TEMPLATE FOR REQUESTING AN HONORS OPTION COURSE/CONTRACT
Please send a thoughtfully worded email when you are requesting a faculty member to offer an
Honors Option Course. You may edit the template below slightly, but note the different moves it
makes with respect to explaining the situation and requesting a meeting. Note also the tone of the
email because you are asking them to contribute something significant to your learning
experience.
Thus, please note that you are making a formal request of a faculty member. Please be respectful
and thoughtful in all your interactions regarding this matter.
TEMPLATE FOLLOWS:
Dear Dr. (Last Name of Professor),
My name is (introduce yourself), and I am in your (Name of Course/Term/Year), and I am also a
student in the Oregon Tech Honors Program.
To complete the requirements of the Honors Program, we are required to take a certain amount
of our Oregon Tech classes through the Honors Program, which are referred to as “Honors
Option Courses.”
The goal of pursuing an Honors Option Course is to give the professor and the student an
opportunity to achieve the course objectives in different ways: perhaps in ways that are more
challenging and more enjoyable for the professor and the student, in ways that can promote a
more engaged learning experience for student and faculty.
I would like to know if you would be willing to offer this course as an Honors Option Course
this term (next term) and if we could set up an appointment to discuss how I might accomplish
this goal.
Attached you will find the Honors Option Course contract, which offers advice and guidance.
Dr. Syrnyk, the Exec. Director of the Honors Program, would be happy to participate as much or
as little as would be helpful, too, in setting up this course contract. Dr. Syrnyk can provide more
context if helpful and is willing to be a resource to support this experience. I will be responsible
for filling out the course contract, with your input and approval, and then submit it to the
Executive Director for review.
There is also a time requirement in that I need to set up the contract by the end of the second
week of the term. They can be a little flexible with this time requirement, if that helps.
Thank you for considering this matter.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
