Honors programs are frequently regarded as inspiring for redesigning curricula in higher education that incorporate 21st century skills. This explorative study focuses on eliciting students’ perceptions regarding their learning gains related to these skills in honors programs. Results demonstrated high learning gains. Moreover, based on students’ insights, each honors program can be characterized by its own profile regarding the type of 21st century skills. Further, in two honors programs students were asked to compare their learning gains with the perceived learning in their regular program. The majority of students emphasized that their skills were highly promoted in their honors program in comparison with their regular program. Finally, students suggested varying possibilities to incorporate honors activities in their regular program. However, from a curriculum design perspective, adjustments are needed to fit the regular groups of students.

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Can we match formal procedures for quality assurance with the creativity and individuality that defines honours? In a session at the Utrecht Honours Conference 2016: Honours Futures we discussed experiences in quality assurance of honours programmes in the United States of America, the Netherlands and Belgium. To illustrate the possibilities, a case study of using an external audit for honours education and two case studies of the use of internal quality assurance tools in an honours programme were presented. It is concluded that a form of quality assurance is needed to continuously improve. So honours educators must at least care for internal quality control. Student involvement is stimulating for the engagement of all participants in the process of quality control. Internal quality control may result in an annual report. Annual reports can be used both internally and in external quality control.