Break Even

As a college administrator, let me assure you that summer classes do not bear the cost of "breaking even."  That cost is accrued over the scholastic year. 

.............

Administrators at a university are planning to offer a summer seminar. It costs $3,000 to reserve a room, hire an [in]structor, and bring in the equipment. Assume it costs $25 per student for the administrators to provide the course materials. If we know that 20 people will attend, what price should be charged per person to break even?

...........

Summer classes are structured much differently from fall and winter classes.  Summer students fall into three broad categories that we deal with according to needs present.

1.  Substandard "make up" students who failed or got "progress" grades on their freshman loads.  Usually we offer remedial courses during the summer and then the student re-takes the course the next fall quarter (or trimester). 

2.  "Junk" ("community interest") classes like Astrology or Dungeons and Dragons.  We usually offer vacant rooms to "noncredit" or "non accredited" classes or teachers as long as the Board of Trustees will approve it.  Home beer brewing is one such "course." 

3.  "Old gaffer" courses like genealogy.  Much of the time even the students have to wonder why they bothered to attend, and might well skip classes because they are disorganized and lack any real content.  The College will pocket their tuition and leave the lights on only as long as someone is there to still hold "classes."

Summer courses are looked on as a misery that we brought on ourselves for having failed to bring our students up to par during regular session.  Face it: the costs of a summer course are not the same as those of a regular term course because the real students are out partying or have graduated.

Let's mark the price to get even with X, the equation is: 
3,000 + 20*25 = 20*X     
3,500 = 20X
X = 175 $