The president of  United Academics, UVM’s faculty union, shifted in her seat and tapped her foot as SGA members asked a series of questions on why students aren’t given prior access to professor evaluations.  Junior SGA vice president Jack Birmingham pressed the Union’s president Denise Youngblood and the Union about these student concerns at the meeting March 18. Youngblood is a professor of history at UVM. Students are the ones who give the information on the professors so they should be able to see that information, Birmingham said. “In any business that you’re in, they’re [evaluations] considered to be privileged,” Youngblood said. The evaluations, done by students at the end of each semester, have “always been private,” Youngblood said. Professor evaluations was one of many issues presented to United Academics during the public forum. Youngblood started off the forum and said that United Academics wants to hear more from students. “We think of faculty and students as being natural allies,” she said. “We’re all in agreement,” SGA senator Andrew Bowen said. “But the last time you [United Academics] came in was, unfortunately, three years ago.” United Academics has “definitely let that slide,” Youngblood said. With the stage set for plans of a “stronger” relationship between SGA and UA, the public forum shifted back to address specific student issues. Birmingham stood facing Youngblood and United Academics vice president, Dennis Mahoney, and asked why students are unable to see class syllabuses before they enroll for classes each semester. Mahoney is a professor of German and Russian at UVM. “I knew that question was going to come up,” Youngblood said.  There are two reasons why class syllabi are unavailable prior to registering for a class, she said.  The first is that professors see the class syllabus as “intellectual property.” The second is that it is hard for professors to organize the course so far in advance as they would not be able to have set exam dates, Youngblood said. Some students feel that they should have access to the general requirements of a class, such as projects, ahead of time. This way they can plan their schedules accordingly, Birmingham said. Students should have access to this information because “students are the ones who are going to be putting in the work at that time,” he said. “I think students should know how other students feel about the courses that they are required to take,” junior Colby Rackliff said. Mahoney asked the student body to ask their professors to put pressure on them to supply helpful course information that would not breach “intellectual property rights,” as mentioned. With course sign-ups right around the corner, advising may be on the minds of many students. Youngblood said that advising falls in the “gray area” between the faculty senate and United Academics. Students must feel like they’re “shouting into the wilderness” when they have questions about the advising system, she said. SGA senator Taylor Ducharme mentioned the lack of “mesh” between students and advisers, as advisers may not always have information important for a student’s desired career path. “There’s been talk about moving to professional advisers,” Youngblood said. Professional advisers would be a separate staff to advise students.  Mahoney said he feels that advising is part of teaching and “is not just an afterthought.” In terms of the future relationship between SGA and United Academics, Youngblood said she “hopes for a more collective approach.” “I want to open that door to that kind of communication,” she said. “We wouldn’t exist without you, you wouldn’t come here without us.”