The National Study of Student Engagement (Indiana University, 2018) reports that the average, full-time college senior in the United States spends only μ =- 15, σ = 9, hours per week preparing for classes by reading, doing homework, studying, etc. A state university develops a program that is designed to increase student motivation to study. A sample of n = 36 students completes the program and later reports that they spend M = 18 hours per week studying. The university would like to test whether the program increased time spent preparing for class.

a. Assuming a two-tailed test, state the null and alternative hypotheses in a sentence that includes the two variables being examined.

b. Using the standard four-step procedure, conduct a two-tailed hypothesis test with α = .05 to evaluate the effect of the program.