Sam Kean - Staff Reporter A policy condemning the publication of lecture notes online has been amended to protect students, but controversy still surrounds the University's right to enforce such a policy in the first place. Under the new rule, students cannot distribute lecture notes for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the instructor.
Possible punishments range from warnings to expulsion.
The original policy was approved by a faculty committee last spring, but student groups pushed to alter the wording. The new policy does not address students posting lectures on the Web for free with proper attribution. The latest version was given final approval before Thanksgiving but won't be implemented until spring semester. An e-mail circulating last spring attempted to recruit University students for such services. This e-mail, as well as problems encountered by schools across the country, prompted the faculty committee to take action.