Greetings from Bentley University’s Division of Student Affairs! I’m the Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs. Throughout the year, I’ll be writing to you to share information to help your student have the best possible experience at Bentley.
I often hear two things from students:
- “I am too busy to participate in anything on campus” or
- “There is nothing to do on campus”
I imagine you’ve heard versions of these from your student, too. It’s true that Bentley students are busy. But when I talk to students, I find it helps to ask them to quantify their week by adding up the total number of hours in a week (168 hours) and then take out:
- 8 hours a day to sleep
- 15 hours a week to be in class
- 45 hours a week to study (which is on the high end of the recommended 6–9 hours a week per course)
- 6 hours of exercise a week
- 2 hours a day to eat
- 1 hour a day to shower/get ready
That leaves 25 hours per week — and that is if they are well rested, studying at the max, working out, eating well, and taking care of themselves. Even with a part-time job or internship and/or if they are an athlete or commuter, there is still plenty of time left in the week to be engaged on campus.
And there is a lot to do on campus — meetings of clubs and organizations, on-campus speakers, workshops, cultural events, and social parties. While it may seem overwhelming at times, there is always something to do. While we acknowledge that relaxation and downtime are important, we also want to encourage students to engage with the community to get the most they can out of their campus experience.
Why? We know from research from Gallup, the analytics and advisory firm, that participation in outside-the-classroom activities has long-term positive effects for students — it improves their wellbeing beyond college and leads to greater workplace engagement.
Below are links to websites and social media that may help you guide your student to become more involved on campus and have a more enjoyable and healthy experience at Bentley.
Please don’t hesitate to email me if I can be of assistance.
Andrew
Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs
