Editorial: Not all credits are created equal

As an Editorial Board made up of journalism majors, we are often branded as being a part of the “College of Arts and Crafts.” 

Many of our peers in the other colleges — especially the College of Engineering — seem to believe our workload is not as intense as theirs.

That is not true, of course. Yet, the reason for this belief comes from the common assessment that a student’s credit load equates to academic rigor.

At Lehigh University, a “credit hour” is a course unit that is defined as the expected student effort expended per week. Most classes are listed as three to four credit hours.

Every student is expected to have 120 credits by the time they graduate, but some majors require more credits than others. While students in the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business require around 120 credits, students in the College of Engineering require around 130.

This is where things get tricky. Since students in the College of Engineering take the most credits, it is often argued that their workload is harder compared to students in the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Health and the College of Business. However, is the number of credits a student takes really a reliable barometer for their workload?

Each member of this board is enrolled in a two-credit editing class for this paper. While some people may think this means the course is easy, they are mistaken. 

Nights in our newsroom typically span from 4:25 p.m. until midnight — not to mention the hours we commit outside of the newsroom throughout the week — ensuring there are no errors in our reporting and every story is in polished condition to be printed (albeit, we are human and sometimes there are errors, but our goal is perfection). 

The work we put into The Brown and White extends far beyond the two credits that show up on our transcript.

This disparity isn’t exclusive to journalism. Many STEM courses include a 3-hour lab session, which can take as much time and energy as a 4-credit lecture, and yet only awards a single credit.

So what does all of this mean for the validity of credit hours and the merit of degree comparisons?

The amount of work required for any course at Lehigh is not equivalent to the number of credits given, so there is no point in debating who has it worse.

We’ve spent our entire academic careers being measured by numbers. Whether it be standardized test scores or a GPA, our intelligence is seemingly based on the numbers we produce and have ascribed to our worth. 

At Lehigh University, it seems we also measure our academic abilities based on the amount of credits we take.

When we allow ourselves to be defined by numbers, it is natural for competition to form. Having the highest class rank or SAT score in your high school friend group made you feel good, and beating out an academic rival felt even better.

We shouldn’t keep carrying this mentality with us.

“Easier said for a journalism student,” you might be thinking. 

An engineering student is not expected to do the same type of work that a journalism student does, and vice versa. This variety of studies and skill sets is part of what makes universities like Lehigh thrive. 

It is easy to create competition amongst ourselves, but what is the point? At the end of the day, we are all students who are getting a degree from the same university. We won’t even remember that Introduction to Economics was worth four credits once we graduate.

We can collectively make our experience more enjoyable by not bogging each other down in comparative academics day to day — let’s leave that to our professors and our parents.

We’ve been taught to pride ourselves on our overloaded schedules and overstuffed Google Calendars, wearing every bag under our eyes as a badge of honor.

This competitiveness is only as real as we allow it to be. 

We, for our part, will be playing with our arts and crafts, creating a collaborative space instead of a competitive one and being happier for it. 

When you take a step back from your desk, you might find that whatever you’re working on — regardless of your major or your credit enrollment — might resemble something quite crafty, too.