A methodology to optimize foundation seminar assignments

First-year students entering the College of Arts & Sciences at Bucknell University (USA) are required to enroll in a first-year experience course called a foundation seminar during their first semester. A few months before arriving at Bucknell, students submit a prioritized list of foundation se...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Operational Research Society 2006-08, Vol.57 (8), p.950-956
Main Authors: Willoughby, K A, Zappe, C J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Applied sciences
Automation
Case-Oriented Papers
Class size
Collaboration
College students
Colleges & universities
Exact sciences and technology
Heuristic
Heuristics
Information services
Law students
Linear programming
Mathematical programming
methodology
Methods
Modeling
Operational research and scientific management
Operational research. Management science
Operations research
Optimal solutions
Optimization
practice of OR
Public speaking
Scheduling
Seminars
Students
Studies
Teachers
Universities
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Summary:First-year students entering the College of Arts & Sciences at Bucknell University (USA) are required to enroll in a first-year experience course called a foundation seminar during their first semester. A few months before arriving at Bucknell, students submit a prioritized list of foundation seminars of interest to them, given course descriptions of all available foundation seminar sections. Then, based on capacity and scheduling constraints, each student is assigned to a particular seminar. Currently, this assignment of students to specific seminars is carried out using both manual and heuristic methods. We propose to apply an optimization methodology to this interesting real-world problem in an attempt to determine assignments that better satisfy the highest preferences of entering first-year students.
ISSN:0160-5682
1476-9360
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602070