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Signing up for classes can be stressful. Entering in a five-digit number on Web DSIS can mean the difference between enduring a semester of monotonous lectures and enjoying classes you’ll never forget. While some subjects appeal to us more than others, it’s hard to dispute that a professor can make or break a class experience.
RateMyProfessors.com lets students know what we’re getting ourselves into beforehand, so that we don’t march blindly into a terrible semester. Students can rate teachers in terms of easiness, helpfulness and clarity. You can judge a teacher by any of these criteria, or the overall quality, which is the three averaged together. In addition, students leave short comments about their professors that give a little more detail and have the option to rate the professor as “hot” or “not” (physically, not in terms of academics).
The design is very effective, with simple graphics and easy navigation. Once you’ve selected your school, you may sort the professors by last name, department, number of ratings or overall quality. One warning: Don’t take a professor’s rating to heart if only a few students have submitted ratings. One professor I have now was described as a “leftist Nazi” who “hates America.” Luckily, I have had him before and knew this wasn’t the case.
Many professors have more than 20 ratings, so the results should reflect a broader range of students. One music professor, for example, has 27 ratings and an overall rating of 4.1 out of five. In short, this professor is a safe bet.
The worst aspect of the site is the emphasis on “easiness.” You can’t search on that basis, but “ease” is listed beside each professor’s name before you even look at their details. It’s nice to know what you’re getting into with a class, but Rate My Professors can too easily become a guide to getting easy A’s.
Through the eyes of a teacher, the site must have a whole different look. Rate My Professors is more straightforward than the teacher evaluations we get at the end of the year, especially in terms of what the average student is looking for. One downside is that if you run your virtual mouth about how your professor is a source for easy A’s, there’s a chance they’ll see what people think and maybe adjust their teaching a bit. In addition, it’s likely that most teachers don’t want to know if their students think they’re “hot” or “not.”
You don’t need to register to check out what people say about professors, so it’s a quick, easy process. The ads aren’t overwhelming, either. This is a Web site all college students should bookmark. When course selection rolls around, you’ll be glad you did.
Bangor Daily News