Question

Franklin Training Services (FTS) provides instruction on the use of computer software for the employees of its corporate clients. It offers courses in the clients’ offices on the clients’ equipment. The only major expense FTS incurs is instructor salaries; it pays instructors $6,000 per course taught. FTS recently agreed to offer a course of instruction to the employees of Novak Incorporated at a price of $700 per student. Novak estimated that 20 students would attend the course.

Base your answers on the preceding information.

FTS sells a workbook with printed material unique to each course to each student who attends the course. Any workbooks that are not sold must be destroyed. Prior to the first class, FTS printed 20 copies of the books based on the client’s estimate of the number of people who would attend the course. Each workbook costs $30 and is sold to course participants for $50. This cost includes a royalty fee paid to the author and the cost of duplication.

Calculate the workbook cost in total and per student, assuming that 18, 20, or 22 students attempt to attend the course.

Classify the cost of workbooks as fixed or variable relative to the number of students attending the course.

Answer 1

	Number of Students
	18	20	22
Cost per workbook	$               30.00	$               30.00	$               30.00
Minimum workbooks	20	20	22
Total workbook cost	$                   600	$                   600	$                   660
	(20 x $30)	(20 x $30)	(22 x $30)
Workbook cost per student	$               33.33	$               30.00	$               30.00
	($600/18)	($600/20)	($600/22)

The cost of workbooks is variable relative to the number of students attending the course.