In recent years, the number of full time, tenured faculty in the state

Question

In recent years, the number of full time, tenured faculty in the state university system has increased by 10 and the number of students has remained roughly the same. However, prospective and current students have noted that average class size has increased.

Which of the following, if true, would resolve the apparent contradiction noted above?

A. A few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, well in excess of the median class size.

B. The number of adjunct professors, who teach the majority of classes at the university, has been cut by 25.

C. Some full-time tenured professors are researchers and do not lecture on a regular basis.

D. Some classes are led by graduate students who are not full time rather than by full time, tenured professors.

E. Lab and discussion classes, which are often led by teaching assistants, are not included in the calculation of class size.

KarishmaB · Accepted Answer

- No of full time profs has increased
- No of students is the same

What do you expect might happen in this scenario? With more profs, the same students might get divided among the extra profs and hence the class size may decrease (assuming number of lectures per day, number fo subjects students take etc don't change significantly)

Or, the class size may stay the same since number of students is the same. Extra available profs may mean that profs are taking fewer classes i.e. if they were taking 4 hrs a day, now they are taking 3 hrs a day. So same classes are split among more people.

Since nothing else has been mentioned as a variable in the scenario, we don't need to assume that anything else increases/decreases.

Observation: Class size has increased.

This is a paradox, right? We would have expected class size to reduce or stay the same. Increase in class size is certainly unexpected. What will help resolve this?

A. A few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, well in excess of the median class size.

Actual number of students in the class is irrelevant. We need to find out why it increased.

B. The number of adjunct professors, who teach the majority of classes at the university, has been cut by 25.

Many professors who used to take many classes have been removed. So overall, there has been a decrease in the number of professors. This could explain why the average class size is increasing. Say there were 4 advanced calculus professors. Now there are only 2. So all students who have taken advanced calculus will all be adjusted in the classes of the 2 professors. Either these professors will need to take many more classes or class size will become bigger. So this could certainly explain why the class size has become bigger.

C. Some full-time tenured professors are researchers and do not lecture on a regular basis.

Even if some full-time tenured profs do not lecture, this would have been true before as well. With more full-time tenured profs added, the number of these profs taking classes would have increased if at all; it certainly would not have decreased from before. Then how come the class size has increased? We don't know.

D. Some classes are led by graduate students who are not full time rather than by full time, tenured professors.

Again, this doesn't highlight a change from before. Some classes are led by graduate students. Some classes by full-time tenured profs. The number of full-time tenured profs has increased so there are more profs now. Then why has the average class size increased?

E. Lab and discussion classes, which are often led by teaching assistants, are not included in the calculation of class size.

Again, this doesn't highlight a change from before. The same calculation fo class size was being done before and the same is being done now. Lab and discussion classes were not included before and are not included now. 
Now, the only change we know is that number of profs has gone up. Then why has class size increased? No idea.

Answer (B)

aaronTgmaT · Answer

I'd go with C. Since the full time tenured teachers have increased in number and the number students is virtually the same but the class size has increased, then option C tells us that the full time tenured profs do not lecture regularly. Hence the number that lecture would actually be less, giving us increased class size

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Akash720 · Answer

+1 for B

A. A few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, well in excess of the median class size.
 - Incorrect. Irrelevant, number of students in a class doesn't explain the paradox of why the class size has increased 
B. The number of adjunct professors, who teach the majority of classes at the university, has been cut by 25.
 - Correct. This statement gives a scenario where 25 adjunct professors are removed, which will make students of those classes attend other classes hence, increasing the average class size 
C. Some full-time tenured professors are researchers and do not lecture on a regular basis.
 - Incorrect. This is inconsistent. We don't have enough information on how infrequent the full time tenured professors take classes. 
D. Some classes are led by graduate students who are not full time rather than by full time, tenured professors.
 - Incorrect. Irrelevant. This doesn't explain why the average class size could increase. Lecturers are getting replaced anyway 
E. Lab and discussion classes, which are often led by teaching assistants, are not included in the calculation of class size.
 - Incorrect. Out of scope

Skywalker18 · Answer

In recent years, the number of full time, tenured faculty in the state university system has increased by 10 and the number of students has remained roughly the same. However, prospective and current students have noted that average class size has increased.

