Still, would you have 2h in a lecture hall with 300 people +1 hour with 27 students, or 3 hours with 24 or 30? And those classes with lectures of 40 or 75 have smaller discussion sections too (that’s the basic format at large state universities, indeed). As for an advanced class, which has no discussion section, isn’t 15 better than 60?
I attended a college where most classes had 15 to 24 students. It made a HUGE difference. I realize that choice is not in play here, but small classes mean discussions, a class that’s dynamic and interactive, where the students are involved, where they have to come prepared and have to have read critically, ready to defend their views - very different from a lecture class, where students sit and take notes, or at times hit a clicker button.