Total number of completed responses = 354. Breakdown of results below. (You can see the equivalent survey for the last semester here.)

(Note: The analysis of the qualitative comments still on going.)

 

  • Average time spent each week on different aspects of the coursework.
<30m <1hr 1-2hr 2-3hr >3hr
Reading assigned text 11.30% 33.50% 37.70% 13.00% 3.90%
Reviewing webcast 15.30% 11.90% 50.20% 18.70% 2.80%
Working on quizzes 4.50% 15.60% 40.90% 21.80% 16.70%
Another other work 16.70% 23.20% 33.20% 16.40% 9.00%

The overall impression is that the load is roughly within the expected range for a 4MC module, though some students spend more, or less time. (The official stand in NUS is that “a 4-MC module would require 10 hours of work a week, including lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions, assignments, and independent or group study”; source.)

 

  • Time spent on the Special Project

Setting aside the outliers, the average is around 7hrs, ranging from lows of 1-2hrs, to highs of 15hrs. Considering that the Project is 3 quizzes worth of the grade, the workload seems commensurate (not counting the outliers).

 

  • Grades weightage of each component
Should be lower About right Should be higher
Attendance (5%) 2.50% 84.60% 12.70%
Participation (5%) 8.80% 78.10% 12.20%
Quizzes (9 of 10; 36%) 25.80% 65.30% 8.20%
Special Project (12%) 6.20% 57.90% 34.90%

The overall feeling seems to be that the weightage of each component is about right, with some preference that the quizzes could be slightly lower and the Special project be slightly higher.

 

  • Any other suggestions/comments relating to workload

I’m counting 132 distinct (non “nil”) responses, so this will take a while. Overall impression so far is that the majority seems to think that the workload is manageable. Some think that the quizzes take too much time, and some think that the special project should given more weight. (Developing…)