Duke Student Government legislators voted unanimously to keep the current version of the Student Accessible Course Evaluation System at its general body meeting Wednesday night.
The passage of SACES--which will now go for final approval to the Arts and Sciences Council at either its Nov. 14 or Dec. 12 meeting--marked the highlight of a busy meeting for the legislature.
The DSG vote called for retention of the present opt-out system in which Trinity professors must request for their course evaluations to be withheld from online posting.
When the issue comes before Arts and Sciences in the next month, however, faculty may be voting on an opt-in system. Arts and Sciences Chair Ronald Witt, a professor of history, has warned DSG officials that such a system--in which faculty must ask for their course evaluations to be posted online--is probably the only system that could get the necessary support in the Council and may be the one that the Executive Committee of the Council puts up to vote.
"Although the opt-in system is definitely better than nothing, as representatives of the student body, we must recommend an opt-out system as the most beneficial for students," said DSG Vice President for Academic Affairs Lyndsay Beal, a senior.
Beal and legislators in her committee have been meeting with members of the Council to discuss their sentiments on the issue. She said the faculty that the committee has spoken with has been split relatively evenly among those who are in favor of an opt-out system, an opt-in system, and both systems, as well as those who are not planning to attend the meeting.
"The possibility of an opt-in format is very high because professors do not want to not allow their colleagues to post the evaluation data online, and the opt-out system is going to be close," Beal said.
The evaluation system was introduced online last year on a trial basis. Last semester, Arts and Sciences members narrowly approved a continuation of the system for another semester. If the Council rejects SACES, it is unlikely that it will be considered again for some time.
DSG members pledged their full support for the opt-out system, only questioning the difference between opt-out and opt-in and whether the Pratt School of Engineering has considered a similar system.
"[Pratt] Dean Kristina Johnson is very supportive," Beal said, "but we want to get it through Trinity first."
Beal said she will now submit the recommendation to Witt, and the DSG executive committee will attend the Arts and Sciences meeting to demonstrate student support.
IN OTHER BUSINESS: Legislators also passed a resolution calling for the removal of the 24-hour quiet zone restriction on Central Campus-a policy DSG said is inconsistent with other policies on campus and is no longer relevant because graduate students do not make up a significant portion of the Central population as they did when the policy was implemented.
Sophomore Andrew Wisnewski, an author of the resolution, said Central Campus Council advocates the removal of the policy, which he said would result in a better allocation of Duke University Police Department resources. "It's an inconsistency issue, and it's a problem with the cops," Wisnewski said. Policies for other parts of campus for the weekends typically allow for noise after 5 p.m. and before 2 a.m. on weekends and midnight on weekdays, he added.
Also at the meeting, Director of Parking and Transportation Services Catherine Reeve and Vice President for Facilities and Athletics Cliff Davison, a junior, made presentations about the state of parking and transportation, in addition to other facilities issues.
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