If you decide to contract a class, the first step it to talk to your professor. You and s/he will determine what additional work you will do in order to fulfill the contract. Suggestions for possible projects are listed on the back of the contract form. Once you have agreed upon the nature and scope of the project, complete an Honors Contract Form available in the Forms section of the web site or in the main Honors Office. Complete all information, have the faculty member sign it, make two copies, one for yourself, one for him/her, and return it to the main Honors Office.

You should begin this discussion at the beginning of the semester if not the semester before. Waiting until the Monday of the 8th week of classes to approach a faculty member may well mean s/he will not have the time to work with you, especially as faculty members are in no way obligated to allow students to contract classes.

No, faculty are under no obligation to allow students to contract classes. They receive no remuneration for doing so and have every right not to agree to do so. Most faculty, however, do enjoy the process and most are willing to work with highly motivated students. Having a project in mind when you approach a faculty member often helps to convince the person that you´re committed to the class and not simply contracting to fulfill Honors credit.

No. Several departments will not allow students to contract classes if they offer that class regularly on an Honors level. You should make every effort to fit Honors sections of classes into your schedule before you ask a faculty member to work with you on a contract.

If there is a problem, we will notify you. You can confirm your contract by checking your WAM (What About Me?) page at http://wam.unl.edu. If an "H" appears by the number of the class you contracted, then the contract is in place. If you do not find the "H" designation in 2-3 weeks after you submitted the contract, contact the Undergraduate Assistant in the Honors Office, and be sure to include your name, Social Security number, and the class you are contracting.

When you contract a class for Honors, you will no longer have Blackboard access in that course. Once you have verified on WAM that the contract is complete, please give the following instructions to the instructor as s/he will need to add you back into Blackboard. Please note that the instructor cannot do so until the contract has been processed.

Procedure for the instructor to add the student to Blackboard:

1. Go to your course (or organization) and click Control Panel.
2. Click on Enroll User.
3. Perform a search for the person by last name (or username if you know it).
4. Locate the person in the results. You´ll see the names, usernames and email addresses in the list of results. Use this to verify that you have the proper person. Student/TA usernames start with "s-" and faculty/staff accounts are a first initial, last name and number.
5. Check the box next to the proper name and click Submit at the bottom of the screen.

In order to process your contract successfully, we need all information to be complete and accurate. Be sure to write legibly and provide all information, including the total number of hours for which you are registered, name of the class you are taking, 4 digit call number, 4 letter department abbreviation, course and section numbers, number of credit hours for the course, and day and time. For example, if you were to contract the following History class, you should complete the contract as follows:

I wish to contract for Honors Credit in the following course: Western Civ to 1715

If you are taking a lab or recitation which is NOT graded separately from the class, list this as well. If the lab or recitation is separate and you are not contracting that portion of the class, do not list it. If you are also contracting the separate lab or recitation, list it on the same contract form. Be sure to describe fully the additional academic work you will complete for the course. If you need additional texts, be certain to list those so your textbook scholarship will apply to them. Be certain both you and the professor have signed the form. Completing the form fully and accurately will ensure timely processing of your contract.

Your instructor has several options: (and it is important to note that these options are the instructor´s not yours) 1-Remove the contract. The instructor may ask us to remove the contract and we will re-enroll you in the original class. This has no effect on your status in the program unless it means you will not complete the necessary number of Honors hours for that year. It is essential to think carefully about what you can accomplish in a semester, and plan ahead, both in your enrollment and in your semester itself. Do not leave the Honors portion of the class till the last minute. 2- Lower your grade. Your instructor may choose to lower your grade–how much is up to his/her discretion. However, it is essential to remember that a grade below a B in an Honors class, whether or not it is contracted, does not count toward completing Honors requirements. 3-Give a grade of "Incomplete". This is generally done only when at least 70% of the work for the course has been completed, and that would include 70% of the work for the contract. However, this can be done at the instructor´s discretion, though generally you need to sign a form which contains, among other things, the deadline for completion of the class. Being aware of that deadline is essential, as the grade automatically reverts to whatever grade the instructor denotes if the work is not completed and thus the instructor does not submit a change of grade form by the stated date.