Penn State President Graham Spanier recently said he is more open to the idea of making teacher evaluations available for students to see.

He wrote in an e-mail, "Students should have the opportunity to sign up for classes with faculty who have an outstanding track record in the classroom, and it might be helpful to develop a system that allows for more openness."

Also, the possibility of posting Student Rating of Teaching Effectiveness (SRTE) forms online was a popular topic in this year's Undergraduate Student Government (USG) election.

This is a delicate subject that if handled improperly, could unfairly sway opinions. We are particularly concerned with publicizing the questions that are currently on the forms.

While USG's Daily Jolt Web site (psu.dailyjolt.com) has a course evaluator, very few people post opinions on the site and those who do usually either strongly liked or disliked a professor. There are not enough opinions on the site for students to make an educated decision about a course or an instructor.

One way to curb the responses of overzealous students on SRTEs is to add more fact-based questions on topics students are curious about, as some of the USG tickets suggested during the campaign. For example, students could know how many books to expect to buy for a particular class before the semester begins. Another aspect students want to know about is what kind of work an instructor asks of students. How many tests are there each semester? Quizzes? Term papers?

Students want to know if courses are lecture- or discussion-based, how much reading is required and if there are group projects.

All of these factors are as important to students as the questions that are currently on the form.

While students can find out more about a course or instructor from aquaintences, a formal system would be more helpful and efficient, particularly for courses outside a student's major.

Where the forms are posted online must also be carefully considered. Questions' results should be for students and the administration to use and access to this information should be granted to those with a Penn State username and password only.

USG President Ian Rosenberger and Vice President Takkeem Morgan, who had publicizing the SRTEs as one of their platform goals during the campaign, should work closely with the Penn State administration as progress of publicizing course evaluations begins.

If done carefully and correctly, online course information can be a vital tool for students wary about which classes to schedule.