Catalog, Handbooks, Q Guide Go to On-Line Only Versions

Cambridge, Mass. April 1, 2009 - In a plan designed to eliminate waste, provide more options for faculty, students and staff, and to reduce costs, the Courses of Instruction, Harvard College Handbook for Students, The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Handbook for Students, Q Guide and Information for Faculty Offering Instruction in Arts and Sciences will be available on-line only, beginning with the Fall 2009 term. In announcing the elimination of the Courses of Instruction and handbooks, Registrar Barry Kane says, "There are many compelling reasons to have on-line only versions of these publications. A majority of our students and many members of the faculty and staff conduct most of their business on-line, and are very effective at using the array of on-line tools available to them. In addition, the president has asked all segments of the University community to make good judgments about activities that may contribute to the creation of green house gases. The amount of paper used for these publications is, by definition, not a good use of resources." Kane also says that eliminating the printed versions of these publications will save tens of thousands of dollars. Further, he says, the printed Courses of Instruction "is significantly out-of-date before the first copy rolls off the press." Many faculty members find it increasingly difficult to finalize course data in time for the May print deadline, and students relying only on the printed version to shop, have complained that their ideal schedule sometimes has to be dismantled because of changes to the courses selected, especially when creating spring study cards by which time the catalog is nine months old.