Honors Program

Service and Leadership Requirements

Community service and civic engagement are important aspects of the Isabella T. Jenkins Honors Program experience. Students are expected to engage in activities throughout their time at Clark Atlanta University that build individual and/or collective leadership capacity and provide service to the program, institution, and community.  

A minimum of 20 hours of service and one leadership experience are required each semester of students in the honors program. 

Opportunities are regularly advertised and announced through campus communication channels. Often, students in the program are requested to serve as event volunteers, ushers, and participants. Additionally, students are requested to serve as tutors, mentors, Ambassadors, and Representatives of the program and University. 

These projects can be in the form of tutoring, reading to preschool or elementary school children, working in a homeless shelter, assisting the Red Cross, mentoring, or any other activity that provides service to those less fortunate. Honors program members are expected to attend cultural events—both on and off-campus. The events should be culturally uplifting and enriching for the mind and spirit of the attendees. All honors program students are expected to attend meetings, debates, and receptions sponsored by or supported by the honors program.

Honors Program Governance

The program is led by the Honors Program Director, who works in conjunction with the Honors Council. The program is a member of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC), The Southern Regional Honors Council (SRHC), and the National Association of African American Honors Programs.  

Student Conduct 

All honors program students are governed by the Clark Atlanta University Student Handbook, published each academic year, which contains the guidelines for student behavior. Further, it is expected that honors program students will conduct themselves in an honest, respectful manner both inside and outside the classroom. Each student is expected to attend class regularly; provide advance notice of expected absences, assist other honors program students; perform and present research at local, regional, national and international conferences; attend and participate in honors program-sponsored events and meetings; cultural events; debates, forums, workshops, and all other academically challenging activities. Honors program students are expected to behave in a collegial manner towards each other, faculty members and administrators. Proper procedures and policies should be followed when addressing academic or student affairs concerns. 

Program Membership

Admission for first-semester freshmen into the honors program will be determined as follows:

Program Admission

Profile Packets will be accepted for admission through the fall and spring semesters and considered on a case-by-case basis.

First-Year Students:

• Students with 3.25 or higher unweighted grade point averages for their four years of high school will be considered for admission to the program if they have satisfactory SAT (980 minimum) or ACT (20 minimum) scores. 
• If space is available, students may be considered for admission to the program at beginning of the second semester of their first year if they earned a grade point average of 3.25 or above in their first semester at Clark Atlanta University.

Sophomore and Transfer Students:

Transfer students may be invited to join the honors program at the beginning of their first year on the basis of a promising academic record at their previous institution and a grade point average of 3.25 or above in their first year at Clark Atlanta University. 

Sophomores may be invited to join the program if they earned a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 by the end of the spring semester of their first year at Clark Atlanta University.

Remaining in the Program

To remain active in the Isabella T. Jenkins Honors Program and eligible for honors-level courses, students must do the following: 

• make satisfactory progress toward the completing course, 
• maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.25,
• attend/participate in mandatory program events, and
• maintain satisfactory disciplinary standing with Clark Atlanta University.

If a student’s cumulative grade point average falls below the required minimum, the student will be issued a warning that he/she may be endangering his/her prospects for completion of the honors program in good standing. A student receiving such a warning will be encouraged to assess the possibility of raising her/his GPA in time to graduate as an honors program student. If this appears to be impossible, the student will be informed by the Director. A student who does not achieve the required cumulative GPA at the time of graduation will not graduate with recognition from the Isabella T. Jenkins Honors Program. Appeals can be made to the Director in the case of extenuating circumstances.