The chair of the Science Department of State University has a budget for laboratory supplies. Supplies have a variable cost behavior pattern that is a function of the number of students enrolled in laboratory courses. For planning purposes, when the budget was prepared in March 2010, it was estimated that there would be 300 students enrolled in laboratory courses during the fall 2010 semester. Actual enrollment for the fall semester was 318 students.
Required:
a. Explain what action should be taken with respect to the supplies budget when the actual enrollment is known.
b. Would your answer to part a be any different if the actual enrollment turned out to be 273 students? Explain your answer.
c. Suppose the budget item in question was the salary for the lab assistant. How would your answer to part a and part b change, if at all? Explain your answer.