Date of Award

Spring 6-1-2024

Document Type

Thesis (Undergraduate)

Department

Computer Science

First Advisor

Deeparnab Chakrabarty

Abstract

Course selection processes in universities are crucial for shaping students’ academic experiences. At Dartmouth College, undergraduates participate in a structured course selection process each term, governed by specific constraints and priorities. This thesis examines the optimization of course assignment algorithms within Dartmouth’s environment to enhance student satisfaction and maximize course enrollment. An initial investigation reveals that Dartmouth’s registrar effectively fills course seats but identifies areas for improving student satisfaction. Hypothetical scenarios beyond Dartmouth’s framework, such as indistinct priorities and excess course selections, are also explored, proposing efficient solutions with polynomial time complexity.

This thesis emphasizes fairness in the optimization process, developing algorithms to maximize student welfare while maintaining course capacities and ensuring equitable distribution of assignments. Additionally, it tackles the task of scheduling course sections to accommodate student preferences and scheduling constraints, which remains an open question. This research contributes to the discourse on course assignment optimization in academic institutions, offering insights and algorithms to enhance the educational experience for students.

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