A recent study has found that a large number of students do not learn much in college,  due to a lack of rigor in education.

The study, sponsored by the Social Science Research Council, followed 2,300 students at twenty-four undisclosed universities over four years. It measured their critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills through the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which measures the level of development in these areas universities are responsible for, according to Collegiate Learning Assessment Services.

It was discovered that 45 percent of students did not show significant improvement in their critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills by the end of their sophomore year, and 36% did not show improvement upon graduating, according to Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses .

The main causes of these adverse reports were found in the universities and in students.

Universities receive incentives based on student retention and focus on graduating more students to remain globally competitive, rather than on giving them  a quality education, according to an article by Huffington Post.

“It’s a problem when higher education is driven by a student client model and institutions are chasing after bodies,” co-author Richard Arum said in an interview with Insider Higher Ed.

However, the current economic situation surrounding higher education limits universities and its professors.  Universities are working hard to provide the best education given the economic times.

“You can’t save money by short changing the students. I think the University is trying really, really hard to do as well as it can with the resources that the legislature has given it, but I think the legislature should be ashamed of itself, ” Robert Schrag , communications professor, said.

Through changes in classroom sizes due to budget cuts, professors attempt to maintain high expectations.

‘I sleep well with my requirements. I think that I’m asking students to do what they should be asked to do at this level,” Schrag , who also contributes to the Chronicle of Higher Education , said.

Arum suggested that the quality of education is especially low at research universities. According to Schrag , professor research should pertain to what is taught in the classroom.

“Ideally, the research that folks are involved with [research] should come directly into the classroom,” Schrag said.

The study also considered students and campus life as a potential cause of apathy.

According to the study, while academically challenging courses resulted in improvement in skills and higher competencies, courses that are less academically demanding and require less work did not.

While the rigor of a given course can be a determining factor when students choose courses, professors teaching such courses understand the importance of challenging their students.

“It’s important for me to be very up front about [the required workload] at the beginning of the semester, so that students will be aware of the expectations. While I lose some students at the very beginning, and a few have trouble keeping up, I’ve had positive reactions from students who feel that they got out of it what they put into it,” Diane Beckman, a professor of French and world literature, said.

The study also claimed students who spend more time studying alone perform better than those who study in groups. However, some students disagree.

“I have participated in many study groups before for subjects such as calculus, biology, physics, Latin, history, and chemistry. They always proved to be helpful for both myself and my fellow peers,” Ruby Dotson, a sophomore in psychology, said.

While a negative relationship between academic gain and participating in non-academic social and extracurricular activities was also found, a well-balanced lifestyle and more challenging academics are needed for beating these statistics.