SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN THE UNIVERSE OF ACADEME

Do the same laws of supply and demand obtain in the relationship between faculty and students as in the Market? If, say, there were an oversupply of faculty in certain disciplines, would the University be right in steering students towards taking courses in those disciplines so as to ensure full employment for the “redundant” faculty?

If, say, a certain professor’s courses were very popular and were drawing students away from her/his colleagues’ competing courses, would the University be justified in taking affirmative action to ensure that the not-so-popular faculty get their fair slice of the pie?