Academically Adrift Analysis

English 011
Learning on College Campuses While socializing and community building is a significant part of the college life, education, as most undergraduate institutions would boast, is the most important and time-consuming part of student life in college. On the other hand, sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa would disagree in their book, Academically Adrift. In their work about the “limited learning” occurring on college campuses, Arum and Roksa point out that colleges are becoming less concerned with academics, and that focus has shifted from learning to socializing. The myriad statistical examples and standardized test analyses in Academically Adrift support that undergraduate students have strayed from the traditional
value of education. However, recent surveys conducted by Lehigh University students prove that the statements made by Arum and Roksa are not true for all college campuses, especially at a selective university like Lehigh. The studies in Academically Adrift utilize the Collegiate Learning Assessment to measure student progress in the first two years of college. The results of test indicate that there were “no statistically significant gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills for at least 45 percent of students” from the beginning of college to the end of the second year (36). I find a major flaw in this statistic in that the test leaves out some key factors: the CLA tests for certain skills, while at the same time leaving out others. The CLA is an examination of critical thinking and writing skills, which translates to more of a measure of intelligence than a measure of knowledge acquired. While college should be responsible for increasing intelligence, I think the focus is also greatly concentrated on learning new skills within specific fields of study. For example, if an engineering student’s major does not demand writing skills, his/her results on the writing portion of the CLA will likely show no improvement. The CLA essentially omits testing for other skills students have gained in college, specifically increased knowledge in their field of study. Students work hard to learn and understand the material in their field, and the format of the CLA effectively belittles these efforts.
The assessment results lead Arum and Roksa to assert that students in college do not work as hard as they used to.
According to their claim, students study less than ever before but overall have not experienced a decrease in academic performance. While students “lack academic focus,” they compensate for it through their acquired “ ‘art of college management,’ in which success is achieved primarily not through hard work but through ‘controlling college by shaping schedules, taming professors and limiting workload’ ” (4). In my experiences, I have seen such management occur frequently in high school, where time constraints are more of an issue than they are in college. On the other hand, with some exceptions, this is not the case for students at Lehigh. From our survey results of a sample of 96 students, my group concluded that 54% of students preferred a more difficult professor that teaches well to an easier professor who teaches poorly1. Therefore, the majority of Lehigh students prefer learning more material even if it requires harder work. Although 54% is just a slight majority, it nonetheless disproves Arum and Roksa’s blanket proposal that students get by with minimal effort in college. Furthermore, students at selective schools often prefer to learn independently, regarding quality of professors as less important. This accounts for the slight majority, seeing as the more autonomous learners would choose the worse professor for an easier grade, and learn the
material on their own.
In contrast, Arum and Roksa place a lot of importance on faculty-student interaction.
A resource for students when it comes to learning new material is their teachers, and Academically Adrift makes this apparent when they condemn students for their lack of communication with their professors. They report that 31% of students had only met with faculty once or twice in the previous semester, and that 9% had never met with faculty. With these figures as support, Arum and Roksa state, “Given their lack of faculty engagement, these students are potentially at an elevated risk of limited academic achievement and noncompletion” (64). In a survey conducted by a group in my class, it was found that out of students taking calculus, 85% thought homework was more effective than lectures, and 75% thought textbooks were more effective than professors. Out of students in chemistry, 72% thought homework was more effective than lectures, and 61% thought textbooks were more effective than professors2. These statistics demonstrate that faculty interaction may not be as crucial in certain subjects such as math or science. Moreover, the data shows that once again, the authors’ all-encompassing statement has exceptions, especially at selective institutions like Lehigh where the students tend to do most of their learning
independently. Learning independently requires a lot of studying, which students do not do enough of in college according to Academically Adrift. Arum and Roksa find that “On average, [students] report spending only 12 hours per week studying. Even more alarming, 37 percent of students reported spending less than five hours per week preparing for their courses” (69). Students in general may not be studying enough; however in a survey conducted by group in my class of a sample of 100 students concluded that students in their first two years of Lehigh studied an average of 14.6 hours per week3. In another survey conducted by a group in class, it was concluded that only 9% of Lehigh University students study less than one hour per day on the weekdays. This translates to 9% of students studying less than five hours a week, in comparison to Arum and Roksa’s 37% of students studying less than five hours per week4. Lastly, in the survey conducted by my professor of the Lehigh students in class, it was found that students study an average of 19.83 hours per week. Though a small sample, the figure does effectively show that there are exceptions to the claims in Academically Adrift. Therefore, while Arum and Roksa’s survey results are substantial and may pertain to college in general, they have some confounding factors and do not necessarily apply to selective institutions like Lehigh.
Students at selective institutions, while proving to have a strong focus on academics, also balance socializing as part of college life. The authors in Academically Adrift show that in a week, 51% of the average student’s time is spent socializing. Based on a survey conducted by a group in class, only 16% considered socializing their priority here at Lehigh, while 69% of students consider academics their main priority5. In addition, a survey that collected data from time-use charts of all the students in our class determined that 26% of the average student’s week is spent socializing—approximately half of the socializing Arum and Roksa claim students at the average university engage in5. From personal experiences, I can say that most Lehigh students like to do their fair share of socializing, but do so with balance and moderation.
Academically Adrift is filled with evidence demonstrating the modern day college student’s diminishing study habits and propensity to socialize excessively. While the wealth of information in the book does validate Arum and Roksa’s claim, their source for gathering results—the CLA—tests for only certain skills and is not necessarily a perfect evaluation. Furthermore, Lehigh University exemplifies how selective institutions continue to maintain solid study habits, while balancing social lives at the same time. Students at Lehigh study hard and study often, while also maintaining social connections necessary for building character and completing the college experience.

1 Kathryn Kundrod, Nick Gennuso, Jose Botran; survey conducted October 2011.
2 Andy Gelb, Stephanie Rothstein, and Alex Tessitore; survey conducted October 2011.
3 Jameson Barrett, Genemaras Kaylynn, Tyler Holcombe, Ellie Meyers; survey conducted October 2011.
4 Brian Perry, Tyler Landle, Christa Murphy, Emily Jiang; survey conducted October 2011.
5 Professor Dawn Keetley; survey conducted October 2011.