Harold William HalbertCollege faculty across the country recommends that students study 30 hours per week. In fact, only a few study that much.
Nationally, faculties believe students should spend two hours studying out of class for each hour in class. On average, a student at Cabrini has 15 credit hours so he or she should, according to faculty, spend 30 hours outside of class studying.
“Two hours studying out of class for every hour in class has to be generated,” Dr. Catharine O’Connell, the dean of Academic Affairs, said. “That does not mean that when a student gets right out of class they must go straight home and do two hours right then. It simply means in the course of a week, students are expected to put in 30 hours of studying, researching or reading and doing homework.”
This year’s senior class saw over half of its population achieve dean’s list status last semester. The class of 2004 had 32 percent of the total students making dean’s list.
“Upper class students tend to work more efficiently because they have been here longer and know the ropes,” O’Connell said.
Out of last year’s freshman class, 66 of the 281 total students made dean’s list, making 23 percent of the class of 2005 on the dean’s list for the spring 2002 semester.
“Freshmen do not come to college understanding the studying environment in college,” O’Connell said. “The main reason is high schools do not do a sufficient job of teaching students how to study.”
Many of the academic departments require their students to have a certain grade point average to remain in their program. Education majors must maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA, and social work majors must maintain a 3.0 or higher in their social work courses.
“GPA and study habits depend on a wide variety of factors,” O’Connell said. “Education majors normally have higher GPAs than average because they must maintain a 3.0.”
“I definitely study 30 hours a week,” Alexis Campbell, freshman elementary education major, said. “I think a lot of people do study 30 hours a week because of the amount of work in college.”
“I study 30 hours a week, but it is mostly homework and papers,” Suzie Euler, sophomore English and communications major, said. “I would think most people would study 30 hours a week, especially in their major.”
A good majority of students, however, do not put in the recommended 30 hours a week. Laura Cover, a junior elementary education major, made dean’s list last semester but believes she does not put in 30 hours.
“I do not do 30 hours a week primarily because I have no time,” Cover said. “However, I think how well a person does depends on their learning capacity. If a person uses class time wisely, then that is part of their studying.”
“I do my homework, reading assignments and studying, but I still do not think I put in 30 hours a week,” Andrew Storti, sophomore finance and accounting major, said. “On average my week consists of 10-15 hours total of studying.” Storti made dean’s list last semester and his overall GPA is a 3.93.
“I do not think I do the 30 hours outside of class,” Colleen Bowman, freshman business administration major, said. “My maximum is probably 10 hours a week, but I still get my work done.”
Many freshmen are still getting used to the college atmosphere, so their study habits may need some fine tuning. The college employs many programs to help all students, not just freshmen, achieve their academic goals.
“We offer extensive tutorial services, along with a writing center on the third floor of the mansion,” O’Connell said. “Also, the advisers are very committed and willing to work with students.”
The tutoring center, located in room three of the Rooymans Center, has seen a significant jump in the number of tutees using the center.
“We have definitely seen an increase in students,” Maritza DeJesus, coordinator of the tutoring center, said. “We see mostly freshmen because most of the courses that we have tutors in are first year courses like basic math and other subjects.”
The writing center, located on the third floor of the mansion, has also seen an increase in its usage. “This year, we are packed with students,” writing center coordinator, Dr. Ted Blaisdell, said. “On Sunday nights, we are in Xavier, Tuesday nights in New Residence Hall and Wednesday nights in Woodcrest. We are turning people away in Woodcrest because we have so many people.”
The writing center helps all students with their writing, but they mostly see English, psychology and sociology papers, along with graduate students and their papers.
With the increase of first-year students using the academic services, many hold the class of 2006 in high esteem.
“I have a fabulous feeling about the first-year students,” Blaisdell said. “We are so overwhelmed with the influx of freshmen wanting to improve their writing. It is such a wonderful sign.”
The sign that the current freshmen class is taking their education seriously will help them in the long run.
“The students who end up being successful tend to figure out that they have to put the maximum effort in for their education,” O’Connell said. “By starting early, their chance of success increases because they learn the habits of highly successful people.”
