Making decisions on the student quota problem: A case study using a MIP model

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a model to support the decision making process on the Student Quota Problem (i.e., the maximum number of students that could be admitted in a university program). The number of students attended by universities is a key factor of national and international policies. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Colombian official entities use this indicator to define goals of the educational level of young population. However, while the expectations of increasing the number of attended students are high, there are limits of growth based on resource limitations. We introduce the Student Quota Problem as the decision on the maximum number of students that could be admitted in a university career over time, given a set of constraints on institutional resources. We propose a Mixed Integer Programming model (MIP) and a series of linear constraints related to the facility maximum capacity, students dropout and graduation percentages, faculty professors, number and type of courses to cover the students demand. Preliminary experimentations with data related to an undergraduate program of a Colombian university, showed results that can be used to determine upper and lower bounds on the number of admitted students, required professors, number and type of courses, and the required infrastructure capacity in terms of availability hours.