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[Emanon Forp]

Has anyone experienced a foolish practice in which students at different levels are combined into one class section for the sake of enrollment, etc.? One university at which I was an adjunct told me it was common practice. I told them it was a nightmare situation in which every student was shortchanged. Naturally, it fell on deaf ears, and I wasn't invited to come back.

[Anon]

My husband is a studio art professor, and this is typical at many schools. The idea is that the students will work at their own levels in one classroom studio. Even with hands-on work it is a bad idea, though. If he wants to tell all the beginners something, everyone has to hear it and vice versa. He is constantly running around, and if he wants to give a talk about something, he has to specify who should listen. But it is doable.

They do something similar in computing classes sometimes. It saves money, but isn't much fun. If you are in a different kind of area (i.e., the humanities or the social sciences) then it is indeed very odd. I'd be curious to know.