WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3A
Senate approves resolution for online course evaluations
By Lauren Airey lairey@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
The University Council passed a resolution Thursday supporting an initiative to make teacher evaluations available online.
The proposed evaluations would be an additional evaluation students could fill out online.
Andy Knopp, vice president of the University Council and student senator, said he disagreed with a previous Student Senate argument to make the current course evaluations, which students fill out in the last class of the semester, a public record. The council denied a proposal made by Student Senate in 1997 to make data compiled from course evaluations open to students. These evaluations are used for faculty promotion and tenure decisions.
"That's where students and faculty were butting heads," Knopp said. "I thought we could create a separate evaluation using our online capabilities. It's not saying a course is good or bad, it's just giving students information."
The new proposal for online teacher evaluations would rate specific courses, not teachers. Students would be able to answer questions such as, "How useful is the textbook?" in a two-week period at the end of each semester through a link on the Kyou student portal.
Eventually, the course evaluations would be accessible through a link by each course name in the schedule of classes. The council must approve the proposal to make it possible to link the evaluation forms to the student portal and send e-mails to
"Some students are just going to sign up for classes that fit their schedules, but I think there are a lot of students who really want to find the best professors and good, challenging classes in their majors."
Andy Knopp Vice President of the University Council and student senator
the student body.
"Some students are just going to sign up for classes that fit their schedules, but I think there are a lot of students who really want to find the best professors and good, challenging classes in their majors," Knopp said. "This benefits students who really care about the quality of instruction and the type of classes they're taking."
Although both Delta Force and KUnited Student Senate coalitions list online teacherevaluations as important platform issues, not all faculty members see merit in the proposal.
Questionnaires that provide the desired information are difficult to produce, said Steve Shawl, physics professor and member of University Council. Shawl said it would be possible to create an appropriate questionnaire with a great deal of effort after discussion at last week's council meeting.
"I think a number of statements that Andy made were naive in not understanding the real
world," Shawl said. "I expect that a few students would use it, but I would question whether it would be used by a sufficient number of students to make it worth the amount of time and effort that student senate is putting into it."
Knopp used similar programs at schools such as the University of Texas at Austin as the basis for the evaluation questions and implementation plan proposed to the SenEx committee in February.
Knopp has been preparing the proposal since January and since February he has been gathering input from students and faculty members in various departments.
"We'd like to get a set of questions that everyone agrees on, or at least everyone can agree that experts came up with and are effective in passing information on to students," Knopp said.
The online evaluations could be an accepted part of the University of Kansas if enough students take the initiative to answer the questionnaire, said Ray Davis, public administration professor and University Council member.
"The proposal strikes me as a reasonable idea, one that ought to include the opinions and reactions of faculty to make it as legitimate as it needs to be," Davis said.
Knopp said he wanted to present an updated questionnaire to the council by late April so the course evaluations could be launched on the Kyou portal in time for the end of this spring semester. If the proposal isn't ready by the April 24 meeting, Knopp said, the online teacher evaluations would be ready no later than next fall.
— Edited by Julie Jantzer
Stu Strecker,
Lawrence resident,
shares a drink from
Jice Stop, 812 Massachusetts St., with his daughter, Jai. 4. Many people visited Massachusetts Street to enjoy yesterday's weather, which reached a high of 81 degrees.
Scott Reynolds/Kansan
Students with disabilities can vote for Senate online
By Cate Batchelder
cbatchelder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
With Student Senate elections less than a week away, candidates have diligently manned their couches on Wescoe Beach trying to win votes and attention.
Their strategy didn't work for Chikako Mochizuki, graduate student from Japan. She was late for class and didn't have time to listen to the platforms.
"I'm always on the go," she said.
When not in class, she's in her residence hall room studying. Her guide dog, Comet, leads her to and fro because she is blind.
This is the first year the elections
Even though she doesn't know the candidates' issues yet, she said she planned to find out.
"If I have a chance, I'd love to vote," she said.
code is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. And because elections are online, Mochizuki will have the opportunity to vote independently. Last time she voted, a poll worker helped her cast her vote. She said she felt uncomfortable because voting was a private matter.
A computer at the Budig Hall computer lab polling site is voice activated and can greatly enlarged text on computer screens.
Between 600 and 700 students are registered with the Students for Disabilities office. This is a substantial number that could make a significant influence in the elections, said Melissa Manning, associate director for Students with Disabilities.
Manning said she welcomed the change to vote online.
"All in all, to have students voting via computer is a real blessing
for students with disabilities," she said.
Students told Manning how discouraged they were with the voting process. Besides having problems reading the ballot, students with disabilities said getting to polling sites was problem enough. Often, the students don't vote because they can't and, therefore, they won't, she said.
Courtney Wachal, elections commissioner, wants to make voting easier for everyone. The elections code says students who need special accommodations to vote should make a request 10 days before the election. Even though that window has passed, students can call her at 864-4060 to make requests.
"I'm sure we'll do everything we can to help them." Wachal said.
- Edited by Julie Jantzer
NO Alcohol There will be no vehicle access to central campus Stadium celebration sponsored by the University of Kansas