As the new director for the Jane Stephens Honors Program at Southeast Missouri State University, Dr. Kevin Dickson said his main goal is to increase the program's completion rate.

Dickson is a professor of management in the Harrison College of Business and has been working with the Faculty Honors Council for several years, which helped to build his enthusiasm and support for the program.

"I had the chance to see what the honors program was and how it could help students, and I look forward to having an opportunity to help improve the program and help it grow and take some of the next steps to build on the work of people who came before me," Dickson said.

Dickson's main goal in his new position is to help students find ways to graduate from the honors program.

"I've been meeting with incoming freshmen during First Step as well as current students, encouraging them to come and talk to me because I would love to help them find a way that they can complete the program if that's something they really want," Dickson said.

The first step in Dickson's plan is to increase the number of honors faculty members across different departments in the university to help give students more opportunities for honors credit and advice from an honors viewpoint in their specific majors and departments. This includes working closely with the Faculty Honors Council.

"The Faculty Honors Council is responsible for approving honors faculty and also for advising the director of the program, and I'm looking to get some great input from them," Dickson said.

To Dickson, the honors program is more than just a resume builder for the students who graduate from it -- it's a chance for students to network with others who share their desire for academic success. A strong honors program is also a recruiting draw for outstanding high school students who are deciding where to apply for college and helps to draw exceptional students to the university.

"It's an opportunity for students who are excelling academically to work with other students who are excelling, and I think that's an important thing to provide," Dickson said. "It also provides a social connection with our activities that the Student Honors Council puts together."

Students who wish to finish out the complete program are required to have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5, as well as a minimum of 24 hours of honors credit and a final honors level research project. However, many students have trouble finding enough honors credit offered in their department. In those cases, students can choose to fill out an honors contract with their professor, which allows the students and the faculty member to agree on a set of individualized standards that allow the student to earn honors credit for a course. Another addition Dickson hopes to make to the program is to create a system of online honors contracts through the university's Office of Information of Technology, which would allow students and faculty to reference the contracts in a convenient, accessible place.

Dickson is also working to have the honors program at Southeast accredited by the National Collegiate Honors Council.

"I think within five years we will be fully accredited, which will add so much more to our program and what it can offer," Dickson said.

The future changes in the program are exciting for current students as well.

"It's hard to find enough honors classes in a lot a majors, so I like that Dr. Dickson is really trying to find ways to help students graduate with everything that they need," Corey Rogers, a senior honors student, said.

"I look forward to the changes in the program because I hope that more students will actually graduate as honors scholars," Suzanna Tullos, a sophomore honors student, said. "I think it will be better for students coming in to know that we really do care for them and we want the best for them while they're here."