Homework completion is not the most important factor in a student's ability to excel in class, according to USA Today.
Recent findings from the National Survey of Student Engagement found that while 20 percent of college students do not do their homework, most still receive As, according to USA Today.
This may work at some schools, but some AU students and professors said that sort of "slacker" mentality does not work here.
Rebecca DiFede, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs, said it was acceptable to miss assignments in high school, but impossible in college if you expect to earn As. This stems from the higher number of homework assignments in high school, which noticeably decreases in college, she said. In one of DiFede's classes, each homework assignment counts for 10 percent of her grade.
"There are not a lot of assignments so most of them carry a lot of weight," she said. "You can't get away with not doing it."
Nicole Dillon, a teaching assistant in a Basic Topics in Statistics class and a junior in SPA, said students in the class who do not hand in their homework almost never receive As. Dillon said she has been a teaching assistant for two years and has noticed that most of the students who fail to turn in their homework are the same students who don't attend class regularly, resulting in even lower attendance and participation scores.
"Maybe it's because of the nature of statistics classes, but the homework is worth about 30 percent of your grade," she said. "If you don't do it, you fail."
In the class, missing only two assignments knocks your possible grade down to a B, even if you earn an A on every test, Dillon said.
AU professors count homework because they care about their students' education, but professors at other schools are not always this considerate, according to Wendy Boland, a Kogod School of Business professor.
"I purposely include homework assignments because they help students who aren't naturally good test takers," she said. "Each assignment is relevant and enhances the course."
Despite the mandatory nature of homework assignments, AU students find reading to be far less important. DiFede said most students she knows do not do their readings.
Noah Baron, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Communication, said he thinks students can get away with not doing their reading assignments and still get an A in a class.
"I haven't read anything this semester and I still have all As, he said.
DiFede and Baron said it is important to judge each teacher within the first few days to determine how important the readings are for the class because readings are more relevant for some classes.
Dillon said she understands why some students take shortcuts.
"If they were to do all the readings and homework assignments, they would easily spend 10 hours doing homework each week for every class," she said. "I certainly don't spend 50 hours a week doing homework."
Students spend 3.5 hours doing homework each week per class, according to the NSSE study. That figure is half of what professors expect students to complete.
The survey was administered to freshmen and seniors at 722 four-year colleges, according to USA Today. The results only varied by a few points for each group.
You can reach this writer at news@theeagleonline.com.
