The newest version of Internet Explorer opens the Word document in the browser. Netscape prompts the user to open or save the file to disk. This would be a good option for handouts and lecture notes. Word 97 is notorious for bad formatting - too many extra lines. Others may just take tedious effort on your part to fix.
Good design calls for a descriptive label for all links.
Abolish those silly Under Construction warnings. Users would be more concerned if a web page weren't under construction. Place the warning one level back, on the page with the link, so as not to waste your visitor's time accessing a useless page. Good design calls for a plain white background. Use other elements such as well-crafted images to add a touch of class to your site.