BellaOnline Forums Education Colleges New Law in TX -- What do you think?

A new state law in TX is requiring professors & administrators to post specific information online, such as syllabi, assignments, reading lists, curricula vitae (detailed resumes for the faculty), department budgets, and results of student evaluations.

Is this too much or is it needed information? Will this take too much time from their other duties? Will it end up costing the state too much money in related expenses, such as server updates?

The syllabi, reading lists and assignments are good ideas so prospective students can shop around for cheaper books and prepare for their upcoming assignments.

I think the resumes, department budgets and student evaluations are a waste of time and money.

I agree that having assignment information up front will be helpful. I think this is especially helpful for adult students who may have multiple responsibilities and may want to work ahead when they can. However, I do know that some professors, however, prefer to wait to give out some assignments as part of their teaching methods. I think that part of the reason some professors want to prevent students from working ahead is to make sure certain information is covered and to have students learn from reviews of their previous work. Is this a valid concern on those professors' part?

Regarding the textbooks, there is actually a new federal law that just went into effect this month requiring schools to give textbook information at the time of registration to give students more options. To see the discussion on this forum about new laws related to high priced textbooks, visit Textbook discussion

While I can see benefit in seeing what professors' accomplishments, posting a full resume seems to be going a bit too far to me. Even if information such as addresses are removed, it still seems like an invasion of privacy. Do you agree?