According to a recent report, college students have been studying less than they have in the past. Two economic professors from the University of California Santa Barbara and University of California Riverside, have found that the average student at a four-year college in 1961 studied for about 24 hours a week, but today only average 14 hours of studying. What’s even more surprising is that this is congruent with students of all ability levels including factors such as major, gender, race, size of school, and even the quality of SAT scores. Below are 7 reasons we believe college students are studying less these days.
1. Students Don’t Enjoy Long-Form Reading
When you look at the homework professors are assigning, most of it is a lot of reading that many students aren’t comfortable with. Students just aren’t into reading the material that is assigned to them, even though it delves into the core of the subject. Despite the lack of reading, a survey found in 2009 that 62% of college students studied 15 hours a week or less and still managed to earn As and Bs on their report cards.
2. Less Scholarships Means More Part-Time Working
With the economy doing poorly and less funding towards scholarships, students are trying to make ends meet by holding down part-time jobs to pay for school costs. A survey conducted by the University of California system in 2008 found that of the 160,000 undergraduates surveyed, most of them pointed their fingers at family responsibilities and jobs as interferences with their academic success.
3. Increases in Pressure for Professors to Meet Publishing Requirements
College institutions have put a lot of pressure on their professors to make their contributions to Academia that professors assign less work to their students so that they can meet the school’s demands. When there is much research work to be done by the professor, you will most likely not see an increase in assigned work to the student.
4. More Efficient Studying Methods are Utilized
Imagine having to do a research paper 4 decades ago. What could have been hours to track down important information for a term paper, can now easily be tracked down using Google. Information is so easily accessed that the quality of studying has increased.
5. Fewer Language Requirements and the Arrival of the Pass-Fail Class
With many colleges dropping their foreign language requirements, students don’t have to study as long because studying languages requires a lot of study time. Not only do students get a break with that, but they are also being offered pass-fail courses which don’t require students to put an aggressive effort in studying. If they know they can make it by without studying, there’s no point in doing really well in the class.
6. Extracurricular Activities and Leadership Positions More Important than Grades
More employers and graduate school admission committees are paying more attention to a student’s extracurricular activities and leadership positions rather than their grades. Students with great experience from internships and leadership participation in organizations reveal to employers a better candidate than someone who simply got straight As studying several hours a week.
7. Unwillingness from Professors to Challenge Students
If students were truly challenged by their professors, we would expect to see more studying taking place. Reasons are unknown why professors are not expecting more from their students, but whatever the reason, let’s just hope students are getting the same quality education we saw four decades ago.
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