<p>Student/faculty ratios are too disparate across discipline and individual courses to be meaningful. S’s friend decided to take a course in folklore & mythology, one of the smallest departments at Harvard. I think the class had two students. Someone else might take Justice and be with 800 other students in Sanders Theater.</p>
<p>I agree the ratios are misleading for various reasons. E.g., they can vary by major and or year. Freshman get large sections, Jurniors the ratios or even lower ones depending on the program. As for not enough facutly, in some areas it is true. Production of PhD’s in some disciplines are down. For example, business and business related have under produced for years (less than 1 person per openning), where as other (e.g., some of the liberal arts ares have more than the number people per openning). At the same time as under production there is starting to be the retirement of many aging faculty from what might be called the golden age.</p>