Students should spend 37 hours a week studying

Students are spending an increasing amount of time on part-time jobs, which would sound reasonable if the job was relevant to their studies. But sometimes it isn't. A new teaching code created by CBS states that the completion of a programme requires an effort that corresponds to a full-time job. Jan Molin, Dean of Education, sees a trend towards student jobs getting in the way.

- We have the impression that students at CBS and other universities work more, which affects studying, he says.

Are student jobs worthwhile?

Jan Molin finds that study-related jobs or jobs, where students have time to study or make assignments, make sense.  Other work should be kept at a minimum. The students should consider whether their job promote their careers or if it is impeding their studies. Even if students are having a study-relevant job, they should consider whether they are actually benefiting in the long run from spending their time on working instead of studying.

- It is a big city phenomenon - with plenty of job opportunities. Students must be careful with their time. A student job may take up so many hours that they aren't able to study hard enough and become qualified for a real job after graduation, says Jan Molin.

Enough contact lenses for one month

CBS has launched a teaching code to avoid that students try to manage their studies by a part-time effort. The code has been developed in partnership with the student organisations and states that completing a programme requires 1,650 hours per year.

The activities differ from programme to programme, but the amount of projects, internships, teaching, group work, on-line assignments, reading, exams, etc., must according to Jan Molin correspond to a 37-hour work week. 

- If you buy contact lenses for one month, the quality of the lenses must fit, but the amount of contacts - and the number of student activities - must also correspond to the number of days of the month, Molin says.

12 hours a week - a guideline

An important tool to ensure a proper quality is a minimum standard for the number of lessons and weeks with 12 lessons a week in 12 weeks per semester for bachelor students. According to Jan Molin, this guideline has been mistaken for a guarantee.

- This guideline has been interpreted as a guarantee for lessons, but it is the minimum standard for weeks with no other activities such as exams, internships or projects. The teaching code prepares the ground for a pedagogy that draws on different types of student activities. Therefore some programmes may have less than 12 lessons per week, as it responds better to the objectives. However, the overall amount of teaching activities must correspond to full-time studies - 1,650 hours per year, Molin says.

During the next 2-3 years, all programmes will be assessed. The management of CBS and the student associations will in partnership be examining whether there is a proper balance between lessons, class size and lecturers.

Read the teaching code