Сегодня, в условиях академической революции, которую переживают университеты во всём мире, потребность в системных трансформациях диктует изменения академических форматов. Внедрение системы образовательных программ SibFU Honors College — это один из способов реализации данной тенденции. Во всём мире honors college не просто способствует повышению престижа университета, но вносит вклад в повышение конкурентоспособности привлечением лучших студентов, лучших преподавателей и стратегических партнёров. Практика honors college — один из эффективных способов развития талантов, необходимых для процветания глобальной экономики знаний.

Руководитель проекта SibFU Honors College МАРИЯ ТАРАСОВА была приглашена в Lee Honors College Западного Мичиганского университета. Декан колледжа ГАРИ БИШОФ (Dr. Gary H. Bischof, Ph.D.) ответил на ряд вопросов, связанных с миссией и функциями honors college в университете, а также высказал своё отношение к перспективам развития honors-движения в далёкой Сибири.

Maria Tarasova: Dr. Bischof, how would you define the mission of the Lee Honors College in Western Michigan University?

Gary Bischof: Well, we have our official mission, which is posted on our website. I’ll cite from there and then highlight a few things. The mission of the Carl and Winifred Lee Honors College is to provide an exceptional undergraduate experience for high achieving students, to inspire in our graduates a thirst for the lifelong pursuit of creative inquiry and discovery, to provide our students with the skill and passion to address critical challenges, and to foster personal responsibility informed by a global perspective. Unofficial mission, I would say, is for us to be capable in recruiting high-caliber students, for us to be what I term a beacon of academic excellence on the undergraduate level. I think one of the other missions, and one of the things that we do, is to raise the academic profile of the undergraduate population. We are about helping students be successful. So we are facilitators that help students meet their goals. We are supporters, also financial — we have some scholarships (‘Study abroad’ project, various research projects). And we are some kind of champions, — we celebrate their successes.

Maria Tarasova: Why do you think it is important for a university to have an honors college?

Gary Bischof: We create a community of scholars across different disciplines. It is our strength that we have students from all over the campus. We have a possibility of bringing together some more interdisciplinary perspectives on different things, opportunity to collaborate. Without the honors college it would be less of a draw to come to Western, because high-achieving students have some choices, and they may have a choice to go to larger universities in the state, or other places. But having the honors college, I believe, appeal to serious-minded students who want to get involved, to be successful academically and want to be surrounded by like-minded people.

Maria Tarasova: What are your thoughts on Siberian Federal University establishing the honors college? Do you welcome such an initiative?

Gary Bischof: I think it is exciting that SibFU is embarking this project and puts some resources into that with you as a leader developing a program. I think the honors college experience on college campus has potential to be enriching one. I would say it won’t do to do it as a total copying process. Some ideas and principles may work practically to implement in Russia, others might need to be changed, modified to make them more appealing. Some ideas can be universal. I think what you have proposed and what you are looking to do would be very consistent with the honors education in American institutions. I like the fact that you are looking at some interdisciplinary courses that help people think about things, about different ways of thinking, like for example, the visual thinking. Those are all benefits.

Maria Tarasova: In future do you see any possibility for collaboration between the Lee Honors College and the Honors College of the Siberian Federal University?

Gary Bischof: That is a good question. I certainly see some possibilities, especially now when we have established this relationship. I would welcome some further discussions of exchange of some students, possibly starting with some short-term kind of experience. I think there is some interest in our faculty in coming to Siberian Federal University. Staff here will be interested in visiting there to see what is going on, to consult. There is also a possibility of a dual certificate when our students do a couple of classes there and your students — a couple of classes here, and then we both can give them some kind of stamp for completion or approval for what they are doing in some international piece of the honors education.