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4 hours contact hours (max) 1st year

as stated in the title, i am in my first year of university. i have maximum 4 hrs contact time a week. is this normal?

i feel like it is very very little. maybe i was expecting too much though.

i am debating whether or not to drop out, not due to this but i just don't think i like being here at all.

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Reply 1

ThePricklyOne

Unfortunately, that's normal for non-STEM courses.

University means you are treated as an adult and expected to do a lot of independent study / research. So less contact time.

Have a word with your personal tutor to check whether the number of hours / classes are correct for you degree and year of study.

Reply 2

fefssdf

Original post by hollybrooks

I get 14 contact hours a week and it's really frustrating as there's lots of things I'd want to get involved in like volunteering activities but I can't cause my timetable is so busy ; getting involved with things like sports ect or volunteering schemes at uni will help you feel like you're getting more of your money's worth so perhaps this is something to consider. 4 hours does seem rather small but I imagine it is sufficient in order to do well on the course along with a lot of independent study

Reply 3

hollybrooks

Original post by ThePricklyOne

thanks for the response

Reply 4

username2885068

Original post by hollybrooks

What course? As others have said, you've got to be more independent at university. I'd give it more time before you make the decision to drop out, see if it gets better. It's still early days

Reply 5

nexttime

Original post by fefssdf

I get 14 contact hours a week and it's really frustrating as there's lots of things I'd want to get involved in like volunteering activities but I can't cause my timetable is so busy ;

Reply 6

Joinedup

counting lectures and tutorials - I'd have thought you should get 2 hrs per module minimum but it might vary for all I know.

still wouldn't be a high number on a BA since you're supposed to be making it up with a lot of self guided study.

Reply 7

_Fergo

I had 14-16 last year in a non-STEM subject. 4 hours is a joke tbh.

Reply 8

hollybrooks

Original post by CarysJSLewis

What course? As others have said, you've got to be more independent at university. I'd give it more time before you make the decision to drop out, see if it gets better. It's still early days

fashion buying and brand management

(bit like fashion business)

Reply 9

hollybrooks

Original post by _Fergo

I had 14-16 last year in a non-STEM subject. 4 hours is a joke tbh.

yeah it feels like a joke tbh

Reply 10

999tigger

Does the 4 hours include lectures or is that just tutorials?

Reply 11

hollybrooks

Original post by 999tigger

Does the 4 hours include lectures or is that just tutorials?

it's everything

Reply 12

999tigger

Original post by hollybrooks

it's everything

Depends on the uni. If its insufficient and you will not peform well, then find a course with greater contact hours. Talk to second years or student reps and find out what their experience was or find out from epople taking your subject.

Reply 13

username1221160

Don't drop out. We need people like yourself to subsidise our STEM degrees.

Reply 14

GoingToBurst

What is the breakdown of those 4 hours? 4 hours seems incredibly few for first year.

Reply 15

doodle_333

pretty normal for a course like English

Reply 16

Klix88

If it's something like an English degree, there will be a huge volume of basic reading to get through, so that you have some understading of what's being discussed in your contact hours. Make sure you have your reading lists and crack on. This is uni - you aren't going to be "taught" in the way you would have been for A Levels. You're guided through how to study the subject for yourself and you're given the time and resources to do that.

Reply 17

Kevin De Bruyne

My worst semester had 25 hours a week (including 2 hours of languages tbf) and physics/engineering students struggle a bit more... (I study maths)

Then again I know someone who does 8 hours a week so has a nice part time job and time to study.. well jel.

Reply 18

Airmed

I've 4hrs this semester, and I'm in 3rd year (Scottish uni). Last year I had about 6-8hrs a week, depending on the module. It's pretty normal for us Arts and Social Science students to have low contact hours.

Reply 19

ellai17

Hi,

I'm in second year but I had exactly the same problem last term, I only had 6 hours a week. I spoke to my tutor about it and she explained how for every one hour of lectures I have I should add on three hours of independent study. I don't know whether that would be the same for you but university is all about doing independent work, something which I took a while to learn.

I know how it feels to see people getting more hours of lecture for the same amount that you pay, for less lectures, but you could also spend more time doing extra actives like volunteering/ part time job/ society which will look good on you CV once you do graduate!

Hope this helped.