Facebook, MySpace, WebCT – students today seem to live online. Naturally they would want an online course review and course selection system as well.

Ratemyprofessors.com, Strangetalk.net – professors often dislike and distrust online course-rating and course-discussion sites.

Is there a compromise? Perhaps: An online course review system called Pick-a-Prof, which gives students electronic access to course information while offering faculty a chance to add to and contextualize that information.

This system, which the Government of the Student Body has brought to campus, allows students to read about classes and professors before registration, to see grade distributions for a course and to plan a course schedule, among other things. It also offers instructors the opportunity to post course descriptions, course expectations, syllabi, information on areas of specialization and other material about themselves and their courses.

To encourage faculty and students to discuss the possible uses and pros and cons of this system, GSB and the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching will present two student-faculty conversations regarding Pick-a-Prof. These conversations will be held at 12:10 p.m. on Wednesday and 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 28, both in the Cardinal Room of the Memorial Union.

But no student-faculty conversation can be successful without two key ingredients: students and faculty. I hope both will sign up for and attend these conversations, with the aim of making Pick-a-Prof a community endeavor that will help improve both teaching and learning.

Susan Yager

Associate Director

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching