Differences in student load at liberal arts colleges vs. research universities

Question

Do students at liberal arts universities have 'harder' courses than students at research universities?

Computer Science curricula at large research universities have 5 to 6 courses per semester. The Liberal Arts model dictates roughly 4 courses per semester. If the load on the student is considered to be equivalent, there must be something special to the teaching in the Liberal Arts model.

How is it that a 4 course Liberal Arts semester is as intensive as a 6 course research university semester?

UPDATE: Many of the comments below say the course load I mention above is inaccurate. I have obtained the figures as follows.

• The Liberal Arts Computer Science Consortium (LACS) has released 3 LACS curricula in response to ACM/IEEE CS curriculum recommendations. The first in 1986 in response to the 1978 recommendation, next in 1996 in response to the 1991 recommendation and the most recent in 2007 in response to the 2001 recommendation. The 4 year course breakdown in all the LACS recommendations is roughly the same:
  • 4 courses per semester
  • 30-35% CS courses, 10% math, 5% science, and the rest, i.e. 50% or more courses on arts, humanities and social sciences.
• A typical graduation requirement at a research university is at least 120 credits, which comes to 5 3-credit courses per semester. Many require more than 120 so 6 course semesters are not uncommon.

Answer 1

You are making several unfounded assumptions:

• That courses are always 3 credits, so that "4 courses per semester" means 12 credits. I have taken courses that were worth 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 credits. Many of the science courses I've taken, including math and computer science courses, have been worth 4 credits. Basic sciences that involve a lecture, lab, and recitation have sometimes been 5 credits.
• That most liberal arts colleges follow the LACS recommendations to the letter.
• That the LACS recommendations somehow suggest that less than 120 credits are required for graduation. Here is an example of a liberal arts college following the LACS recommendations for CS and requiring 120 credits.

I did half of my undergraduate degree at a liberal arts college and then transferred to a large research university for the other half. There was virtually no difference in my courseload between the two - I took exactly one credit more in my two years in the research university. I just pulled up my transcripts, and this is what I took each semester:

Part 0

I transferred in 30 credits in humanities, etc. from college courses taken while in high school.

Part 1 - Liberal Arts College

1. 16 credits, 4 classes (4, 3, 4, 5)
2. 13 credits, 3 classes (4, 4, 5)
3. (Summer) 3 credits, 1 class (3)
4. 19 credits, 5 classes (3, 4, 5, 4, 3)
5. 12 credits, 4 classes (3, 3, 4, 2)

Part 2 - Research University

1. 16 credits, 4 classes (4, 4, 4, 4)
2. 19 credits, 5 classes (4, 3, 4, 4, 4)
3. 16 credits, 6 classes (3, 4, 1, 3, 3, 2)
4. 13 credits, 4 classes (4, 3, 3, 3)

(My undergraduate degree was in Electrical Engineering, with a minor in Computer Science.)

Answer 2

As with other commenters, I think the premise here is flawed.

I teach at a public liberal arts college which is typical of many. (Certainly our curriculum and requirements are in line with other schools in the COPLAC Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges.)

Our students are required to complete 120 credits to graduate, which over four years averages to 15 credits a semester, or five 3-credit courses. I don't believe there is any serious difference in student course load when compared to large research universities (but maybe someone will prove me wrong).

The main distinction about teaching at a liberal arts college is that the overall curriculum is broader, and students do not focus on specialization as much as integration of diverse subject areas. Instead of taking 70 or 80 credits of (say) computer science, our students take only 40-45, with the other two-thirds of their degree consisting of courses in other areas. In this way, students build a broad, integrated perspective which incorporates their major into a study of the world at large. The focus at liberal arts colleges is to help students become better critical thinkers, decision makers, and problem solvers, rather than becoming subject matter experts in a narrow discipline.

Answer 3

Teaching at a Liberal Arts school (in the United States), there is a lot more "teaching" expected. Largely, you do not have TAs for your classes, meaning you not only do all the lecturing, but also the grading and lab work associated with the course. Furthermore, Teachers at Liberal Arts Schools are expected to take a serious interest in the undergraduate body since there usually are no graduate students (hence few TAs).

I am not sure if they are equivalent, and certainly my advisor my research university only teaches 4 classes a year as well. I'd say his teaching load is far less than my professors at the Small Liberal Arts school I attended for undergraduate. That being said, he also has 4 graduate students he advises, which I think end up being a lot more work.

So from a class prospective, teachers at Liberal Arts schools tend to spend more time teaching. But from an advisement perspective, research universities tend to be more intensive. It probably evens out, though I have no first hand experience.