Marquette Student Goverment sponsors the service, which is accessible through the student government Web site. The Web service, initiated last year by then-MUSG president Lawrence Baylis, allows students to exchange textbooks and view classified ads besides posting class and professor reviews in the course guide section.

According to Frary, DogEars has 1,002 reviews posted in the course guide section and 593 new users have registered since Oct. 1. Frary also said 369 textbook transactions have taken place since the system was first implemented in late 2002.

Students and faculty can only register with a valid Marquette e-mail address, Frary said. Students post reviews under a user name that hides their identity.

Frary said students’ comments are reviewed and edited if libelous content exists.

Kate Agnew, MUSG president, said MUSG has been strongly promoting DogEars lately, especially as students are preparing to register for next semester’s classes.

“DogEars is a great way to hear what fellow students are saying about their professors and classes,” Agnew said.

Frary said she thinks DogEars extends the network of student discussion.

“We really do base our decisions on which classes to take on the professors,” Frary said.

“Professors can make the class. We usually talk to our friends to see which professors to take, but this puts the discussion in a central location for all Marquette students.”

John Schmitt, an associate theology professor, does not believe the system holds students accountable for their reviews due to the element of anonymity.

DogEars “seems to smack of irresponsibility and invalidity,” Schmitt said. “How can one believe someone who doesn’t identify themselves?”

Baylis brought DogEars to Marquette after students requested a subjective review of professors and courses and a place to exchange textbooks, Agnew said.

According to Agnew, four students from Columbia University founded DogEars.

Beside Columbia and Marquette, other schools that use the service include Boston University, Gonzaga University, the University of Michigan and the University of Iowa.

Students can access the Web site at marquette.dogears.net, or by going to the link on MUSG’s Web site, musg.mu.edu.