ATLANTA — As the fall semester begins, a new policy from the University System of Georgia is drawing concern from some educators across the state.
The policy requires professors teaching core courses at Georgia colleges and universities to upload their course syllabuses to a publicly accessible online database. Officials say the move is aimed at increasing transparency, giving students and parents a clearer understanding of course content. The requirement will expand to all courses by next fall.
However, not everyone sees it as a positive change. Professor Matthew Boedy, president of the Georgia chapter of the American Association of University Professors, says faculty members are worried the public nature of the database could expose them to harassment or political backlash over course content.
“We all get nasty emails from time to time, some of us get more than that,” Boedy said. “And I think that those people who have experienced things like that are concerned.”
He added that the policy could have been implemented differently. “If the goal is to help students and parents know ahead of time what’s in a class, we could have done this without making the syllabuses public.”
Boedy also expressed concern that the database includes instructors’ names, email addresses, and locations, increasing the potential for targeted attacks.
WSB’s Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story
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