Students who sell their class notes this year to Internet sites could face disciplinary action. To protect intellectual property rights, ISU officials are taking a stand against Web sites that hire students to post class notes. A new policy prohibiting the unauthorized sale of others’ intellectual works took effect this fall. Students caught selling their notes can face disciplinary measures ranging from a reprimand to expulsion, according to the ISU conduct code. Director of Legal Services Paul Tanaka said such a policy has been in the faculty handbook for about four years, but officials from Legal Services and the Office of Student Affairs decided to implement the policy in the student conduct code this year. “Originally, it was to make sure students were aware of this rule, but the fact that there are Internet note services is a reason why we thought it was a right time to do it,” he said. Several businesses have dedicated their Web sites to providing class notes. Last year, recruiters from the Versity.com stationed themselves near central campus and offered free doughnuts to ISU students willing to “Earn While You Learn.” Reportedly, note-takers were paid as much as $300 per class for up to two classes each semester. Lecture notes were posted on the site by note-takers for the benefit of classmates. The selling of professors’ intellectual property is definitely a concern, Tanaka said. “It’s an issue of having respect for intellectual work, which we think is an important principle in campus. . We just don’t think it’s appropriate to profit on another’s labor without permission,” he said. Some professors became upset and expressed concern about others profiting from their work. Michael Kenealy, professor of animal science, said the sharing of notes becomes a problem “when someone is taking my notes and making a profit without a contract with me. That’s my intellectual property.” In defense of their businesses, designers of the sites argued that college students were sharing notes before they became accessible on the Internet. Barbara Mack, associate professor of journalism, had a similar take. She said that a student who posts notes on the Web is “no different from a student who shares notes in class. What’s changed is that they are making money.” “I tend not to lose sleep over it, but I understand why people do,” Mack said. Matt Lischer, sophomore in journalism and mass communication, is one ISU student who has experimented with using notes on the Internet to replace going to class, although he said it wasn’t worth it. “Even if the person taking notes is excellent, it’s no replacement for going to class and hearing what the professor says,” he said. Mack had the same attitude toward students who never attend class. “I think the quality of learning suffers,” she said. “Students only learn what I feel.” Notes on the Web:

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