An examination is provided of the limitations and the characteristics of community college honors programs. Introductory comments point to the potential of honors programs as one of the few opportunities for mid-career community college faculty desiring growth within a traditional institutional framework, while characterizing most existing programs as tiny, woefully underfunded, and of minimal impact on students and faculty. Next, specific reasons cited in the literature for starting honors programs are listed, and the emphasis on such words as "quality,""outstanding,""superior," and "scholarship" in these definitions is highlighted. After pointing to the lack of empirical data documenting the effects of honors programs on recruitment, retention and public image, the paper reviews efforts to maintain high admissions standards in these programs and the instructional modes available, including the course-centered program, the single-track or prescribed curriculum program, the core-oriented program, the individualized honors program, and the comprehensive program. Factors limiting the size of honors program enrollment are next addressed, followed by a summary of the rewards for faculty initiative provided by honors programs. This summary stresses that: (1) honors programs can be conducted at a minimal level at little cost; (2) because honors programs rely heavily on faculty initiative, the individual can make a difference; (3) faculty are afforded close contact with students and ideas; (4) claims regarding the benefits of honors programs are unlikely to be challenged by research-minded administrators in the immediate future; and (5) honors programs bring community colleges back to their initial promise of educational opportunity for all. (LAL)