The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007 Page: 1 of 31
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Online service seeks data
on evaluation of teachers
By Jared Solis
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Progress: Construction crews began pouring concrete Wednesday in a long trench
By Joyce Flores
See Board, Page 6
By Natalia Montemayor
See Dean, Page 6
Grade distribution already
available on Pick-a-Prof.
If an incident were to happen at any
district campus, DPS would rely on the
w
“The resources are definitely there,
but we have to remember that technol-
ogy is not an end in itself. It’s a tool,
and if used correctly, it can be a good
resource for learning,” he said.
Another participant in the open forum
asked Billimek to share his opinion on
the developmental education program at
this college.
room curriculum can yield positive
results if it is used properly.
was asked about the safety evacuation
plan for all of the campuses.
“Given the tragedy at Virginia Tech,
we all are, of course, concerned about
safety issues,” board Chairman Roberto
Zarate said.
Adams assured the board that there
are plans in place, and thanks to the revi-
sions made by the Policy and Long-Range
'■ :■ " -
ft--. -
Wednesday, Dr. Thomas Billimek,
psychology chair and professor, answered
questions regarding his nomination as
the next dean of the arts and sciences
division of this college.
Billimek, who has taught in the psy-
I I
data for professors at this college
along with student reviews.
Zeigler said he did not know
where the grade distribution infor-
mation came from, but McCabe
said more than one request for
public information has been made
by Pick-a-Prof. She did not know
exactly what had been provided.
“Any document in the position
of a governmental entity is public
information,” McCabe said. “We
are a governmental entity; there-
fore, the presumption in the law
is that anything we have in our
records is public unless exceptions
apply”
These exceptions include spe-
cific provisions that do not obligate
the college to create a document
that does not exist, and the protec-
tion of students under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy
Act, which protects the privacy of
certain student records.
“It’s my job, as a lawyer, that
when I procure the raw material
from the college, I see if any of
the exceptions apply to allow us
to withhold information,” McCabe
said. “They have said that they are
not interested in things that are
protected by FERPA.”
Pick-a-Prof was created in
2001 by Chris Chilek and John
Cunningham, two Texas A&M
University students who began
posting student reviews and grade
distributions for students at that
college and at the University of
Texas at Austin.
Their initial funding came from
Cunningham’s father, William H.
Cunningham, a former chancellor
of the University of Texas System.
"Within the first couple of
years, 9(T percent of students on
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of the new parking garage whose construction is reportedly on schedule. It is expected to operi in' spring 2008.
I
On Monday, most people woke up to
the news of a mass shooting at Virginia
Tech. Later, they came to realize it was
the worst mass shooting in American
history with 33 people dead. The district
board of trustees clearly paid attention,
and at Tuesday’s regular board meeting
,the main topic was campus safety.
District Chief of Police Don Adams
the district police had a good relationship
with the San Antonio Police Department,
the San Antonio Fire Department and the
local FBI.
He also explained that most police
departments were now trained to be active
shooters, in the aftermath of Columbine.
At the shooting in Columbine, the first
j j „ response officers were not trained active
Planning Committee on April IL which shooters so they had to wait for the FBI.
were approved by the board Tuesday, the
campuses were on their way to becoming
better equipped.
Adams also assured the board that
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Plan ahead for
your exams with
the spring ’07
finals schedule.
Page 7"
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NEWS:
Find out why all
things ranger
aren’t as bad
as they seem.
I Pages BBHS'
'• ' -. ••
Course evaluation data from i
student surveys at this college ]
are being requested by an online I
company under the Texas Public <
Information Act.
Pick-a-Prof is an online service <
that uses state open-records laws i
to gather official school data to‘ ;
provide students with information 1
to help them choose which profes- i
sors’ courses they want to take. i
The exact information being
requested from the course evalu-
ation data of this college are to be <
provided in any format with pro-
fessors’ names, course abbrevia-
tions and numbers, semesters and
years and basic form responses
from academic semesters between
2004 and 2006, according to a
March 21 written request from
Pick-a-Prof,. read to The Ranger
by college President Robert Zeigler
and the district’s attorney Martha
McCabe.
“A lot of times, the course eval-
uations come from standardized
forms, so it’s not a free response
form- like reviews are,” Jeffrey
Schwartz, Pick-a-Prof university
relations, said. “This just allows
for a more complete source of
information for students deciding
to take a class.”
Aftec^ conferring with McCabe,
Zeigler issued an e-mail to faculty
and staff for any data pertaining
to this request to be sent to legal
affairs in compliance with the law.
He wrote that summaries of
end-of-course evaluations by stu-
. dents are sufficient.
The Pick-a-Prof Web site
already features' grade distribution See Professor, Page 6
u
Board takes a hard look at evacuation plan in place
Virginia massacre leaves
district questioning safety.
Campus visits begin for four candidates for dean
Psychology chair answers the district.
questions at open forum. “I’ve had experience in all areas of
ft • ■
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Billimek also stressed the importance
„ _ of faculty members staying up to date
■ the college and district — serving on with the newest technologies.
committees as well as serving as a pro-
gram coordinator,” Billimek said before
taking inquiries at ah open forum.
Les Germer, coordinator of college
technologies, asked Billimek to share his
thoughts on technology and how it helps
students in the classroom.
__________ r v Billimek responded by saying that
chology department since"1971, is one of incorporating technology into a class-
four nominees for the position, and is the ----non nnaitivP
only nominee who has worked within
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April 20, 20Q7
Volume 81, Issue 22
Single copies free
A forum of free voices • San Antonio College
The Ranger
Experience life as a
Darfur refugee.
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San Antonio College. The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007, newspaper, April 20, 2007; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1354398/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting San Antonio College.