Scheduling later classes may not be the best move for students’ grades, a study by St. Lawrence University (SLU) says. Students who select earlier classes end up with better grade point averages, according to the study, conducted on Sept. 7.
Students “who select earlier classes may be more motivated to find ways to offset the early start time by making healthier choices about their daily living,” according to Pamela Thacher, one of the professors who ran the study.
Study still applicable to Biola
While the study at SLU factored in elements that Biola does not have to consider, such as alcohol and substance abuse, Jenny Pak, assistant professor of psychology at Biola, thinks the study is still applicable to dry campuses like Biola.
“Eight a.m. is really challenging for our students,” she said, “but the students that are willing to come at 8 a.m. are usually more motivated.”
Sometimes early classes are mandatory, whether or not students want to take them. A certain course may only be offered at an early time, or a student with a hectic work schedule might have to take morning classes.
“[8 a.m. is] a tough time. On Mondays and Wednesdays I prefer morning classes because of chapel,” sophomore Madeline Burns said. “But I get about the same grades as I normally would.”
Morning classes sometimes mandatory
Pak thinks that collecting data from Biola’s campus about the early classes-better grades could reveal a correlation between the two elements. She also said some of the students in her 8 a.m. classes had a hard time attending regularly, as opposed to her classes at 9 a.m.
On the other hand, Peter Hill, professor of psychology at Rosemead, said that his 8 a.m. class this semester is lively and punctual. As for grade differentiation in his classes, he has not noticed a significant contrast.
“I would be hard-pressed to say if [the grades] have been better or worse,” he said.
He mentioned that Cerritos College has classes that start at 6 a.m. due to space limitations. Although Biola is also starting to have this problem, Hill deemed 8 a.m. “a good starting time.” He remarked that getting “close to eight hours of sleep each night is important,” but college does not always allow for this.
“I need to take morning classes, since that’s the only time that they’re offered,” freshman Brittney Dilk said. “I’m tired during them though.”
Students need adequate sleep to be be effective
According to a study published by the Journal of American College Health, the sleep patterns of most college students are detrimental to their physical and emotional health.
“Not getting enough sleep is associated with impaired attention, school performance and also can lead to driving accidents as people fall asleep behind the wheel of their car,” said Central Michigan University alumna LeAnne Forquer, who performed the study.
Thacher conducted similar research in 2007, which showed that college students who pulled all-nighters to study or finish homework received lower grades.
“You can’t do your best work when you’re sleep-deprived,” Thacher said. “Pulling all-nighters compromises your sleep overall and makes it difficult to reach full academic potential.”
Now with this new study by SLU, Thacher is certain that earlier classes are the key to getting better grades.
“Prior to this study, I advocated having classes start later in the morning, so that students could get more sleep,” she said. “But now, I would say that 8 or 8:30 a.m. classes are probably, for some students, going to be a much better choice.
