It is a schiztophrenic day in the news today, in that President Obama called yesterday for colleges to increase completion rates for students. The article tells us that he will " focus more than he has to date on the administration's intent to hold states and colleges more accountable for ensuring that students who enter college succeed once there."
At the same time, USA Today reports that college freshmen spend more time drinking that studying. A study shows that students spend over 10 hours a week at parties and only 8 studying.
How do we reconcile these two disparate understandings of college? Clearly these two things are connected. How do we get students to stop partying and start studying?
If students took college seriously, they wouldn't spend so little time studying. If they thought they wouldn't pass on 8 hours a week, they might study more. Raising our own standards would decrease our retention rate, making the Federal bean counters (not to mention our own administration) upset with us.
We face the same issues with the imposition of standardized tests. If we didn't pass so many marginal students, we wouldn't be under pressure of having someone else provide the backbone which we seem to be lacking. . .
3 comments:
>>The article tells us that he will " focus more than he has to date on the administration's intent to hold states and colleges more accountable for ensuring that students who enter college succeed once there."<<
In that event, we have to stop letting in anyone with a pulse.
I've always believed that everyone deserves a chance to give college a try. If we're switching to the assumption that everyone deserves to finish who starts, then we MUST get choosier who we let in. We will not be able to afford to admit risky prospects.
"How do we get students to stop partying and start studying?"
Partying is part of going to college. Didn't you party? Ten hours of partying a week? Not bad. The problem is how to get our students to study more. Students do have more that 18 ours of free time per week.
We should try to be more "in touch."
If students with a four or five course load can pass with only eight hours of study per week, then there is something wrong with the standards of their institution. That's the problem.
If students are partying on Friday and Saturday nights, then they are getting in about 10 hours of partying and have a healthy social life.
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