Starting this semester, students will fill out course evaluations online rather than on paper in the classroom Provost Marty Krauss announced at the faculty meeting last Thursday.The decision comes after the successful testing of this method last year, for which 51 professors and 1,600 students filled out forms online, Krauss said. Despite the fact that only 51 percent of students responded, Krauss said she was pleased with the outcome of the pilot.

Krauss said she's confident this percentage will increase after the administration launches a campaign to encourage students to complete evaluations.

"We want to make them part of the academic culture," she said.

Students will be given a two-week window to fill out the evaluations. Tentatively, she said, students can fill them out until 9 a.m. the morning of the course's final exam.

Some students said they prefer the online format.

"I would be a lot more susceptible to filling something out online," Derrick Horton '11 said. Krauss also cited environmental reasons for moving the process online as well as the fact that online evaluations are easier to archive.

Students also expressed concerns about the evaluations. One student said she doesn't feel they accurately represent the class' attitudes.

To combat student apathy, Krauss said she will work with faculty to encourage students to take the evaluations seriously because "course evaluation results are utilized."

Tren Dolbear, former dean of the International Business School, said during the faculty meeting that untenured professors may worry about a decreased response rate since administrators take student input into account when awarding tenure. If fewer students submit evaluations, it may hinder the tenure process, he suggested.

Another student thought that people might be less inclined to fill the evaluations out when they're placed online. "I don't think as many people will respond," Lila Starbuck '08 said.

Prof. Ryan Wepler (ENG) said he's not concerned. "I think less students will fill them out," he said, but this "mirrors the structure of democracy," and only the "most meaningful people will respond."

Prof. Jill Greenlee (POL) said she isn't worried that online evaluations will interfere with her chances at receiving tenure because by the time she is up for tenure, the new evaluations should be "attuned to the tenure system.