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May 05, 2008, 01:57 AM ET
Homework by Major
Stephen’s post last week about reading complained that students don’t want any more homework, and their disposition certainly shows up in the surveys. In the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement, almost one in five college seniors devoted five hours or less per week to “preparing for class,” and 26 percent stood at six to ten hours per week. College professors say that achievement requires around 25 hours per week of homework, but only 11 percent reached that mark.
The 2007 NSSE numbers break responses down by major, and the homework levels for seniors are worth comparing. Here are numbers for 15 hours or less.
Arts and humanities majors came in at 16 percent doing one to five hours of homework per week, 25 percent at six to 10 hours, and 20 percent at 11 to 15 hours.
Biological sciences: 12 percent do one to five hours, 22 percent do six to 10, and 20 percent do 11 to 15 hours.
Business: 23 percent at one to five, 30 percent at six to 10, and 19 percent at 11-15 hours.
Education: 16 percent at one to five, 27 percent at six to 10, and 21 percent at 11 to 15 hours.
Engineering: 10 percent at one to five, 19 percent at six to 10, and 17 percent at 11 to 15 hours.
Physical Science: 12 percent at one to five hours, 21 percent at six to 10, and 18 percent at 11-15 hours.
Social Science: 20 percent at one to five hours, 28 percent at six to 10, and 20 percent at 11-15 hours.
NSSE includes the total number of respondents for each major, and it is generally true that the more popular the major, the less homework students do.
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