The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management Uses Management Science to Create MBA Study Groups

Dmitry Krass () and Anton Ovchinnikov ()
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Dmitry Krass: Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3E6
Anton Ovchinnikov: Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, 105 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3E6

Interfaces, 2006, vol. 36, issue 2, 126-137

Abstract: Business schools look for ways to teach MBA graduates effective group work skills, generally through group-based assignments and projects. However, if not monitored carefully, group work can undermine the learning process; group composition is important. The Rotman School has developed a multiple-well-balanced-study-groups strategy to ensure that students are assigned to several balanced and nonoverlapping groups, which are used in different courses. We formulated the group-creation problem as a mathematical optimization model and implemented it in a user-friendly software package that Rotman MBA office administrators use to create student groups. Switching to computer-generated groups produced better balanced groups, saved much manual effort, and increased levels of satisfaction among students, faculty, and the MBA office personnel.

Keywords: decision analysis; multiple criteria; education systems; operations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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