Determining Optimal Instructor Levels at the Defense Language Institute
Abstract:
The Defense Language Institute DLI teaches various levels of foreign language competency to Department of Defense personnel. It currently offers instruction in 23 languages using 104 courses that range in length from 2 to 63 weeks. Student input and a mandated instructor-to-student ratio determine the number of sections of each course that must be taught each year. This paper develops integer linear programs to decide when to start each section of each course. The primary objective is to minimize the number of fun-time instructors required to meet the next three years student input. Secondary objectives are used to improve the face validity of the models recommendations. When compared with current manual methods, decisions developed using the models are superior for all measures of effectiveness considered, and they provide DLI with a savings opportunity in excess of 7 million over the next three years.