Congratulations, you’ve made it into the Langston University Edwin P. McCabe Honors Program! You did what you needed to do to receive either the McCabe Scholarship or the Regent’s Scholarship. But know that you’re on campus, there are a couple things you need to know if you plan to retain said scholarship. Langston runs a tight program when it comes to its scholars, so all active members need to adhere to all policies and requirements.
There are a few differences between the requirements for McCabe and Regents Scholars, one of those being the GPA (grade paint average) requirement. Since the McCabe Scholarship is the university’s full-ride scholarship, scholars must maintain a 3.5 gpa, as well as attempt and complete a full 15-credit academic semester. For regents scholars, you must maintain a 3.0 gpa and complete at least a 12-13 credit academic semester. For both groups of scholars, you must also take the honors general education classes during your first two years.
McCabe scholars also have two additional academic requirements. First, after a McCabe scholar has completed a minimum of 45 course credit, you are required to apply for, interview into and complete a Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education leadership seminar. OSLEP or the Oklahoma Scholar-Leadership Enrichment Program is a 3-5 day residential seminar created to “to emphasize scholarship and leadership among students at institutions in Oklahoma higher education,” which counts toward 3-credit hours for the semester.
In regard to the OSLEP program, be aware that there are limited spots available every semester when the course is held. That is why you must apply and interview before being accepted. If you can, I recommend applying during your junior year, that way if you’re not initially accepted the first time, you still have your entire senior year to complete the course.
Secondly, McCabe students must complete an academically reviewed thesis project by the end of your junior and/or senior year. You will be required to enroll in two semester courses to complete the thesis project. Preferably the second semester of your junior year, you’ll enroll in the first Thesis Project course, which is where you will go over the curriculum requirements, pick a topic, obtain a thesis committee chair, go over the methodology of your research and start collecting your data. Although a lot of the work will be independently done under the guidance of your thesis committee chair, you will still have to regularly submit your work for review. In the second semester, you will take the Thesis Presentation course. During this course you will analyze and synthesize your data and complete a 10-15 page thesis about your research topic. Once the writing portion is complete, you will have to present your findings to the class and the Thesis Committee Board, as well as have each board member sign off on your completed project.
Outside of academic requirements, all McCabe Honors students are also required to complete at least 60 service hours every year. It’s easiest to try and divide that into two 30 hour semesters. It’s up to you to decide how you will complete those hours, but you will have a Service Report form to fill out that will require signatures from supervisors or someone of authority that witnessed you complete your time. Luckily, Langston is pretty good about having opportunities to help out at the local food bank, to assist with event set-up and breakdown, as well as volunteer on the cleanup crew after athletic games on campus.
While being a recipient of an honors scholarship, you are also required to be an active member of the Scholars club and pay annual club dues. As a Scholars club member, you must attend all mandatory club events unless given an excused absence — and trust that they will be taking attendance — and you must follow any given dress-code instructions for the events. Usually this just requires you to wear either business clothes, business casual or an all black professional outfit.
Lastly, all scholars students must stay “in good standing” with the university. Honors students are expected to conduct themselves in a “professional, courteous and respectful” manner, which comes with a few requirements. As an honors student, we reflect some of Langston’s best academic students, and so the university asks you to represent them as such. This means being on time to classes and events, dressing appropriately, staying off our phone during specific matters and staying in academic and professional standing with the university.
Staying “in good standing” with the university is also meant in a legal sense. If any honors student is found guilty of a felony while enrolled as an honors student, your scholarship could be discontinued. And, if a scholar receives a University suspension, a large fine, OR a status of “not in good standing” from Student Affairs for any conduct unbecoming a Langston student, the student’s scholarship is also subject to being discontinued.
In reality, if you don’t successfully accomplish each requirement by the end of every semester, you could receive a hefty fine, be put on probation or have the scholarship rescinded. It sounds like a lot I know, but don’t let it intimidate you. It’s going to be a lot of work but it is 100% doable. Remember that hundreds of students before you have crossed that graduation stage with their honors certification.
The best advice I could give you is to one, stay in communication with your degree advisor as well as your honors advisor. Those are the people that will help you make sure that you are completing all the requirements during each designated semester, as well as in a timely manner to graduate within a 4-year timeline.
And Lastly, just stay on top of getting your academic requirements done. Taking as many classes as you are supposed to can get really draining and tiring at times, but try to have good time management and to also be aware of the next steps in your graduation requirement process. But truly, don’t let all this stop you from going out and having fun. It’s completely possible to balance both your life as a scholar and your life as a young adult experiencing college for the first time.
Sasha Ndisabiye
Sasha Ndisabiye is a 2024 graduate of Langston University with a degree in broadcast journalism. She previously served as Editor-in-Chief of The Gazette.
