For Saner Shopping

Shopping period is meant to be a time for exploring course opportunities, listening to different lecture styles and choosing the best four or five options. But for many of us, the lasting impression of shopping period is the stress of fighting our way to the front of a crowded room to pick up a copy of a syllabus, sometimes only to discover that all the copies are gone.

The goal of shopping period is, in effect, two-fold: to evaluate the strength of the lecturer and to leave with a copy of the sacred text containing the course requirements and reading assignments.

To simplify the course selection process and to make shopping week saner for both students and professors, all course syllabi--whether for a potentially large Core or a limited-enrollment seminar--should be posted on the World Wide Web before shopping period begins. Students could thus refine their shopping lists before attending classes, and the great paper chase would come to an end.

The Core Program encourages its faculty to post their syllabi online (professors in 25 courses have done so this semester), as well as requiring paper syllabi to be posted in the Science Center.

"I think the faculty realize it's a form of advertising and a very effective form," says Associate Director of the Core Program Elisabeth Swain. "Having syllabi on the Web enables students to make up their minds in an intelligent fashion."

Though several concentrations post syllabi in their department offices and some courses have websites, an effort must be made College-wide to put all courses online before shopping period begins. Common sense and the need for economy of energy during this hectic time suggest that such posting is not merely useful but absolutely necessary.