The Student Association’s efforts to make teacher evaluations public have produced a listing of student responses to nearly 100 of last fall’s courses.

While the SA evaluations were conducted only in classes where the instructors agreed to them, SA Academic Affairs Adviser Colleen Halliman said she hopes more instructors will participate in the future. Only about seven percent of NIU’s 1,300 instructors volunteered.

The yellow evaluation booklets are intended as reference tools for students and can be utilized from several campus locations beginning this week. Locations include all residence hall main desks, the library reserve room, the SA office, and the campus assistance desk in the Holmes Student Center.

Students have a right to know what is going on, she said. Several other universities have similar evaluation information available, Halliman said.

The English and foreign language departments should be commended for their outstanding participation, she said. “I’m hoping that more departments will follow their example next time.”

Many instructors said they chose to see how the first semester turned out before committing to the survey, she said.

It has not been determined whether the evaluations will be one each semester or once a year. As of yet, there is no SA budget for evaluations, but Halliman said she is proposing that the project be included in the SA Academic Affairs Adviser job description.

A thirteen-member student committee worked to put out the surveys and compile and distribute the results, Halliman said.