Work-load and the quality of student learning

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Abstract
For many undergraduates, the amount of work they are asked or expected to do is among the most crucial factors affecting their engagement with a course of study. Yet student work-load is a neglected issue, in research literature as in practice among teachers in higher education. In the context of increasing concern among educationists about the quality of students' learning, and some discussion of recent research findings, it is argued that ‘reasonable work-load˚s is a pre-condition of good studying and learning. Some of the ways in which workload can be measured are discussed and, in particular, the methodological difficulties involved in relying on students' perceptions of it. A more rigorous method of calculating student workload, in advance of course presentation, is outlined. Arguments and evidence are drawn largely from studies of adult part-time students of the arts and humanities at the Open University (OU), but are applicable more widely in higher education. Suggestions are offered about how student work-load can be regulated and some implications of this for curriculum and course design, as well as for the quality of student learning, are presented.