Attention students: the use of note packets sold by the note-taking service Sherlock Notes is not in violation of the Golden Rule. And with mid-terms quickly approaching, students can use the packets as a study aid without feeling threatened by professors.
"We cannot stop students from buying anything," Alison Morrison-Shetlar, interim dean of undergraduate studies at UCF, said. "They may use any kind of resource."
To clear up the confusion, a new suggested statement for a class syllabus was recently posted on a UCF faculty resource Web site. The statement reads: "Third parties are selling class notes and other materials from this class without my authorization. Please be aware that such class materials may contain errors, which could affect your performance or grade. Use these materials at your own risk."
Morrison-Shetlar said the concern stems from the possibility of inaccurate information in the notes, and then students would be "paying tuition to take a course and then paying money for materials that are incorrect."
So if using these note packets doesn't violate the Golden Rule, why do some professors still have a problem with them?
According to Morrison-Shetlar, the clause in the Golden Rule that prohibits selling class notes still does apply. Furthermore, some professors are still concerned about the violation of intellectual property rights and copyright protections.
Recently, a UCF professor told his students about a supposed pending lawsuit between the textbook publishing company Pearson Publishing and Sherlock Notes. He warned that any student found in possession of a note packet would face expulsion and possible legal action. Because of this, students began to wonder if buying the note packets was worth the possible consequences.
"I had students approaching me and asking whether or not the packets were illegal," Chris Nase, the creator of Sherlock Notes, said. "When I found out about the lawsuit, I had my attorney call Pearson Publishing because I hadn't heard of one. [Pearson Publishing] said they had purchased the notes and there was nothing illegal about them and the lawsuit was absolutely not true. These notes are 100 percent legal."
Unlike some professors at UCF, Francis Martin Jr., whose History of Western Art II class notes are sold by Sherlock Notes, likes the idea of students using prepared note packets.
"I thought it was clever," Martin said. "I bought a pack of notes for my class to see what the big deal was, and I liked them. I had Chris come talk to my classes, and I told the kids to buy [the notes]. It's a great outline for the material."
That has been Nase's intention from the beginning - to create an outline of class material to help prepare for a test, not an excuse for students to skip class.
"Students are paying for their classes, and it's their choice whether or not they go," he said. "But our packets don't help students if they don't go. The packets are there for students who don't take good notes or who want to pay attention to the professor. We don't publish pictures shown in class, so students need to go to see things like that."
Martin agrees that the notes are supplementary, if students don't go to class they will miss vital information not contained in the note packets.
"It is a good learning tool because [my class] has a tremendous amount of information," he said. "Buying the notes is like buying the textbook. At the end of the day, they have to learn the material themselves. The notes aren't going to pass the test for them."
Shelby is a junior majoring in studio art who wishes to keep her last name private because she doesn't want to get in trouble for taking the notes. She became a note taker for Martin's History of Western Art II class in the fall of 2006. She thinks the notes are a beneficial learning tool as well.
"Professors are annoyed that students don't come to class," she said. "They think that students are taking the easy way out by buying the notes. But it is a good way for students to get the notes if they miss class once in a while."
Shelby used her note-taking responsibilities as motivation to attend class and make better grades.
"I knew someone was expecting me to go to class and take notes," she said. "When I was forced to be there, it helped my grade. It was a good thing for the students but also for me as a note taker."
Although Nase is still continuing to face scrutiny about Sherlock Notes, there is one thought that keeps him going: "Even though there are people who don't agree with the notes, there are a lot that really love these things," he said.
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