Psychology Professor Richard J. McNally was surprised to learn that the lectures for his introductory psychology course share a Web site with an advertisement for the Discover card.

Someone, apparently one of his students, had paraphrased McNally's lectures and sold them to Versity.com, an online "knowledge center" that collects lecture notes from colleges across the country, then publishes them on the World Wide Web.

"It's news to me," McNally says. McNally says he had heard of services like Versity, but didn't know his own course, Psychology 1, "Introduction to Psychology," was online. "I'm not pleased."

Versity pays students for their notes on 24 Harvard classes, in spite of a longstanding Harvard ban on the sale of lecture notes. For their risk, the note-takers receive about $8 per lecture.

According to Freshman Dean Elizabeth Studley Nathans, selling notes is a serious offense and could mean disciplinary action and a meeting with the Administrative Board.

"Any Harvard student who is employed by or who uses the services of Versity.com or any similar organization, is in violation of College rules regarding the integrity of academic work," Nathans says.

Charles Berman, chief executive officer of Versity, says college administrators have misconstrued the company's mission.

"I think that Versity is dramatically misunderstood. We are focused on being a learning center," not a path-of-least-resistance for students too lazy to wake up for lectures, Berman says. "But if it's used properly, we can create a great product. And that's clearly what we're trying to do."