Equal Chances for Field Trips

Home > Conference > Field Trip Application Form > Equal Chances for Field Trips

The use of a lottery is intended to insure that everyone has an equal chance to get assigned to their preferred field trip if their application is received by the required date.

Here are answers to some questions you may have:

1. Why groups make only one application:
     The way chance works is not always the easiest thing to understand. Since the assignment of a 4-member group to a field trip takes up 4 places, it would be unfair if each member of a group submitted an application. The group would then have four chances to get 4 spaces each time. Each member of the group could get their preferred trip if any one of the four had a sufficiently low number in the lottery. By contrast, an individual can get assigned to a trip only if they themselves have a sufficiently low number in the lottery. That would be four times as many chances for members of a group of 4 to get their preferred trip as for an individual applying alone. So by submitting only one application, the group of 4 has 1 chance of getting 4 places, which is the equivalent of one individual having a chance of getting 1 place. That is fair.
     Groups can fail to get one of their preferences if their turn to be assigned comes up in the lottery and there are at that point in the assignment process only 2 or 3 spaces still available in the group's highest preference.

2. Why only one lottery (Monday and Friday combined) rather than two lotteries 
     If there were enough field trip positions that each person could have two trips, then holding two lotteries would not give equal chances to the extent that holding a single combined lottery does. That is because, by chance, 1/4 of the people will be among the first half drawn for both of the two lotteries, and 1/4 of the people will be among the last half drawn for both of the two lotteries. With only a single lottery, there are not such large disparities in the satisfaction of preferences. After everyone has been assigned one field trip, the lottery order is reversed, so those most favored in the first assignments come last for any second assignments, and vice versa. This maximally insures that we come close to equality in assignments to preferred trips.

3. Most common reasons why individuals or groups may not get assigned to a field trip.
3a. Making all of their selections on the same day
3b. Limiting oneself to less than six preferences
3c. Using most of one's selections on the most popular trips
Groups which fail to get a trip assignment for one of these reasons are contacted and given an opportunity to select a trip from among those trips which still have spaces available.

4. Why don't field trip organizers anticipate demand for field trips and arrange more of them?
Field trips require local leaders who are knowledgeable about the area and the cultural background. We were able to provide [number of] trips that accomodate [number of] people. Some of the leaders are leading two trips and giving up their Memorial Holiday to show us the rock art of their area.

Return to Field Trip Application Form