1) Science classes at the University of Denver require twice as many hours of in-class time compared to normal classes due to separate lecture and lab components, but only earn half as many credits. 2) A biology major reported spending 6 hours per week on science homework compared to 45 minutes and 1.75 hours for other classes, feeling this lowers the quality of work in other classes. 3) The document proposes increasing science classes to 5 credits total instead of 4 to better match workload and allow students to maintain a social life.

1. Science Classes: Double the Work, Half the Credit<br />[Slide 2] The average student at DU takes about four classes. Each of these classes is typically four hours, adding up to 16 hours per quarter. [Slide 3] However, if a student is taking a science class, such as chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, or physics, (or taking all four, if you want to be one of these), the class consists of a lecture and a lab. [Slide 4] Now, the typical schedule of one normal class usually takes place twice a week for two hours, or four times a week for one hour each. This is true for a science class as well; however, one lab is also included in this schedule, lasting four hours! [Slide 5]In this case, the science lecture counts for three credits, while the lab counts for one. [Slide 6] If one adds this together, three credits plus 1 credit equals four total credits earned for one Natural Sciences class. However, when the true hours are added up, four hours of lecture plus four hours of lab comes out to 8 total hours of one class. That is double the amount of time spent in class for half of the credit! [Slide 7] So, while one normal class requires participating in class as well as doing work outside of it, one science class requires being in a class twice as long and doing twice as much homework. So while everyone in college is going out and making bad decisions, laughing at you and making you the butt of their jokes for being “lame,” “uptight,” or “too serious,” you’re too busy staying in and studying while simultaneously worrying about your social life (or lack thereof). [Slide 8] Situations like these can lead to anxiety, lack of communication skills, social awkwardness, and depression. These feelings and personality traits can make the college experience even less rewarding and enjoyable.<br />[Slide 9] While every major has its own difficulties, it is believed by many who have taken a variety of classes that science classes contain very difficult, abstract, and more challenging material in comparison to other fields of study. While these “normal” classes require a pretty intense amount of homework, science classes, with more difficult concepts, ask for twice this amount of work. <br />[Slide 10] This is Kevin. He is a freshman at the University of Denver, majoring in Biology. His earns 16 credits per quarter by taking four classes each. This quarter, he is taking 2nd quarter Biology, 1st quarter Organic Chemistry, Sociology, and writing. When asked about how much time he spends on homework in his science classes in comparison to his others, he felt as if he worked at least twice as much in biology and organic chemistry in comparison to sociology and writing. Kevin feels that, on average, he spends about six hours on science homework per week, 45 minutes on sociology per week, and about an hour and 45 minutes per week for his writing class. When asked about his opinion about his science classes and the workload that comes with them, he stated that, “I feel I spend so much time in my science classes that it lowers the quality of my work in other classes.”<br />[Slide 11] I am sure no staff or faculty member of the University of Denver would disagree with me when I say that DU educates and prepares its students for the world after college by expecting them to be top-notch students and develop their social skills to the fullest. However, when we push our students too hard or don’t have an organized-enough system to allow them to succeed at whatever they wish to do, we are giving them the opposite of these goals. [Slide 12] In order for science students at the University of Denver to receive the credit they deserve while becoming the well-rounded individuals we want them to be and graduating at the average, reasonable time, [Slide 13] science classes, both lecture and lab, should be made worth 5 credits total instead of 4. Other challenging classes, such as business and international studies classes, count for 5 hours by themselves. If science classes were worth 1 more hour too, students would still be able to take the three other courses worth 4 hours, and still be able to meet the maximum requirement of 19 hours for at least freshmen. [Slide 14] Instead of almost punishing and indirectly isolating students from having a social life, especially those who will become medical professionals and will need social skills to work effectively, this proposal will reward the students in and out of the class room, and push them in the direction to happy and successful lifestyles in the future. <br />