An independent student group is preparing the first student guide to Trent courses and faculty in time for the influx of new students in September.

      A fuller edition grading upper-year courses and faculty should be out by next spring before students preregister.

      The guide will print the results of a student survey just completed. The 19-question survey will be the basis for grading courses and faculty. It asked students to rate on a scale from one to 10 course content, workload, grading, location and instructors' teaching and marking methods. At least a third of the questions zero in on an instructors' ability to communicate, accessibility, preparedness and teaching innovation. The focus is as much on style as on quality of teaching, says Ethan Clarke, who spearheaded the project.

      Acting dean Colin Taylor commends students for the initiative. The questionnaire is sensibly constructed, he says. "I hope it will be useful to students as an additional source of information as they select courses. I expect, however, that students should continue to be guided primarily by what is in the calendar and information provided by departments and instructors."

      The Trent Central Students Association (csa) initially agreed to administer the project but has handed it over to the independent group because few on the board could commit the time, said csa president Marijke Edmondson.

      The group has raised about $1,000 to publish the guide -- $800 from the csa, $100 from Otonabee College and $100 from personal donations.

      Psychology professor Gary Reker advised Clarke and a cohort of about 10 students about creating the survey and protecting its integrity. For security reasons, the group did not post it on the Internet and has asked students to include their student number -- confidentially -- on the form. They want to protect the integrity of the survey by preventing skewed results.

      Clarke hopes about 400 students will have responded to the survey by March 30. He and his colleagues distributed 3,000 through Arthur and 3,000 by hand. They concentrated on targetting students in first-year courses so that newcomers who are least familiar with faculty and courses can benefit. They will distribute a more comprehensive guide for all students next spring to coincide with the release of the university's academic calendar.

      Using a scale recommended by Reker, Clarke will only publish results where a minimum of 10 per cent responded per class of 10 or more, and 50 per cent responded in classes of fewer than 10 students.

      This independent survey has been conducted outside classes and is not the same as the end-of-year, in-class questionnaires departments ask students to fill out. Those are for faculty consumption only.

      "I think this [new] guide is necessary," said Clarke. It will supplement but not replace ways students already make decisions, like meeting profs during introductory seminar week. As student numbers rise, such a guide is needed "so students can choose courses wisely."