Two is not a large value of N for the phenomenon you're talking about. Also... is it really that hard to believe that a manager would defend their headcount an

Two is not a large value of N for the phenomenon you're talking about. Also... is it really that hard to believe that a manager would defend their headcount and a community college would let standards slide in their hardest courses? You also have to consider the plausibility of the stories at hand before writing off the person who's complaining. I don't think your skepticism is at all warranted.