Fall 2021| September 27, 2021
Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Welcome to Fall!

Welcome to the Fall Quarter, 2021. We hope you found some moments to enjoy yourself since the end of the spring and summer quarters and that you feel excited to start fresh this fall. We know these current times continue to pose challenges to so many students, so please remember to reach out to the campus resources offered to help you make this time just a little less uncertain. You can find a list of resources below- at the end of this newsletter.

As you prepare for the new quarter, remember to stay tuned to this newsletter for your Honors Institute updates. This academic year you can expect a bi-weekly newsletter by Tuesday evenings at the latest. As always, we welcome and invite you to share any important announcements you'd like to share about campus events and/or efforts that impact your fellow students.

Enjoy the first week of classes. For your reference, do take note of this quarter's student hour schedule:

Mondays: 12pm-1pm
Wednesdays: 12:00pm-1pm

You can find the Zoom links on the Honors Institute Website.

And by appointment- please reach out to us through email if you need to meet at another time and we will do our best to work with you.
Important Terms to Know for New Honors Students

For those of you who are new to taking an honors course, you may find yourself with many questions about how taking this class fits into the larger picture of being an Honors Student at Foothill College.

Below you will find more information on attending an Honors Orientation next week (see below) where hopefully many of these questions will be answered. But to begin, just be sure to know and understand some of the following key terms:

Open Access Program
The Honors Institute is proud to have an honors program open to any student who wishes to take an honors course. There is no application or criteria to take an honors course other than a willingness to meet the challenges of honors classes. In order to earn an Honors Scholar Status, students do have some exit criteria to meet and you can read more about that below.

Honors Scholar Program / Honors Scholar
The Honors Scholar Program is designed to prepare students who intend to transfer and earn their baccalaureate degree. Upon completion of this program, students earn the recognition of "Honors Scholar" and is noted on their official transcript. An Honors Scholar must meet particular criteria to earn this designation.

Honors Scholar Criteria
  • Complete 23 Honors Units: Students must complete a minimum 23 units of Foothill College honors courses (at least 12 honors units need to be completed by the end of fall quarter prior to transferring)
  • Courses must come from at least two different departments
  • Earn a C or better in all honors courses
  • Maintain a minimum 3.25 GPA in honors courses
  • Service Leadership
  • Participate in activities that benefits others and the community
  • Check-in with an Academic Counselor on a quarterly basis

More details about this criteria will be provided at the orientations next week. See below for details.

Honors Transfer Program
The Foothill College Honors Institute, along with the Honors Transfer Council of California (HTTC) has transfer partnerships with colleges and universities across California and the United States. Students completing our Honors Scholar Program (described above) enjoy enhanced transfer consideration and/or other benefits at the partner campuses. These may include guaranteed or priority acceptance, consideration, special scholarships, housing priority, and pre-transfer library privileges. Students interested in our transfer programs can join anytime during the school year and must pursue the Honors Scholar Program to qualify for our various partnerships.

TAP Agreement - Or the Transfer Alliance Program with UCLA
Many honors students are interested in this program because by participating in it, students can increase their chance of admission to UCLA. Through the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), Foothill College Honors Scholars are given guaranteed priority consideration for admission to the UCLA College of Letters and Sciences. Traditionally, Foothill students experience a 70-98% acceptance rate through this program (versus 14-20%) for all other transfer applicants.

In order to be eligible for this program, students must must complete the criteria to be an Honors Scholar as listed above.
Honors Institute Orientation

Join us next week for our Honors Institute Orientation. Students new to the Honors Institute will find the orientation especially helpful, but all students are welcome and encouraged to attend. Come to find out more about the Honors Institute and meet students in the program. We will also review the requirements to become an Honors Scholar and the benefits that come along with this distinction

There are two orientations you can attend next week. Please click on the links below to RSVP.
Important Foothill Campus Dates for Fall Quarter

  • Monday, Sept. 20: First day of Fall Quarter 2020

  • Friday, Oct. 2: Last day to add 12-week, quarter-length classes. Add date is enforced.

  • Sunday, Oct. 3: Last day to drop for a full refund or credit (for 12-weeks, quarter-length classes). 
 

  • Wednesday Nov. 11 Veterans Day (Please note change from Nov. 9)

  • Friday, Nov. 12: Last day to drop with a "W." Withdraw date is enforced. 

  • Thursday–Sunday, Nov. 25–28: Thanksgiving Holiday Recess (no classes)



Important Dates for Honors students interested in TAP Admission

If you are interested in the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program, or TAP, please read the description of this program by visiting the Honors Institute TAP page for more information. If you are interested in applying to UCLA through TAP, be sure to note that the application window for admission for Fall 2021 is from November 1-30, 2020. We are happy to help you with this process, so please reach out once you've started the application.
Contact Your Honors Counselor Today!

If you have any questions regarding your schedule, the transfer application process, or any other questions about being an honors student, please be sure to visit any one of the General Counselors. For Honors specific questions, do contact any one of our Honors Counselors:

  • Cathy Denver- 650-949-7214

  • Fatima Jinnah- 650-949-7401 (currently on Professional Development Leave)

  • Debra Lew - 650-949-7066

  • Lety Serna - 650-949-7059

Welcome to our Newest Counselors!

We are happy to announce that we now have two additional counselors to serve Honors students! Please help us welcome Tracee Cunningham and Anabel Arreola-Trigonis. Tracee specializes in working with students in learning communities and has most recently worked with the Umoja Program. Anabel is a veteran counselor with experience in working with students in the Pass the Torch Tutorial Program where she teaches students how to engage meaningfully in tutorial sessions and encourage independent learning.

  • Tracee Cunningham- 650- 949- 7104

  • Anabel Arreola-Trigonis- 650-949-7284
Student Support Services

Please know that all faculty, staff, and administration at Foothill College are hard at work to ensure that you still have access to important and necessary resources during this challenging time. We strongly encourage you to reach out and let us know how we can help! Check out the links below to see how these services have changed as part of the Foothill College Virtual Campus: