Student-to-Faculty Ratio: Is It Really An Important Statistic?

Student-to-faculty ratios are generally considered to be an indicator of the quality of the educational experience at a college. The lower the ratio, the more personal and intimate the experience ought to be. And yet some colleges have very low ratios and enormous class sizes. Plus, these statistics are easily manipulated by campus administrators.
But what do they really tell us about the quality of a campus. I spent some time on a campus recently and asked students and faculty about the student to faculty ratio. Everyone said it was important, but no one could explain why it’s an important indicator.
Have a look at what I posted on YouTube.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/4Snenkp7saU" width="319" height="262" wmode="transparent" /]
Check out these links for more insights about student-to-faculty ratios and average class size as indicators of educational quality.
And if you want to explore the unintended, negative consequences of having small classes and low student-to-faculty ratios, check out my explanation.
Mark Montgomery
Educational Consultant and College Planner
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