Small Group Optimization Creating Balanced Environments for Villanova Buddies

Abstract

Villanova Buddies is a student organization through Villanova University with a mission of inclusion of individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities.  One of the focuses of Villanova Buddies is creating Small Groups of students and individuals with disabilities that get together throughout a given semester to create a space for friendship and social interaction.  In efforts of creating well-rounded spaces, the formation process of Small Groups consists of aiming to evenly distribute both the males and females and freshman and non-freshman evenly throughout all the Small Group timeslots.  This is important to create diverse groups to makes our Buddies that come from all different backgrounds and experiences feel comfortable no matter their age, gender identity, or interests.   This paper explores the formulation of a mathematical model of this problem using linear programming, and how the results of this formulation translate into real life with Small Groups.  Multiple models are used to help analyze the tradeoffs between satisfying student preferences and balancing the groups.