Summer class registration is now open and that means one thing is certain, many students are once again going to be flocking over to one specific website: Rate My Professors.
This site serves as a place where students can leave reviews on professors they have taken a class with at pretty much any college or university in the country, while also allowing unsure students to read those reviews in order to help decide which classes to sign up for.
As a third year college student, I have heavily relied on this website when picking my classes for every single semester I have participated in. When deciding who the “best” professor was for me, I often looked at two main things in each review: How difficult their class is and what their personality is like.
Did every student review answer my two prioritized questions? For the most part, yes. A majority of student’s reviews tend to reflect on how the workload is and if the professor is cool or not.
Many students alike have grown great appreciation for this website because it helps us get a good idea of the vibes that each professor provides.
“I have found Rate My Professor very useful and I believe that it is a good way to find out more about the professors of various colleges,” said Delta student Andrew Paolo Solbjor. “It serves as a way to get the opinions from students who have had first hand experience in the professor’s class, giving the person who is unaware of what to expect a good breakdown of who’s class they should register for,” said Solbjor.
Some other college students, such as Areli Rojas, also think the site provides accurate and beneficial information for students.
“Rate My Professor tends to have all sorts of feedback,” said Rojas. “From the classes and semesters I’ve been here at Delta, the reviews I have read off of my past professors have been 80 percent accurate.”
Although this site is nothing but beneficial for students, it also affects the professors. Not all reviews are positive, with some being very honest and sometimes harsh. Getting low ratings (out of five stars), some professors find themselves reading their own reviews.
“When I read some, I question if they are actually talking about my course because they make statements that are not accurate,” said Angela Beyer, a professor in the Child Development department at Delta.
It’s not uncommon to see a student leave a harsh review on a professor, mainly due to not passing the class or because they did not get along with the instructor.
“I think as a reflective practitioner, you take all reviews, the good and bad ones, with a grain of salt. I know that when I read them, I go back to my courses and check on what they were talking about to make sure something overall wasn’t missed on my end,” said Beyer. “I too am continuing to grow and learn.”
Jessica Cardoso, a professor in the Agriculture department at Delta, has also come across such reviews.
“In my experience, those students either failed to communicate their issues with the professor before grading deadlines or are in the habit of finding fault in others rather than taking responsibility for their own learning,” said Cardoso.
However, feedback, whether positive or negative, is often valuable to professors and Rate My Professors allows them to reflect on their teaching styles.
Cardoso said she appreciates the reviews students leave on her because it helps her do just that.
“I strongly support constructive feedback for professors from students,” said Cardoso. “We should always be striving to improve our student interactions and course practices to increase student learning.”
With students finding favor in this website since 1999, Rate My Professors has been a shoulder to lean on when unsure or curious students, like me, need a helping hand in deciding what classes to enroll in to make their college experience as best as possible. Between all the good and the bad reviews, this website has done just that for 23 years.