Study: Colleges failing

Forget elementary school, the new debate in education is all about college students.

The bestselling book, "Academically Adrift: Student Learning on College Campuses," (2011) has sparked conversations across the nation about expectations and the value of education.

Richard Arum, of New York University, and Josipa Roksa, of University of Virginia, both sociology professors, set out to determine how much actual learning is accomplished in higher education.

They followed 2,300 students at 24 universities over their four-year education, assessing progress in academic skills as well as evaluating class assignments, study and social activities.

The results are startling and highly controversial.

The authors claim that many university students "demonstrated no significant gains in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written communications during the first two years of college."

This information has parents, educators, and students scrambling to figure out what to do.

While involvement in campus clubs has no noticeable affect learning outcomes, student activities that result in diminished outcomes are participation in fraternities and sororities and — surprisingly — study groups.

The study shows that working alone may be one of the keys to learning outcomes in college. Solo studying and increased reading and writing tasks are two of the ways researchers are encouraging students to combat this trend.

On the campus of NC Central University, some professors are reaching out to students early in the semester to encourage good habits. Sharon Rittman, biology professor, holds open door sessions for students to learn organization techniques and study skills.

"Students have to learn how to study," says, Rittman. "Reading is more than just looking at the words on the page — you have to be able to understand what it means and apply it to life situations."

According to Arum and Roksa, "32 percent of students each semester do not take any courses with more than 40 pages of reading assigned a week, and that half don't take a single course in which they must write more than 20 pages over the course of a semester."

The authors also found that students only average about 12-14 hours a week in study time, and that the bulk of it is in groups. These numbers, they say, are far too low.

The authors contend that a general lack of "academic rigor" on college campuses is to blame for this backslide in student outcomes.

In the past, universities expected students to place their studies ahead of all else without exception.

These days, though, having the "campus experience" is seen as an equally important part of a students' time in school by both students, as well as parents and administrators.

Students in certain departments, such as those in liberal arts, have shown to push for more readings and heftier writing loads — and showing the greatest gains, while others are not faring as well.

Majors in education, business, and social work showed the smallest advances in critical thinking skills.

"I think it really does depend on your major," says Abeygael Wachira, psychology sophomore, "Maybe they should analyze the fields and see which ones are falling behind and make changes for those departments."

Schools' focus on student retention may be another problem when it comes to academic demands. When a university has its eye on ensuring that every student graduates, they run the risk of lowering expectations on students.

Professors may not be held accountable for ensuring that their students are given challenging readings and, at times, be discouraged from instituting heavy coursework or grading too strictly, particularly with freshman and sophomores.

"You need an internal culture that values learning," says Arum.

"You have to have departments agree that they aren't handing out easy grades."

Retaining students who are not performing adequately, say Arum and Roksa, is more harmful to both the institution and the student than is culling those who are unable to keep up with more studious peers.

The result, they insist, will be that schools become nothing more than "diploma mills," which are churning out graduates who are ill-prepared for the competition and harsh realities facing the workforce in our current economy.

Professors and administrators at NCCU want to see students succeed, but acknowledge that just putting in time behind a desk is not enough. Working hard and applying oneself is what makes or breaks a student.

"We should be projecting that yeah ... this is hard." says Horacio Xaubet, Spanish associate professor, "Students should not be going to college just to get a job. We also should be here to become a better person."