Data on college class sizes

Parents Forum
1

<p>Does anyone know where I can locate data on the percentage of classes with fewer than a certain number of students?</p>

<p>this is a different data element than "average class size" which doesn't give as specific information.</p>

<p>any ideas? Thanks</p>

2

<p>I’m pretty sure the Common Data Set has that information.</p>

3

<p>I’ve often wondered what the data represents, and whether it is truly accurate. My d. is the “TA” for one class (they call them “preceptors”, and she is the head preceptor) that has 150 students. Only she really isn’t a TA. The professor gives one lecture a week, and then there are 6 sections. The “TA” does NOT simply review material, but teaches new material, gives quizzes, exams, and grades the papers. The professor is ultimately responsible, but the reality is he almost never sees the students.</p>

4

<p>

I recommend taking the research a step further and locating the actual class size data. Many colleges post their schedule of classes on the registrar’s website, which often tells exactly how many students are enrolled in each class and discussion section for the current semester/quarter. </p>

<p>This is particularly helpful because class sizes can vary enormously from one department to another. It also lets you see how much a student will be interacting with a professor as opposed to a graduate student, per mini’s post above.</p>

<p>For example,</p>

<p>Princeton’s: [Course</a> Offerings « Office of the Registrar](<a href=“http://registrar.princeton.edu/course-offerings/]Course”>Course Offerings | Office of the Registrar)
Chicago’s: [University</a> of Chicago Time Schedules](<a href=“http://timeschedules.uchicago.edu/]University”>http://timeschedules.uchicago.edu/)
Bowdoin’s: [Office</a> of the Registrar](<a href=“http://morse.bowdoin.edu/anchor/]Office”>http://morse.bowdoin.edu/anchor/)</p>

<p>The registrar’s office also sometimes has a breakdown of undergraduate enrollment per major, perhaps something to consider. A department graduating 10 or 20 students a year will feel far more cozy than one producing 200 or 300.</p>

5

<p>I think college data dot com has that information.</p>