Editorial | What's the delay?

Nearly two years ago, we urged the University to develop an online system for professors to post their syllabi.

We're still waiting.

To be fair, some departments and schools have gotten on board with the idea, offering repositories on their Web sites where professors can post past syllabi.

But administrators have still failed to develop a University-wide, searchable database for students.

The benefits of such a site are obvious. Most classes - even new ones - have some sort of syllabus that communicates the nuts and bolts of the course.

Students can make more informed registration decisions when they know what a class will focus on or what final projects or exams it will require. This, in turn, means less frantic class-shopping during the add/drop period.

And as we pointed out in 2006, many of Penn's peer institutions - like Princeton and Harvard - already make syllabi available online in centralized databases. The University has only fallen further behind over the past two years.

The syllabi already exist. The technology already exists. All that's needed is the University's effort to make a two-year dream for students into a reality.

Considering Penn's dismal record with online technology, we're not holding our breath.

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