Students today are not the same as students back in the day. We can pretend and wish that it is not our problem and that students need to adjust to the way things are, but that is not right or realistic. You cannot blame the students for certain traits and characteristics. Some things are in their control and can be changed, but society, the pre-higher education systems, families etc. all contribute to what a student is.

We have studied the millennials and Gen Z as part of our research agenda during the last two decades and we have continued to monitor and think about the incoming students. It appears to us that education has not kept up with things over the last half century. What we need to teach is different, how we teach it needs to change, and we need to deal with how the students have changed.

Thoughts...

• Where is it written that a program should be based on ‘n’ courses per term, each demanding ‘m’ hours for the average student to get an average mark? Some disciplines have what can be perceived as high demands, 50-60 hours a week for the average student to get an average mark. Some have 60+. These types of load do not allow the students to experience university and get the full value out of their unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Upon graduation, it should not be just relief and a ‘we survived’, it should be way more positive than that. Having a heavy-loaded program does not mean the program itself is therefore better or deserves higher prestige.
• Perhaps some of the heavy load is driven by inflated views of the field of study and what should be included in a degree? Perhaps some of the load is strictly legacy, ‘if I had to do this, my students will too’? Perhaps there are other reasons?
• We suggest that if the threshold concept approach is used, the loads might not need to be the same and the students might actually be able to enjoy their post-secondary education and get more out of it. This is the teaching the student to fish versus being given the fish.
• The students should be able to network, interact with students from other programs, take electives and develop a broader education. We are not advocating a complete departure from a major and a solid education, but surely there can be more electives and options?

• When was a program rationalized and thoroughly challenged with respect to what is really needed to be taught versus what the instructors think should be taught? How many topics and courses on ‘x’ is needed if the students were taught to learn for themselves and could easily and effectively learn the material when needed? When we had many discussions with employers, they confided in us that they considered most of the knowledge students learned in school was not relevant, nor up to date. They saw value in some of the core skill courses, but there were many courses that made them wonder what was going on!
• If the waste in a program was removed, the students would have time for activities that would help with things like mental health versus doing things that harm mental health. Yes, students do fit things in, but it is at the expense of staying up all night, not eating right, not sleeping right. School should not be a sweat shop and students should not be treated as if they are in indentured servitude. Consider “hiring a graduate student” versus “supporting a graduate student”. The one phrase can imply a certain relationship and set of expectations.
• There is nothing in learning theory that supports any argument about quality learning occurring when there is lack of sleep and stress. There needs to be a balance – that pedagogical sweet spot. We talk to the students about balance, but heavily loaded programs do not support this advice and the advice rings hollow.
• There should also be suitable understanding, compassion, and exceptions made when warranted; when students are in crisis or have had a traumatic experience. A degree is not an artefact to be guarded with such rigid adherence that students are not treated humanely and with empathy.
• Sufficient guards should be in place to catch those who play the system and who are repeat offenders. It is better to assume that students are good and will do the right thing than to assume that all students will cheat or are trying to take advantage.

Further reading

• Supporting Students’ Mental Wellbeing: Instructional Strategies. Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/teaching-tips-planning-courses-and-assignments/supporting-students-mental-wellbeing-instructional
• VanderLind, R. (2017). Effects of Mental Health on Student Learning. Learning Assistance Review, 22(2), 39-58.
• Why is Inclusive Instruction Important? Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/teaching-tips-planning-courses-and-assignments/why-inclusive-instruction-important