You A number of universities have now documented that students who study together in teams usually outperform those who try to study solo, especially in a difficult course. The ability to focus on a task through using interpersonal skills and teamwork also ranks very high in the list of skills which employers want today. Even if you have not been trained in cooperative learning techniques, you will find that students who study together for your course have an advantage, and even if you never make group assignments, you will be doing your students a favor if you help them to organize their own study groups. This is particularly true at a commuter campus like CU - Denver. The presence of computers with spreadsheets in faculty offices makes creating a class directory and forming teams a snap.
Outcome is worth the effort.
Pass out 3 x 5 note cards early in the term and ask the students to print their full name, telephone number, and home zip code. Collect these and type them into your spreadsheet in columns as shown below. This allows a reasonable chance of putting students together in groups from the same area of the city. Full Name, Phone Number and Group Number . Reproduce the list for the class.