Every Summer, University Administrators Attempt to Estimate How Many Students

question 50

Essay

Every summer, university administrators attempt to estimate how many students will show up in the fall. When August arrives, they hire part-time instructors and reassign faculty to teach the courses students want. In the spring, administrators often go on a retreat to consider how to do things differently next year. What phase of the strategic planning process do they engage in during each of the three seasons (summer, fall, and spring)?

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Definitions:

Histogram

A graphical representation of the distribution of numerical data, where the data is divided into bins, and the frequency of data in each bin is depicted by the height of the bar.

Mean

The average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding them all up and dividing by the count of those numbers.

Median

The middle value in a data set when the values are arranged in ascending or descending order, or the average of the two middle values if there is an even number of values.

Skewed

Describes data that is not symmetrically distributed, often leaning more heavily towards one side of the scale.