Chico State students are busy. Next class, next club meeting, next advisor meeting, next group project meeting.

But the time adds up. Think about packing up and leaving a Monday/Wednesday/Friday class five minutes early.

That’s 15 minutes a week. Times 16 instructional weeks that’s 240 minutes. Given that the length of those classes is 50 minutes that means that those 240 minutes total to 4.8 class periods.

That’s about a week and a half of class time — gone.

Now Tuesday/Thursday classes are a little different. 10 minutes a week times 16 weeks is only 160 minutes lost. Given that Tuesday/Thursday classes are 75 minutes long that’s only 2.1 lost class periods — one week’s worth.

That’s time that students have paid for.

Disengaging from class five minutes means that those end of class announcements about when upcoming quizzes, exams and papers are due, extra credit events or service learning project opportunities are lost.

It also really annoys people like me who are trying to listen to those last minute pieces of information.

Trying to pick out a professor’s voice over the sound of 30 plus backpack zippers, shuffling papers, cell phone beeps and weekend plans being made is very difficult. It also annoys professors.

Students should think twice before packing it in early.

Joseph Rogers can be reached at [email protected] or @JosephLRogers1 on Twitter.