Academic Expectations for DePauw Students

DePauw has considerably different academic expectations from those of high school, and it is important that students adjust to these new expectations early in their college carriers.

• College is not the end of the educational process but a foundation for a lifetime of continued learning and growth. Therefore, one of the central goals of college is to help students develop a sense of responsibility for their own learning and the ability to learn on their own.
• Accordingly, college students spend much less time in class than they did in high school but are correspondingly expected to do much more work outside of class.
• Students should expect to spend at least two hours studying outside of class for every hour in class. This means that they will be spending between 40 and 50 hours a week (or more) on their academic work, the equivalent of a full-time job.
• Students are responsible for learning a great deal of the material on their own outside of the classroom.
• Students should expect that course material will be covered at a much more rapid pace than they have experienced before. This expectation is partially based on the assumption that students are preparing carefully for class so that more material can be covered in class.
• Students are expected to come to class prepare and ready to participate actively in the class session. They are expected to have read the texts and used other required material carefully and comprehensively before the class session.

* policy passed by the DePauw faculty on April 7, 1997.

Update August 26, 1997