Many Elon University students, like college students across the country, use a website called Rate My Professors when selecting their classes.
Rate My Professors has become popular by providing an online forum for students to rate their teachers on several factors. The overall score, which students pay attention to the most, is an average.
Freshman Cal Dougherty said that for the most part, the ratings lined up.
“There were certainly some that seemed unnecessarily low, but I think that’s just because students personally have bad experiences with certain professors,” he said.
But not all students use Rate My Professors when selecting classes.
“I have never used Rate My Professors,” said freshman Sara Carlson. “I think a lot of the reviews are from jaded students with bad grades. It’s much easier and reliable for me to just go to the first day of class. ”
The professor matters for class selection.
“I think the teacher is the No. 1 indicator of how interesting or how hard a class will be,” said freshman Christy Smith. “I love Rate My Professors [because] it provides a candid forum for students who have had a certain professor to assess their experience.”
Teachers also have mixed feelings.
“Sometimes it is a bit disconcerting that students can rate me before they even meet me,” said assistant professor of communications Vanessa Bravo. “But at the same time, I don’t think it’s a huge distraction. Most kids I’ve talked to don’t use it that much – at least they don’t usually not take a class because of a bad review.”
Students can also look up biographies of their teachers on Elon’s website.
Every professor and instructor has a profile on Elon’s website that features a brief biography, links, news and notes about the professor’s education, employment history, courses taught, leadership positions, publications, presentations, skills and awards.
This profile may not be as helpful to students as Rate My Professors, though.
“It doesn’t provide the candid nature and genuineness of a Rate My Professors profile,” Carlson said. “It only speaks of them in a superficial, professional capacity. I think kids want to know what a teacher’s personality is like, what assignments they will give, how they will grade. Elon.edu just doesn’t seem to provide that.”
Rate My Professors is not just a place to dish the dirt.
“Overall, I think students still like to have personal contact with a teacher before they make a decision about staying in the class,” Dougherty said. “[This site] is certainly indicative of technology derision in general. While people use this specific website as a tool, it doesn’t necessarily override human contact.”