Reply to How big are intro class sizes at UVA vs W&M?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]UVA intro level classes in the College are usually around 300.  ECON 101 has 500 per class. The large classes often have a discussion class once a week with around 20 students and a TA.[/quote]
Oh, my. Much worse than when I attended a state flagship back when. Intro Econ courses were more like 200 then. Of course, Econ is much more popular now, but it does make top LAC costs vs oos UVA costs (which are nearly as high) seem to be the better “bargain.”[/quote]

There’s zero difference in the student experience once a lecture gets over 100. A 200 person lecture is huge and your professor didn’t know your name. Don’t be silly. [/quote]
I have attended classes at both sizes. Have you? There is indeed a difference: one is going to a big class, and one is being dragged to a boring, soul-deadening “show.” But I think the larger question is how this shuffles down the pyramid. Because a school with 200-person intro. classes may go down pretty quickly to 40-50 sophomore year, and then even smaller the year after that. What about UVA? Do they go down to “just” 200-person classes the next year? If so, that’s not good.

UVA is relatively small for a state flagship. I thought that was part of its appeal. Shouldn’t it be better on the class size front than the UMichigans of the world?  From what I am hearing, it’s not better — and it’s maybe even worse.[/quote]

According to school-reported statistics, 14.5 percent of classes at UVA have 50 or more students, 33 percent have between 20 and 49 students, and the remainder have less than 20 students.  The corresponding percentages for U of Michigan are 17.4 percent and 25 percent for the first two categories. [/quote]

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