Date
12-3-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
In 2012, the White House released its College Scorecards for institutions of higher education. In their overview, the White House states that Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA, has a six-year graduation rate of just 51.7 percent. By approaching the question of low graduation rates as a consequence of economic inefficiency, my research led me to treat undergraduate course selection as a Nash n-person game. From there, my investigation led to an analysis of information asymmetry as I attempted to identify the various internal and external information sources driving course selection. Specific attention was given to Bridgewater State’s internal system, Infobear, which was held alongside the external professor evaluation site RateMyProfessors.com. The data was analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares regression models. Ultimately, I propose a solution to help maximize utility, which I refer to as Involuntary Equilibrium, which holds the potential to create a novel relationship between the institution and the student while maximizing aggregate societal utility.
Department
Economics
Thesis Comittee
Michael Jones(Thesis Director)
Daniel M. Lomba Jr.
Quoc Tran
Copyright and Permissions
Original document was submitted as an Honors Program requirement. Copyright is held by the author.
Recommended Citation
Verlezza, Michael A.. (2013). The Undergrad's Dilemma: n-Person Games and Information Asymmetry in Undergraduate Course Selection. In BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects. Item 26. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/honors_proj/26
Copyright © 2013 Michael A. Verlezza