The BGSU Honors Program hopes to more than double its enrollment next year.

Currently there are about 900 students in the Honors Program but program director Paul Moore said would like to see that number increase to around 2,000 students.

Moore wants more students on campus who meet the requirements to get into the program.

‘We can give them an educational experience for high achieving students,’ Moore said.

Christie Collins, secretary and future president of the Honors Student Association, doesn’t think upperclassmen realize that they can get involved with the Honors Program later in college.

‘I think a lot of students don’t know they can still get involved because a lot of the courses are more geared towards freshmen,’ Collins said.

For students on campus, a 3.5 GPA and a letter of recommendation from a BGSU faculty member are needed to join the program.

Applying for the Honors Program takes less effort once a student is at BGSU than trying to apply while still in high school, Moore said.

‘It’s much easier here to get into the Honors Program because we don’t require as many letters of recommendation,’ Moore said.

For a freshman entering the University, they need at least a 27 on their ACT, a 3.5 GPA in high school, demonstration of co-curricular activities and letters of recommendation to enter the program, he said.

Currently, there are no tenure track faculty members in the Honors Program, Moore said, and he hopes to recruit them. Currently, the chair of a given department simply assigns a professor to an honors course.

Moore said the Honors Program does have some power in course requirements but would like more.

Moore also would like a mentoring system in place for the Honors Program, in which a new student in the Honors Program would be paired up with an upper-classmen and a faculty member.

A junior or senior would be able to help the new students find extra-curricular activities on campus and meet people within the Honors Program, Moore said.

A faculty member could help new students with critical thinking and speaking skills that they will need in college.

Freshman Jesse Coder, thinks the mentoring program will help integrate new students into the program.

‘It sounds like it could work pretty well and would help new students out,’ Coder said.

Moore also wants better advising for students in pre-professional programs, such as pre-law and pre-med, to be more consistent so they are following the correct path for th0.eir desired career

‘We want to develop advising so it’s not just a checklist but recommend co-curricular activities for their career goals and aspirations,’ Moore said.

There are no fees are associated with being in the Honors Program and events held by the group are open to all students.

However, there are fees for living in the Honors community in Harshman or Offenhauer and a $15 fee for being a member of the Honors Student Association.

The $15 fee for the Honors Student Association includes admission to all of the organization’s events, which this year included attending the Broadway show ‘The Lion King’ in Toledo, various trips and social events.