Honors Program Bookstore Award, 2009 - 2010

"The aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values."
~Dean William R. Inge~

What is the Honors Program Bookstore award?

The Honors Program Bookstore Award is a personal account of $300 per semester at the Campus Bookstore. This account may be used to purchase books and supplies. Supplies include notebooks, calculators, flash drives, art supplies, backpacks, agenda books, dictionaries, writing instruments, lab goggles, nursing uniforms, etc. You must be physically present to sign for all purchases deducted from your Honors Award account, so you cannot use the Honors Award to make online purchases.

If you are eligible for the Bookstore Award, you will continue to receive it every semester as long as you maintain full-time student status at UMass Dartmouth and remain on track to graduate as a Commonwealth Scholar.

Who is eligible for the Honors Program Bookstore award?

Four categories of students are potentially eligible for the award:

1. All students who entered the UMass Dartmouth Honors Program as freshmen after May 2009 receive the Bookstore Award.
2. Students who joined the Honors Program prior to May 2009 receive the Bookstore Award only if they successfully applied to receive it when the award was announced in May 2009. There will not be another opportunity to apply for the award.
3. Students who successfully apply to join the Honors Program after one or two semesters at UMass Dartmouth immediately begin receiving the Bookstore Award. Students who have accumulated more than 40 college credits, including transfer and AP test credits, cannot apply to join the Honors Program.
4. Students who transfer into the Honors Program from other colleges and universities are eligible for the Bookstore Award once they have accumulated enough Honors credits to be considered "on track" according to the requirements outlined below.

How does the Honors Program Bookstore award work?

1. The Honors Bookstore Award takes the form of an account at the Campus Bookstore. You must be physically present to charge books and supplies to your account. As a result, the Honors Bookstore Award cannot be used to make online purchases.
2. The Honors Bookstore Award becomes available when textbooks go on sale in August (for the Fall semester) and in early January (for the Spring semester). It is not available for summer or intersession classes.
3. You can activate your Honors Bookstore Award in one of two ways. First, you may stop in the Campus Bookstore office to receive your four-digit account number before going shopping. The bookstore office is inside the store, to your right as you enter. Alternatively, you can go directly to the register to check out, where the head cashier will give you your account number after verifying your student ID.
4. There is a deadline each semester for the Honors Bookstore Award: the last Friday in October (Fall) and the last Friday in March (Spring). Any unspent funds remaining in your account after the deadline will be returned to the Office of Financial Aid. The only exception is credit for returned items.
5. If you return an item purchased with your Honors Bookstore Award account, the amount of the return will be credited back to your account. You cannot receive credit for a return in cash unless you made the purchase in cash. If you return an item after the deadline, the credit will be added to your Honors Bookstore Award account for the next semester. If your academic performance causes you to lose the Honors Award for the following semester, however, you will lose any credit as well.
6. Important! Do not confuse the Honors Bookstore Award with the UMass Pass-based “book voucher.” If you have excess financial aid, you may place up to $600 per semester on your UMass Pass for bookstore purchases. By contrast, the Honors Bookstore Award never exceeds $300 per semester, and the funds are not placed on your UMass Pass. You may, however, combine the Honors Bookstore Award with a UMass Pass-based book voucher. For more information about UMass Pass-based book vouchers, contact the Campus Bookstore.

How long will I continue to receive the Honors Bookstore Award?

1. Once you begin receiving the Honors Bookstore Award, it will be renewed every semester as long as you maintain full-time student status at UMass Dartmouth and remain on track to graduate as a Commonwealth Scholar. To remain on track to graduate as a Commonwealth Scholar, you must maintain a cumulative UMass Dartmouth grade point average of 3.2 or higher and meet the minimum requirements for Honors students in your college. The requirements are listed below.
2. Students who join the Honors Program after arriving at UMD are normally expected to come into compliance with the minimum requirements by the end of their first semester in the Honors Program. Failure to do so will result in loss of the Bookstore Award. Exceptions may be made in advance with the explicit permission of the Honors Director.
3. Transfer students are normally expected to come into compliance with the minimum requirements by the end of their first semester at UMass Dartmouth. Failure to do so will result in loss of the Bookstore Award. Exceptions may be made in advance with the explicit permission of the Honors Director.
4. Students who fall slightly below the minimum requirements for good standing in the Honors Program may be placed on "Honors probation" for one semester. Students on "Honors probation" do not receive the Bookstore Award, but will start receiving it again if they meet the minimum standards at the end of the probationary semester. Students who remain "off track" at the end of the probationary semester are dismissed from the Honors Program.

III. Requirements for remaining in good standing in the Honors program

In order to remain in good standing in the Honors Program, students must maintain a cumulative UMD GPA of 3.2 or higher, AND meet the following minimum requirements. These are MINIMUM requirements—in practice, most Honors students maintain much higher GPAs and take more than the minimum number of Honors courses.

Honors course credits must be completed with a grade of B or better in order to count toward the minimum requirements. No more than six credits of "Honors contract" coursework may be applied to the minimum requirements listed below.

*The minimum requirements for graduation as a Commonwealth Scholar are:

1. 15 credits of Honors coursework with a grade of B or better;
2. a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher;
3. completion of Honors 301;
4. completion and public presentation of an Honors thesis or project for which you earn at least three credits.