Students’ advisors are responsible for providing guidance regarding format and the conventions of scholarly documentation pertinent to their disciplines. Advisors are also expected to periodically review the progress of their students’ research or creative activity. In addition, the advisor is responsible for asking faculty to serve as voting members of the examining committee and scheduling the exam.
All voting members of Lawrence University’s faculty may serve as advisors of Honors Projects. If the Honors Project advisor is a non-voting member of the faculty, he or she must enlist a voting member of the faculty to serve as a co-sponsor of the proposed Project and periodically consult with the co-sponsor as the project develops. A voting member of the faculty is one with academic rank (Instructor, Assistant Professor, Professor, etc.) and does not have to be tenure-track or full-time. Emeriti professors are considered voting members of the faculty during those terms in which they are teaching. Fellows may act as Honors Project advisors. Visiting faculty may act as Honors Project advisors at the discretion of the Committee on Honors.
The advisor, in consultation with the student and with the assent of the Committee on Honors, appoints an examining committee consisting of at least three voting faculty members, one of whom must be from outside the student’s department; the advisor, if a voting member of the faculty, acts as one of the three voting members of the committee. If the advisor is a non-voting member of the faculty, the co-sponsor acts as one of the three examining committee members. The non-voting advisor attends the oral examination and participates in all aspects of the committee's discussion of the project except voting on whether to award honors and the level of honors to be awarded.
The advisor reports the results of the examination to the Committee on Honors prior to its last meeting. The Committee on Honors reviews the recommendations of each examining committee and submits its recommendations for Honors in Independent Study to the faculty for final approval.
