The Dea(r)th of Student Responsibility

Abstract

More than eleven hundred university students were surveyed to determine attitudes toward learning and accountability. Apathy, absenteeism, and grade inflation emerged as contributing to the lack of student accountability. This article suggests institutional changes to reanimate college classrooms: explicit expectations; smaller, engaged classes; absenteeism consequences; grading consistency; elimination of the extra credit model; and reorganizing responsibility for retention and enrollment.