In my past life (when I was in high school) I always wondered how difficult college life would be. I was curious about how much free time I would have and how hard it would be to make good grades. Now that I’m almost a senior, I’ve figured out how to maximize both my “free time” and academic time, but finding this balance is challenging without knowing what to expect from particular courses.
By knowing one of my courses this year is more intensive than most courses, I realized this probably wasn’t a good time to take on 19 credit hours. If the course expectations hadn’t been clear up front, I probably would have major stress problems.
One thing that has confused me about Loyola’s academic system is the course numbering. It seems like high-numbered courses should be more rigorous than introductory courses, but that’s not always the case. Courses should build on each other so at the 300 or 400 level a certain knowledge base is expected. Some of the advanced common curriculum courses deserve higher number values than 100-something.
A course shouldn’t be rigorous just for the sake of being rigorous. Rigor must be a means to a more educational experience. The focus should be on depth, not breadth, and on quality of learning, not quantity of information.
One thing I like about Loyola is our classes aren’t overly competitive. I still want to make A’s, but I’m not worried about appearing smarter than anyone else. During my semester away in Fall 2005, I went to a college where some students tried to appear smarter than their classmates. This was discouraging to me because, though I worked hard, someone was always a step ahead of me.
Loyola’s laid-back atmosphere is much more encouraging to me. I don’t have someone looking over my shoulder trying to outdo me. Loyola students are more concerned with enjoying life than with being a genius. We are Loyola University New Orleans, and the New Orleans lifestyle is part of our identity.
We are here to learn, so academics should be our priority, but some students will get a more enriching experience out of working in the community or attending local performances. Our laid-back atmosphere allows students to do these things. Clarifying academic expectations would help us find the best balance for our interests.
One idea SGA College of Social Sciences Representative Casey Trahan suggested was linking more specific information to the LORA Schedule of Classes about the professor’s teaching style and basic requirements. If we move this idea forward and find faculty support, students would be more informed when planning schedules.
An objection to stating course difficulty before registration is students might take advantage of the information to schedule classes that might be easier rather than ones that might be more beneficial. Students usually know what’s in their best interest, and our academic advisers should guide us along in scheduling. No one should be caught stressing about five intensive midterms without being able to plan for them ahead of time.
Some courses are easier for some students than others, and that’s OK. It gives us more time for our more challenging and our more preferred commitments. Knowing what to expect would allow us to maximize our time by planning a balanced schedule that might even allow a little time to relax.
André Breaux is a mass communication junior from Lafayette.
