Although the Gothic Reading Room is almost never devoid of a highly-caffeinated student reading or typing a paper, a recent study revealed that Duke students and their counterparts nationwide are falling short of professors’ expectations in their study time.
According to the National Survey of Student Engagement released Monday, students are not spending the amount of time studying that professors and administrators believe is necessary for them to succeed in their classes. NSSE, a study that measures the level of student involvement in academics and campus activities, indicated that only about 11 percent of full-time students spend more than 25 hours per week engaging in their schoolwork—the amount professors claim is necessary to succeed in college.
Students’ grades nationwide, however, do not reflect a lack of preparedness. Forty percent receive mostly As and another 41 percent earning mostly Bs, according to the report.
Most Duke students claim that preparing for their classes comprises a significant part of their week, but many admit that their study efforts do not meet professors’ academic expectations.
“Professors expect more effort than students actually give,” said junior Evan Shoop, a double major in political science and public policy studies. “I get decent grades, but if I read every assigned reading I was supposed to and every single E-Reserve I wouldn’t ever leave the library.”
Students said that if they were to fulfill their professors’ expectations about how thoroughly they should prepare for class, they would have no time to participate in extracurricular activities.
“With a lot of involvement in groups outside the classroom it’s important to look for a balance, and a lot of [activity] time comes out of studying,” junior Meredith Tenison said.
Some students noted that they are able to get through courses receiving satisfactory grades, but that they do so without synthesizing or truly grasping the material. “You’re going to do the amount of work you need to do to pass,” sophomore Theresa Mohin said. “Ideally we should being doing the amount of work you need to do to learn.”
Although professors acknowledge that there are many pressures on students’ time, they still expect them to complete all of the assigned work. Professors have different opinions, however, about the amount of time students need to fully prepare for their courses.
Mary Nijhout, associate dean for natural sciences and adjunct associate professor of biology, said coursework should be students’ primary concern. “Students should work with and be involved in their academic life full-time at Duke,” Nijhout said. “This means engaging with their academic work for more than half of their time in any one week and actively thinking and talking about their coursework.”
Albert Eldridge, professor and director of undergraduate studies for political science, expressed a more moderate view. “I want students to spend as much time as they need to really get over the material and truly understand it,” he said.
Despite some differences of opinion, professors generally acknowledge that a discrepancy exists between student and teacher perceptions of a manageable workload.
“Professors’ expectations and students’ expectations may differ, in that students may disagree with professors on how much work should be demanded,” said Gerald Wilson, senior associate dean of Trinity College and adjunct professor of history.
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