UK students’ workloads have reached their highest levels in recent years, with universities increasing contact hours, assignments and placements despite more pressure on undergraduates’ time because they are having to take on paid work.
After years of complaints about there being too few seminars and lectures on some degree courses – an issue exacerbated during the pandemic – this year’s Student Academic Experience Survey, published on 22 June, identifies a rebalancing away from independent study towards instructor-led time.
Authors said this was adding to the pressure on staff and was not necessarily welcomed by all students, whose perception of value for money has not recovered to pre-Covid levels.
The annual poll of 10,000 students – run by Advance HE and the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) – found that the total average number of hours spent on courses per week increased in 2023 to 33.4, after several years of remaining at around 30 or 31.
