At Auburn, Classroom Risk Level Differed Depending on Seniority, Researchers Found

Researchers at Auburn University analyzed the share of in-person courses by instructor type this academic year, broken down by risk level (categories derived from classroom dimensions and class enrollment).

Safe

Risky

Very

risky

Administrators

58%

24%

18%

Full professors

48%

33%

19%

Associate professors

50%

30%

20%

Assistant professors

47%

33%

21%

Staff members

57%

16%

27%

Lecturers

40%

31%

30%

Instructors

30%

29%

41%

Graduate teaching assistants

21%

49%

30%

If a class enrolled fewer students than the CDC-prescribed capacity, the economists considered the class to be “safe.” Classes with enrollments equal to or greater than CDC-prescribed capacity, but less than twice that cap, were considered “risky.” Classes with enrollments of twice the CDC capacity or more were categorized as “very risky.” The researchers’ analysis relied on the assumption that all students registered for the in-person class were in attendance. Numbers may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.