Release professor evaluations

As a loyal reader of this column, you might have noticed I have no qualms about disclosing comments from my evaluations as a former chemistry instructor. For example, "He needs to work on his interpersonal communication skills." \n"Anytime I needed a questioned answered, he answered it -- even though he would look at me like I was a dumbass."\n"Chung is the biggest buffoon to teach class at Ball State yet, and that's a really big buffoon."\n"I hope he would get hit by a bus."\nUnfortunately for you, your professors aren't likely to publish their evaluations in the school newspaper. And since IU doesn't disclose them, you are generally left in the dark about a professor's personality and teaching ability when deciding whether to take that professor's class.\nAt some schools, the evaluations, or least the numerical ratings, are available to the public. Many have argued students are essentially customers of professors and therefore should have the right to know what they're paying for.\nI also believe colleges should publish professor evaluations, but for different reasons. I think their publication would be beneficial to professors by providing a more complete picture of student opinion and by encouraging more students to provide feedback.\nWith confidential professor evaluations at most schools, some people have started up Web sites for evaluating professors, including a national Web site, www.ratemyprofessors.com, and an IU website, www.thehoosierweb.com, featured in the Feb. 6 edition of the Indiana Daily Student.\nThough articles featuring these Web sites frequently refer to them as popular, the level of participation seems far too low to be useful. Most professors I know aren't listed and many others only have a few entries.\nThere is also no way to verify who actually took a professor's class, so any schmo can comment on anyone. For instance, at the IU section of www.ratemyprofessors.com, I posted the following comment on myself:\n"Chung is awesome! Confident yet humble, Dr. Chung is very approachable and is an excellent communicator. He also writes a wonderful thought-provoking column. Yee Haw!"\nThis comment has lasted one month as of this writing.\nSo as a professor, you can have one or two students who may not have even taken your class representing your students' opinions. \nAlternatively, releasing evaluations would make these Web sites obsolete and there would be more accurate public information of professors' teaching ability.\nStudents would also likely provide more feedback if they know their comments will be made public. There is a common perception that professors don't pay attention to the comments, making some students reluctant to write.\nStudents in my classes did write a lot, I believe because I read evaluations from previous semesters out loud in class, even the nasty ones. One student wrote,\n"Knowing that Dr. Chung actually looks at these and takes them into consideration makes me want to write something, so Dr. Chung was 'Chungeriffic', gave enough demos, good worksheets, especially enjoyed the study sessions."\nSo some comments aren't particularly useful, but just about every professor will say the evaluation comments are far more useful than the numerical ratings. If making the evaluation comments public does result in more feedback, they ought to be in favor of it.\nSome professors, however, argue making the evaluations public violates their right to privacy. Some people just need to stop taking themselves so seriously. Their main concern should be how to make their courses more worthwhile and not what people think of them.