A Local University Is Considering Changes to Its Class Structure

question 101

Essay

A local university is considering changes to its class structure in an effort to increase professor productivity. The old schedule had each professor teaching 5 classes per week, with each class meeting an hour per day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each class contained 20 students. The new schedule has each professor teaching only 3 classes, but each class meets daily (Mon.-Fri.) for an hour. New classes contain 50 students.
(a) Calculate the labor productivity for the initial situation (students/hour).
(b) Calculate the labor productivity for the schedule change (students/hour).
(c) Are there any ethical considerations that should be accounted for?
(d) Suppose that each teacher also is required to have 2 hours of Office Hours each day he/she taught class. Is the schedule change a productivity increase?

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Definitions:

RNA Polymerase

An enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of RNA from a DNA template.

Promoter Sequence

A specific region of DNA where RNA polymerase binds and initiates transcription of the gene.

Redundancy

The duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system.

Genetic Code

The set of rules by which information encoded within genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences) is translated into proteins by living cells.