Honors Bookstore Award

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

UMASS DARTMOUTH HONORS PROGRAM

HONORS PROGRAM BOOKSTORE AWARD

2009-2010 Academic Year

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, UBS 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) Incoming Honors freshmen. Every first-year student accepted into the Honors Program before his or her first semester at UMass Dartmouth will automatically receive the Bookstore Award.

2) Existing Honors students. Continuing students (sophomores and above) who joined the Honors Program PRIOR to Fall 2009 will 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 join the Honors Program after one or two semesters at UMD. First-year students who successfully apply to join the Honors Program after one or two semesters at UMass Dartmouth will 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. NOTE: This provision applies ONLY to students who were admitted to UMass Dartmouth in or after Fall 2009.

4) Transfer students. Students who transfer into the Honors Program from other colleges and universities are eligible for the Bookstore Award only after the completion of one semester at UMass Dartmouth. The only exceptions are transfer students who participated in the Commonwealth Honors Program at another public college or university in Massachusetts AND who have accumulated enough Honors credits to be considered “on track” according to the requirements described below.

How does the Honors Program Bookstore Award Work?

In order to activate your Honors Award, you must first stop in the Campus Bookstore office to receive a four-digit account number. The bookstore office is inside the store, to your right as you enter.

Your Honors Award account will be ready to use on August 10, 2009, the day that fall textbooks go on sale.

The deadline for spending your Fall 2009 Honors Award is October 31, 2009. Any unspent funds remaining in the account on November 1 will be returned to the Office of Financial Aid. The only exception is credit for returned items.

If you return an item purchased with your Honors 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 October 31 deadline, the credit will be added to your Spring 2010 Honors Award. If your academic performance causes you to lose the Honors Award, however, you will lose any credit as well.

Spring 2010 Honors Awards will be available for use in early January 2010, when Spring 2010 textbooks go on sale.

The Honors Award is available only during fall and spring semesters. It is not available for summer or intersession classes.

The Honors Bookstore Award was formerly known as the "Honors Program Book Voucher," but was renamed to avoid confusion with another kind of book voucher. If you have excess financial aid, you may place up to $600 per semester on your UMass Pass for bookstore purchases, and this is what the Bookstore calls a "book voucher." The Honors Bookstore Award will not be placed on your UMass Pass. You may 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 Program Bookstore Award?

Once you begin receiving the Honors Program 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. These requirements are as follows:

Requirements for remaining on track in the Honors Program

*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 at least one semester of the Honors 301/302 sequence

4) completion and public presentation of an Honors thesis or project for which you earn at least three credits

Students who join the Honors Program after their first or second semester 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.

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 disqualification for the Bookstore Award. Exceptions may be made in advance with the explicit permission of the Honors Director.

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.