By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
The UA has been offered the services of Pickaprof.com, a Web site that posts teacher evaluations and grades. The UA wants the cite to pay the UA to use its information.
While it is fair to make professor evaluations and grading records accessible to UA students, there is no need to use the services of this Web site. The UA should provide this service to students on its own.
In fact, it already does. Student Link currently offers this service (students can access this information at www.arizona.edu). Though the service could use some revamping, it could potentially be an excellent resource for students desiring to find out more about professors.
One problem with Pickaprof.com is that it would allow students to evaluate professors on-line - opening the response pages to students who have not taken these professors' courses. This could lead to false reports.
As UA faculty chairman and English professor Jerry Hogle said, "(The information) might not be based on very much evidence, and Pickaprof.com has no way of checking the information."
There is no need to risk disseminating inaccuracies about professors when the UA could do the job accurately.
Rather than offering UA professor information to this Internet service, the UA is fully capable of providing such information to students on its own. It ought to re-examine its Student Link services and ensure they are up to par for the benefit of the students.
