Thursday, May 27, 1999

Students Say They Check Courses' Web Pages Before Deciding to Enroll By JEFFREY R. YOUNG Some students say the best professors are the ones who bother to make Web pages for their courses. And a growing number of students use the quality of course Web pages as a deciding factor when picking classes. "I almost always check out course Web pages when I have a choice to make," says an engineering student. Professors who go the extra mile to make useful course Web pages are often the same ones who "teach the classes that you want to take," said Jess Johnson, Jr., a sophomore in electrical engineering at the University of Virginia. He spoke during a panel discussion on student expectations for technology that was held this week in Washington by the Software and Information Industry Association. The last thing a student wants, said Mr. Johnson, is a professor who "gives his spiel and walks out" -- without noticing whether students understand the material. At least for Mr. Johnson, a course Web site is an indicator that the professor will make other efforts to connect with students. "That little extra effort is what makes the quality there, and makes the difference," he said. Some students are also mentioning course Web sites in their reviews in student-published course guides. At Princeton University, for instance, a review of "American Places" says that one of the high points of the American-studies course is a "VERY thorough" Web page made by a graduate student who teaches some of the course sections. Brent Ross, an engineering student at the University of Michigan who works on the student course guide at his university, said in an interview that when he is choosing among electives, he compares their on-line offerings. "I almost always check out course Web pages when I have a choice to make," he said. Not all students want to go on line to find course information, of course, and not all students have easy access to computers or the Internet. But college officials say the average student is familiar with technology and thinks professors should be too. Said Sue Kamp, director of the education-market division of the software association, during the panel discussion: "They are coming in technology-literate and are expecting the university to be equally literate."