Female instructor: Good morning, Paul.
Male instructor: Morning. Hey, I just heard something about a problem with registration for one of the biology classes? Do you know anything about that?
Female instructor: Yeah. It looks like the Developmental Biology class is already full. Some of the students are complaining—it's a required course for them and they're pretty upset that they can't get it in this semester... and it's not offered next semester.
Male instructor: I can see that. They have to take that class before they can take some of the upper-level courses. So how many students are we talking about?
Female instructor: Well, so far, it looks like there are about 10 students who couldn't get in but need to take the course this semester.
Male instructor: Well, we should open a new section. I'm sure we can hire another teaching assistant to teach the class. Or maybe one of the TAs would be willing to teach two classes—they always want the extra money.
Female instructor: A new section's a great idea but are all 10 students really gonna be available at the same time?
Male instructor: Maybe not, but if they really need the course, they'll have to revise their schedules ...it is a requirement.
Female instructor: Hmm. Another option is to get some of the students who don't need the class this semester... get them to drop the class. We should probably focus on the first-year students since they don't really need the class yet.
Male instructor: We could send out a letter explaining the situation ... and let them know that they'll get top priority if they want to register for the class next year.
Female instructor: We might have to deal with some angry students.
Male instructor: Well, what can we do?
Briefly summarize the problem the speakers are discussing. Then state which of the two solutions from the conversation you would recommend. Explain the reasons for your recommendation.
The instructors confront the problem that about 10 students couldn’t register for one of the biology classes because it is full. Without taking this class these students will not be qualified for the upper-level courses and what’s worse is that this biology course will not be offered next semester. One option for the instructor is that they can open new section, hiring another teaching assistant or asking one TAs to teach two classes. Another option is that they can ask some first-year students to drop the class. From my perspective, I think the second one is more favorable. Although opening a new section might not be difficult by hiring new assistant, it is very likely that these 10 students might not be available at the same time. It is troublesome for them to revise their schedules. Also, some of the first-year students don’t need the class this semester and they have bunches of time to take the class later. If the instructor explain the situation patiently to them, they may understand it.
