The Miami University Honors Program announced Wednesday there will be a change in requirements for both current and future members.

According to Honors Program Senior Associate Director Kari Taylor, previously honors students were required to complete six reflective narratives for the Tier Two portion of the program, which offers courses and programs that help honors students practice research and inquiry methods. Under the new requirements honors students are now only required to complete two reflective essays for Tier two, said Taylor. The Honors program consists of three different tiers, the introductory tier, intermediate tier, and the advanced tier. For each tier students are required to submit an online portfolio consisting of reflective essays from the six different areas in which the program emphasizes growth and progress.

According to Taylor, the main reason for the change was because students and honors staff felt there was a significant overlap between some of the learning outcomes and essays. Recent issues with limited resources and staffing also contributed to the decision to cut some of the essay requirements, according to Taylor.

Current student junior Kate Schindler, who has already completed these cancelled requirements, said she is concerned that she will not receive credit for her work.

“I know that the Honors staff has the best intentions and are trying to make the requirements easier on us, and I appreciate that,” Schindler said. “However, the requirements they just dropped were ones I just worked really hard to complete and now I’m not sure if they will actually count for anything..”

According to Taylor, current students shouldn’t be worried because the program phased in the requirements. While it did create a new rubric for first year students, Taylor said the program did not change the rubrics for current students.

To help students transition to the new requirements, the program offers resources on its website and are holding open forums next week.