began in honors and discontinued their enrollment, and those who were persisting in honors. Broadly speaking (and not surprisingly), the responses of students persisting in honors reflected the most positive attitudes toward the program although enrolled students were most likely to indicate that they were intimidated by the Honors Independent Study requirement. The honors-eligible students who never enrolled in the program were significantly less likely to perceive the benefits of honors, to enjoy the intellectual stimulation of honors classes, to value the opinions of friends and family members about honors, to understand the program requirements, and to have been encouraged by their advisor to pursue and persist in honors. Students who began the program but discontinued their honors enrollment were least likely to see how the program would benefit their future career, to be intimidated by the honors requirement of an upper-division contract, or to fear that honors courses would have a negative impact on their GPAs, and they were the most likely to feel that honors is a waste of time. There were no significant differences among the three groups on perceptions of honors classes as more difficult than non-honors classes or in the likelihood of students' friends having a negative impression of honors. Each of these findings suggests an opportunity for improved program communication and development.