On Helping College Students to Identify Their Calling [A Little Sooner]

As I sat in our kitchen yesterday, sipping my coffee and listening to the radio, I was surprised to hear a news report about how little today’s college students are actually learning.

Some of the numbers the reporter quoted were staggering:

• 45 percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” during the first two years of college.
• 36 percent of students “did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning” over four years of college.
• Those students who do show improvements tend to show only modest improvements. Students improved on average only 0.18 standard deviations over the first two years of college and 0.47 over four years. What this means is that a student who entered college in the 50th percentile of students in his or her cohort would move up to the 68th percentile four years later — but that’s the 68th percentile of a new group of freshmen who haven’t experienced any college learning.

I didn’t catch the source during that radio report, but later in the day was pointed to an article at InsideHigherEd.com entitled ‘Academically Adrift’.

This article, citing research that was conducted by The Social Science Research Council, point to ‘academic rigor’ as the main culprit for why college students are failing to learn.  The research cited some of the following as co-contributors to the problem:

• Classes with less than 40 pages of reading assigned per week
• Classes with less than 20 pages of written work assigned over the course of the semester
• A small number of hours spent by students actually studying each week
• Most students choosing to studying in ‘study groups’, and not alone
• And an institutional emphasis on extra-curricular activities and connecting socially with peers

What’s behind it?

Well, the authors of the book, ‘Academically Adrift’ – Richard Arum, professor of sociology and education at New York University, and Josipa Roksa, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, point ultimately to the need for colleges and universities to “fill seats” (for the institution) and meet the high demands of the consumer (the students and parents who are expecting an exceptional experience from the university).

By making the college experience less academically stringent, more time and space is made available for social and extra-curricular activities, which Arum and Roksa believe translates into an increase in student applications, acceptance and retention.

Getting back to the question ‘academic rigor’ though, and the kinds of classes that students are taking (choosing), I find myself wondering how much of this ‘lack of learning’ actually has to do with a lack of direction and overall sense of calling.

The article, at one point, alludes to this… but doesn’t seem to make much of it.

I would contend that this has everything to do with the current issue in Higher Education.

Sure, there may be classes that need to be beefed-up in terms of what they require students to do for their class… but I think the key lies in helping students to connect their education with who God has created them to be… and what God has created them for.

I think there’s a switch that is thrown for most students when they are awakened to the passions and gifts that God has instilled in them, and how that corresponds to a deep need in a hurting world.

When students are awakened to the fact that their college “education” is more than just a hoop to jump through, but ultimately, a way through which God wants to prepare them for a great work in this world — something changes.

In these instances, students tend to shift their focus from grades to learning (and consequently, excel in the area of grades — because they are thoroughly learning the material — go figure), from preparing for a job to training for a calling.

They move from consumers of a college experience to stewards of their educational experience.

And I think this is one of the significant roles that we are supposed to play in the lives of students…

To help them ‘flip this switch’.

From career to calling.

From the pursuit of self-interests to the pursuit of assisting others — meeting needs.

From consumer to steward.

When you consider that the alternative (yes, even for the students involved with our ministries) is that they amass a great deal of debt, while having a lot of fun, and earning a degree they won’t use, to get a job for ‘less than noble reasons’, that allows them to be a consumer in a consumer-driven society… is there really any other choice?

Yes, we must assist our students in the quick identification of their calling — or at the very least — the discovery of their God-given gifts, talents and passions… and how they can be used to make the world a better place.

And how their education during these formative years of life is a BIG, big part of that process.

What do you think?

• How does your ministry assist students in this area of identifying calling?
• What kind of emphasis do you put on academics?
• Are there instances where you challenge students to give less time hanging out with you and your ministry, and more time to their studies, in the name of stewardship?

I’d love to know what you think about this and what this looks like on your campus!

Please continue the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comment section below!

Thanks!