What Kind of Time Commitment is Expected of You

Over twenty years ago, when the WPI Plan was conceived, it was decided to require full time students to take only three courses at a time (at other schools four or five are a full load). The rationale was that students should be more responsible for their own learning, and therefore should put in the time required to be full time learners outside of class. The figure quoted was that students should spend (on average) seventeen hours per course.

I feel that seventeen hours is a fair figure for students taking only three courses, and I expect you to put in that amount in MA 2611, on average. (By ``on average'' I mean a class-wide average. Some of you are fast learners and will average less than seventeen hours per week; some of you are slow learners and will average more.)