Some go back several years. A few professors have embraced the inevitable, posting their student evaluations on their personal Web sites or on sites provided for them by the university. Among them is Jose Llanes, a professor of organization and leadership at the University of Texas-Pan American. One professor who received two poor comments on line is not surprised that students have gone public with their evaluations. In chemistry, we use a short questionnaire.
Most people writing comments have an ax to grind one way or another.
U.C.L.A.'s Mr. Volokh also knows the sting of low evaluations, but does not oppose their being posted on the Web. I'd be embarrassed to see them posted on the Web, even if most of them were good, because I know that some of them are bad. If the comments are opinions, strong free-speech traditions protect them. It is unlikely that a Web site would face legal liability if libelous or defamatory comments were posted as part of its course-evaluation service. Sites, much like telephone companies, are shielded by specific Congressional statute as passive transmitters of information.