However, having an honors program requires an unequal distribution of academic resources. If the University's limited resources are reserved for a select few, then the larger Penn community receives a curtailed academic experience. In the extreme, this redistribution can reduce the effectiveness of the University's academic resources, outweighing the potential communal benefits of general honors. The difficulties in the designation process lead students to lack confidence in the validity of selection. If the privileges of honors seem undeserved, then those who are not designated honors come to resent those who are.
Honors can thereby excessively partition the campus community.
Significant benefits accrue to those designated general honors students. Honors classes are small, intellectually rigorous, and discussion-oriented. Such an environment stimulates collegial interaction and challenges both students and faculty to realize their potential. Using general honors to provide these special opportunities coincides with the University's desire to attract top-notch students. In this way, general honors functions as a recruiting tool.