Student time allocation, the learning environment and the acquisition of competencies

This paper investigates the significance of the higher education learning environment and the student’s time allocation over study related activities for the acquisition of generic and discipline-specific competencies. We discern four learning environments according to the emphasis placed on activating learning methods and the emphasis placed on the teacher as main source of information. Time used is measured for attention of formal education, self-study, extra-curricula activities and paid work. Using a unique data set on European higher education graduates, providing detailed information, we investigate the competencies acquisitions process by stochastic frontier production function methods. The results suggest that activating learning methods are effective in both, the acquisition of generic competencies and the acquisition of discipline-specific competencies. Moreover, the results show that discipline-specific competencies are acquired by attending formal education, by self-study and by paid work, as long as there is a strong link between the work and the study. Generic competencies are acquired by self-study and paid work that is related to the study.