Few research studies have examined the use of student ratings of instructors from the standpoint of their ability to be interpreted and their subsequent usefulness. This study examined the effects of a training session conducted by experts in the field of student ratings of instruction. The first question was to determine the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the users of student ratings possessed, and the second was to see if training helped them use student ratings. Data was collected from 68 participants at a workshop on evaluation. Participants were faculty and administrators of institutions of higher learning. Participants completed, before and after the workshop, a revised form of the Using Student Ratings of Instruction questionnaire (J. Franklin and M. Theall, 1989). Of these participants, 59% reported never having had assistance in interpreting student ratings data and indicated interest in having such assistance. The remainder had received assistance at least once. Thirty-four percent of respondents reported never having selected, adapted, or written a student ratings form themselves, but 66% had devised such an instrument at some point. Fifty percent of respondents reported never using student ratings for personnel decision-making purposes. The small sample size discouraged researchers from examining questions of predicting use from knowledge and attitudes about student ratings or from examining constructs inherent in the questionnaire. Additional studies are planned. (Contains six references.) (SLD)