Your personal responsibility in the learning process is essential. Part of the college experience is to be able to work with the information overload. Selective, discrimination skills are essential the college experience. God has put a vast world together and we have been provided the opportunity and responsibility to discover. All education is a process of discerning truth from un-truth.
Every individual struggles with the veracity, truth of information.
Therefore, care must be taken in your search for truth. If you accept someone's statement or conclusion about a matter just because they are in some position, I believe you are on dangerous ground. An authority is one who communicates truth accurately. I have authority when I preach only if I remain close to the text. If someone accepts what I preach as authoritative based on my education, ordination, experience, or position, they are are not accepting their personal responsibility and the personal consequences of that acquired belief system.