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 students are asking the U to give them access to their fellow students' evaluations of courses and professors.

The U administers the evaluations at the end of every semester. Students fill them out, but the information is kept by the university.

Graduate student Cody Mikl, who chairs the group of student reps to the Board of Regents, says looking at the formal assessments would help students choose their classes more wisely.

He says word-of-mouth recommendations are limited, and websites such as Ratemyprofessors.com don't provide accurate information.

University officials say much of that information is considered part of an employee's personnel file, and so is confidential. That's because it's the U's evaluation system. General Counsel Mark Rotenberg said if students had their own system, data practices restrictions would likely not apply.

But students argue that some of the information in the U's evaluations -- such as course workload, difficulty and whether the student would recommend a class -- is not personal.

President Eric Kaler said he understood their desire to make informed decisions, and that U officials will try to find a way to give students access to nonconfidential information.

Education News

On Campus Blog

Alex Friedrich

Author

Some University of Minnesota students are asking the U to give them access to their fellow students’ evaluations of courses and professors. The U administers the evaluations at the end of every semester. Students fill them out, but the information is kept by the university. Graduate student Cody Mikl, who chairs the group of student…

Why UMN students want access to their evaluations of professors

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