The new Higher Education Scheduling Index shows that more than a third of introductory-level courses at four-year public institutions had too many students per class offering, an issue that contrasts with the finding that the classrooms at those same kinds of institutions weren’t in use for more than half of the work week. Community colleges, on the other hand, focused on introductory courses and, as a result, fewer of those classes were overloaded than at traditional institutions.
The report suggests four- and two-year institutions and community colleges can save money and reduce waste by terminating classes that don’t have enough demand.