Is College Hard? Students Are Studying Less, Says Survey

Older generations like to claim that they had it tougher than kids today. Well, there may be some truth to that, at least when it comes to college.

College students are spending less time studying - the amount has dropped from 24 hours a week to 15 over the last 50 years - according to the Washington Post, citing the National Survey of Student Engagement.

It's the difference between a full-time job (16 hours in class and 24 hours studying per week in 1961) and kindergarten (27 hours of class time and studying today), notes Newser.

The study broke down the numbers by major, finding major differences in average weekly study, from 24 hours for architecture students to 11 hours for parks, recreation and leisure studies.

The results trouble some university officials. “It’s not enough,” Peter Stearns, the provost of George Mason University, told the Post. “And it’s a figure that troubles us, not only at Mason but in higher education generally.”

Other academic experts question the findings, saying that the study is based on an outdated view of what makes up a college education. "Back when students spent an average of 24 hours a week studying, a lot of that “study time” involved sifting through card catalogs, browsing book stacks, writing papers by hand or on typewriters, and doing many other tasks which can be done much more efficiently now via other means," wrote John Sener, the author of "The Seven Futures of American Education: Improving Learning and Teaching in a Screen-Captured World."

Are you studying enough? Tell us in the comments below.