On a campus as large as UW, students must use every academic
resource available to plan the courses they take. The online course
evaluations provided by ASM are one such tool, providing students
with the ability to peruse course evaluations with the simple click
of a mouse.
This valuable resource allows students to see
how their peers rated both classes and professors in past
semesters. It will allow students to sift through the sea of
confusion. While only quantitative data is provided, the online
service can give students a general idea of the quality of the
professor or course. Sounds like a fairly practical resource,
doesn’t it? Well, some UW academic departments apparently
think otherwise.
Under UW Board of Regent policy 74-13,
academic departments at UW are required to administer course
evaluations every semester. These evaluations then become public
information upon request. This, however, seems to be a problem for
some academic departments. Of the total 119 academic departments on
campus, 107 departments have turned in their course evaluations for
spring 2003. With spring 2004 upon us, several departments are
simply unwilling to supply the information as required by law, as
interpreted by the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office in
1994, and then clarified again in 1998.
This lack of compliance creates a hassle for
ASM staff members, who must repeatedly follow-up with the
departments and attempt to get them to cooperate. University
departments not complying with this simple policy are wasting the
time of ASM staff members and are doing UW students a great
disservice.
If 107 departments are readily willing to
comply, there is absolutely no reason why the remaining departments
are balking at ASM’s request. With the exception of the two
departments that only have qualitative data available to turn over
to ASM for this semester, but will have quantitative data available
for future semesters. All of the non-compliant departments should
stop playing games with ASM. These departments need to turn over
their course evaluations immediately.
Students have a right to basic information
about courses they are considering taking. Regent policy reaffirms
this. The 10 UW departments withholding course evaluation materials
must abide by this policy.
The following departments have refused to
provide ASM with their course evaluation information:
Asian American Studies – Hemant Shah – [email protected]
Chicano/a Studies – Camille Guerin-Gonzales –
[email protected]
Civil and Environmental Engineering – Erhard
F. Joeres – [email protected]
Computer Science – John Strikwerda – [email protected]
Continuing and Vocational Education Program –
Elisabeth R. Hayes – [email protected]
Geological Engineering – Tuncer Edil – [email protected]
Jewish Studies – Steven Nadler – [email protected]
Military Science – LTC Donna L. Williams – [email protected]
Naval Science – Captain Randal L. Bahr – [email protected]
Physician Assistant Program – Jeffrey G.
Nicholson – [email protected]
