Texas' public universities faculty and staff will soon be required to post information on budgets, student evaluation results, their professional backgrounds and details about class assignments online.

In the Fall ’10 semester, teachers will have to publish a detailed syllabus with outlines of projects, exams, reading lists and a course description. They must also make available their teaching background and professional publications. All of this information must be only three clicks away from the university’s homepage. Universities must also submit a report every two years detailing the use of the new system.

The law, passed in June 2009, took the approach of students as consumers. This legislation is designed to give students an in-depth look at the class before they take it, enabling them to decide if the course is worthwhile. Chris Steinbach, chief of staff to bill sponsor state Reresentative Lois Kolkhorst, said, “enrolling in a course and finding it’s not what you needed can be an expensive mistake.”

Lawmakers and supporters of the legislation are also hoping that the new regulations help students evaluate their professor’s classroom styles and experiences, in order to help them gauge the success they could have in the class.

“By forcing universities to list a professor's post-secondary education and teaching experience, students will have a more accurate representation of a professor's classroom abilities than they would have otherwise," said Elizabeth Young, a policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

However, many professors are protesting the new regulations, calling them “unnecessary,” and some faculty feel that the stringent requirements will not allow them to adapt their classes to student’s needs during the semester. Others claim that posting evaluation information online could lead to grade inflation and students flocking to classes that look the easiest.

Professor David Hillis, a professor of biology at the University of Texas, believes that the legislation is a waste of time because students can often get the same information at other online sources, like pickaprof.com and Koofers.

“Students already have access to the information through CDs and various sites on the web. All this legislation is doing is creating a hassle for faculty. It seems to be pointless, and it seems to be a waste of time and money,” Hillis said.

Despite the disagreement, Texas Tech University has already spent $85,000 on upgrades to their servers to make the information handy to students. The university is also working on training their entire staff on using the new technology.

UT officials could not be reached for comment as to how much the upgrades have cost them.