I was looking through some news websites the other day and I came across an interesting story published in the New York Times. It covered a recent study done by researchers at UC-Irvine that was called, “Self-Entitled College Students: Contributions of Personality, Parenting, and Motivational Factors.”*

The survey explored the sense of entitlement that current college students have with respect to grading. Researchers found that two-thirds of students typically feel that as long as they work hard, they deserve a higher grade regardless of the quality of work. One-third of the students surveyed felt they deserved a minimum grade of a B for simply attending lectures.

These statistics made me think. I’ll use a common grading scale to explain my reasoning. Typically a grade of A is explained as “excellent,” B is “good,” C as “average,” D is “below average,” and we all know what F stands for. Given the results of the survey, it can be implied that 33% of college students feel attending lectures constitutes a “good” level of work. Now, I won’t argue that attending 1.5 hour lectures at 8 a.m. isn’t difficult at times, but it certainly doesn’t require any physical work to go to class.

The next step in the process was to try to address why students feel this way. Dr. Ellen Greenberger, lead author of the study, suggests it may be a result of parental pressure, competition among peers, or a heightened sense of achievement anxiety. I feel it is more a product of the day and age we live in. With the rise in technology, it has become increasingly easy for students to accomplish certain tasks at a faster pace. Because of that, students have started focusing more on getting the task done and less on the quality the work. Now, while 33% does not represent the entire college student population, it clearly is a trend.

I would be interested to hear what you think about the study and why you think students feel this way. 

To read the full article click here.
 
*Published in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2008