Defining and Measuring Task Complexity in Major Requirements

Abstract

Graduating from college requires understanding major curricular requirements and making several complex interdependent choices to fulfill them. But curricular requirements can be complex and students report that it is not always clear which classes they need to take. In this paper, we create measures to describe and quantify complexity in major requirements and compare complexity across disciplines and across universities. We find wide variation. Much of this variation is not explained by stable differences across departments and across campuses, which indicates that there may be room for simplification. Academic planners, the faculty, and administrators tasked with creating and modifying curricular plans, should consider what kind of academic gauntlets they are creating and curricular complexity should be a part of planning conversations.