Type - paradox

A. A few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, well in excess of the median class size. -- Irrelevant

B. The number of adjunct professors, who teach the majority of classes at the university, has been cut by 25. - Correct -- average class size will increase since number of adjunct professors has been cut by 25 and thus net decrease in number of professors is 15

C. Some full-time tenured professors are researchers and do not lecture on a regular basis. -- Incorrect -- okay but the number of Full-time tenured increased. So, this does not explain the paradox

D. Some classes are led by graduate students who are not full time rather than by full time, tenured professors. -- Incorrect -- does not explain the paradox

E. Lab and discussion classes, which are often led by teaching assistants, are not included in the calculation of class size.-- Irrelevant -- why we should be bothered by TAs and Labs since Labs and discussion classes are excluded from calculation of class size ?

Answer B

Bunuel · Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL EXPLANATION:

In this question you are told that while the number of full time, tenured professors at the university has increased by 10, average class size has increased despite the fact that the number of students at the university has remained roughly the same. To resolve this apparent paradox, your first step should be to find the gap. Do tenured professors teach enough that an increase in the number of tenured professors would decrease class size? Are they teaching fewer classes?

The only answer choices that begin to address any of these questions are (B), (C) and (D). Choice (B) states that the number of adjunct professors - "who teach the majority of classes" has declined by 25. Even if there was an increase in tenured professors, since adjunct professors teach the majority of classes their dismissal will have an outsized effect on class size and will drive average class size up. Choice (B) is correct.

Choice (C) is close, but you don't know that there has been an increase in the number of tenured professors who don't teach. Perhaps there are two professors who (for whatever reason) only do research and that this number hasn't changed for 20 years. If so, this information would have no effect on class size. Note also that the stimulus states that the average class size increased. Even if all 10 new tenured professors were research-only, their impact (or lack thereof) wouldn't increase the average class size...it would just leave it unchanged. Similarly, choice (D) can be eliminated because even though some classes are led by graduate students you have no information about the relative numbers of graduate students available to teach.

Between the other two answers, (A) can be eliminated because there is no indication that the number of students in these very large classes has increased and choice (E) can be eliminated because there is no indication that not including these classes changes the average class size in any meaningful way.

MBAshark77 · Answer

For answer choice B - Why is it safe to assume that just because the 25 adjunct professors are cut, that students will filter into the classes of professors that are left over? Isn't it possible that professors might take over for the responsibilities of the 25 cut professors and just teach their classes, keeping the class average constant?

JS1290 · Answer

Could someone please explain why option E is incorrect? I am able to understand why option B is correct but not option E. Please help!

aggvipul · Answer

empowergmat Rich can you pls explain the answer to this and help solve out the mistery

shaldor · Answer

This is a stupid question. How can someone assume that if the number of professors is down, average class size is increasing? There could simply be no classes happening for some students. On the other hand, option D ensures that avg students in class is increasing since the class now has the students and 1 extra student as a teacher.

gmat1393 · Answer

Hi shaldor Kindly refer to VeritasKarishma's response here : https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-recent-ye ... l#p2254285 so you will understand better what the paradox is Thanks!

agar123 · Answer

Hi Karishma,

Can you please help me understand why A is wrong?
A. A few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, well in excess of the median class size.

Average class size= total number of students/total no. of classes. we know the total number of students didn't change, so it could be that there are a fewer total number of classes. Choice A says that a few of the classes at the university have class sizes of 100 students or more, which is well in excess of the median class size. so if these classes have students well above the median class size then it will definitely skew the avg. class size.

Kindly comment.
Thanks in advance

Tiffsootmoot8 · Answer

This is a poorly formed question.
Average class size = total number of students/ total number of classes?
What has that got to do with number of professors?

VerbalBot · Answer

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In recent years, the number of full time, tenured faculty in the state

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