Distractions like hanging out with friends, video games and the Internet replace study time for students, but experts stress that college is a 40-hour a week job.

A survey done by the National Survey of Student Engagement reports that 63 percent of full-time freshman students spend 15 hours or less on homework each week. It also states that around 19 percent spend a minimal five hours or less on their homework each week.

UW-Eau Claire counselor Richard Boyum recalls a time when he was discussing study habits with a student.

“I asked him ‘Why do you study so little?’ and he said, ‘Because I can,’ and it made perfect sense,” Boyum said.

He said he believes time management can help students get the amount of studying done, yet still leaves plenty of time to socialize.

“A great quote I heard once is, ‘You manage your time, you manage your life, you waste your time, you waste your life,'” Boyum said.

Many professors and academic advisers suggest that students spend two hours studying for every hour that is spent in class. This means spending around 25-30 hours a week studying, and including time spent in the classroom, students should spend a total of 40 hours a week focusing on their academics.

“I probably study 10-12 hours a week at most,” freshman Erin Campbell said. “I mean, sometimes I study two hours a night and sometimes I don’t study at all.”

Some students feel that professors don’t give them enough to do, Campbell said.

“Half the teachers don’t give out homework, that’s the thing,” she said. “So how are you supposed to study two hours a day from nothing?”

Political science professor Steven Majstorovic said he believes students don’t want to take the time to read the material.

“Students are generally assigned enough homework,” he said. “Since most of it is usually reading, they just do not do it.

“Faculty who use presentation techniques like PowerPoint do not do their students any favors because students just copy down what they consider are class notes and are further convinced that no reading is necessary.”

Many students find themselves busy in other activities that take away from their study time, and even a student’s outlook on school can effect their study habits.

Communication and journalism professor Andris Straumanis said, “I can hypothesize any number of reasons: lack of interest in school, lack of interest in a specific class, the need to work to pay for school, the possibility that some courses are too easy, the possibility that new technologies (such as the Web) permit homework to be done more effectively (or at least give the illusion that it might be done more effectively.)”

Boyum said he believes students should look at studying in a more positive way and consider it a privilege to be able to have an opportunity to learn at a university.

“I find it hard to see the little amount of time students use academically. It’s all about just getting by,” he said. “Thirty years ago people were excited to be given an opportunity to come to college and they used their time effectively.”

Students admit that they fall short of the full-time study recommendation.

Freshman chemistry major Ben Langton said that he couldn’t imagine studying for 25-30 hours per week, besides on finals week.

“I study around 10-15 hours a week,” he said. “I think the professors give out enough homework, it’s just that’s all the time I choose to spend on it,” Langton said.

The number of hours Langton studies is similar to that of other students, Boyum said.

“The most common number of hours I’ve heard from students are around 12-14,” Boyum said. “But it depends on learning styles, career paths and chosen personal commitments.”

For John Zanetti, a business and administration major, it depends on the professor.

“[The amount of time I spend] varies but it’s usually around 25 hours a week,” he said. “If the professor doesn’t challenge me or inspire me, I won’t go through the motions.”

Straumanis said he believes procrastination is the problem that we should look at, not so much the studying time spent each week.

“We’re all guilty of this, of course,” he said. “But it really irks me to see students turn in poor quality work that clearly was completed the night before. Learning to pace oneself, to spend some time on an assignment, is worth it in the long run.”

Boyum agrees and said he believes that instructors should keep students on their toes, just for this reason of procrastination and laziness.

“Professors should give exams Monday’s and Friday’s, stop giving students cushy four day weekends,” said Boyum.

No matter what the case, whether it’s not enough hours in the day or just students’ inevitable procrastination, studying requires more attention than the average student currently allows it.