Enrollment in UNLV's Honors College - an academic enrichment program open to the university's best students - has grown substantially in recent years and is expected to exceed 750 by the start of fall semester.

Begun in 1985 with 38 students, the Honors College is designed to provide participants with unusually rigorous courses and with extra intellectual opportunities.

"We are pleased with the significant growth in the size of the Honors College," said Sue Reimondo, acting dean of the college. "We believe this growth reflects not only the large number of academically exceptional students choosing to attend UNLV, but also the strength of the Honors College curriculum and the commitment of university faculty members to providing honors students with a truly enriching academic experience."

UNLV Provost Ray Alden, who oversees academic functions of the university, said another important factor in the growth of the college was a major financial contribution.

"Without a doubt, we should thank Stan Fulton, whose generous donation for the creation of a scholarship program for incoming Honors College freshman, proved to be a turning point for the program," Alden said.

In 1996, Fulton, a businessman and philanthropist, donated $1.7 million to the college to create the Stan Fulton Scholarship Endowment Fund. The following year, the fund began providing $1,000, one-year scholarships to every freshman entering the Honors College.

The impact of the scholarship program was immediate. Annual new enrollment in the college had stayed at about 80 between 1990 and 1996. In 1997, 133 new students enrolled. Since that time, the annual new enrollment has been about 135.

That freshman scholarship tradition was modified for the 2000-01 academic year, with out-of-state students being offered $2,000 scholarships. At the same time, in-state students, who because of their high school academic achievements qualified for Millennium Scholarships, were given $500 scholarships. That plan lasted only one year, however, and the $1,000 across-the-board scholarships for Honors College freshmen who applied before April 15 are being reinstated for the 2001-02 academic year.

Reimondo predicts that new enrollment for this fall will be about 140, bringing the total enrollment in the college to more than 750.

Admittance to the Honors College is based on a number of factors, including college entrance exam scores, high school class ranking, grades, and completion of an assigned essay.

The college offers two tracks. Students enrolled in the university honors track enter the program as freshmen and complete a minimum of 30 credits of honors core curriculum that replaces university core curriculum. The department honors track is designed for transfer students and for UNLV students who enroll in the college sometime after their freshman year. Students in the latter track complete four 400-level special topic honors seminars and write a thesis.

Many of the students who have written a thesis as part of the program report later that they believe the thesis was an important factor in their being admitted to top graduate and professional schools, Reimondo said.

She also points out that the 2000 edition of "The Best Colleges" compiled by the "Princeton Review" included UNLV and specifically mentioned the Honors College as one of the best reasons to attend the university.

For additional information, call the UNLV Honors College at 895-2263.