Survey Reports Students Slacking, Preparation Lacking
Lauren Henry, O&B Staff Writer
Issue date: 11/21/08 Section: News
"College students' 'get away with' poor preparation," according to a November 10 USA TODAY article by Mary Beth Marklein.
A recent survey of college students and college professors discovered a discrepancy between what professors require of their students and the reality of the student's work.
"Nearly one in five college seniors and 25% of freshman say they frequently come to class without completing readings or assignments, a national survey shows. And many of those students say they mostly still get A's," the article reported.
The National Survey of Student Engagement of 380,000 randomly selected freshman and seniors at 722 four-year colleges told the world what most college students already know. Students don't do everything they are expected. The real news for many is that they are getting away with it with relatively no academic repercussions.
When faced with the results of the survey, Carson-Newman Dr. Mark Hussung associate professor of music and head of the honors program said, "I was shocked that that many could not do the work and still get A's."
However, is this average the norm for Carson-Newman students or does this institution hold its students to a higher academic standard?
An informal survey of many C-N students revealed that these student's study habits were as varied as the students themselves. Will Hodgson said he shows up to class without completing the required reading or assignments "probably about 96% of the time."
However, Nathanael Mosher says he usually completes the work expected of him. During those times he doesn't Mosher said, "I can get by. Teachers don't even notice."
Associate professor of religion Dr. Wayne Ballard disagrees, " you can tell if they have read or not." Dr. Ballard sees a direct connection between the students' grades and the work they complete, but in today's busy world, Dr. Ballard knows that not all students work as much as he would like. "They have to cut something and sometimes that is school work," he said.
A recent survey of college students and college professors discovered a discrepancy between what professors require of their students and the reality of the student's work.
"Nearly one in five college seniors and 25% of freshman say they frequently come to class without completing readings or assignments, a national survey shows. And many of those students say they mostly still get A's," the article reported.
The National Survey of Student Engagement of 380,000 randomly selected freshman and seniors at 722 four-year colleges told the world what most college students already know. Students don't do everything they are expected. The real news for many is that they are getting away with it with relatively no academic repercussions.
When faced with the results of the survey, Carson-Newman Dr. Mark Hussung associate professor of music and head of the honors program said, "I was shocked that that many could not do the work and still get A's."
However, is this average the norm for Carson-Newman students or does this institution hold its students to a higher academic standard?
An informal survey of many C-N students revealed that these student's study habits were as varied as the students themselves. Will Hodgson said he shows up to class without completing the required reading or assignments "probably about 96% of the time."
However, Nathanael Mosher says he usually completes the work expected of him. During those times he doesn't Mosher said, "I can get by. Teachers don't even notice."
Associate professor of religion Dr. Wayne Ballard disagrees, " you can tell if they have read or not." Dr. Ballard sees a direct connection between the students' grades and the work they complete, but in today's busy world, Dr. Ballard knows that not all students work as much as he would like. "They have to cut something and sometimes that is school work," he said.
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