Ranking Professors: Effective or Not? | Op-Ed/The Scribe

RateMyProfessor.com may seem like the perfect source for reviews on instructors, but is this website as helpful as you think? The widely popular college-aimed website, RateMyProfessor.com, serves as a tool for students to rate and discuss their opinions on the performance of their current or past professors. This website is a helpful tool for students when deciding which professor’s classes to enroll in, as it provides feedback from students who have already taken a course with that teacher.
On the other hand, this website is also filled with biased reviews written by students who, the majority of the time, will place their personal opinion rather than a factually based rating. When rating a professor, opinions are broken down into categories ranging from how “easy” the professor’s course is, to how helpful the instructor is, and how often textbooks are used. The rating application goes on to ask the reviewer to rate the attendance policy, and whether or not the teacher is still teaching or now retired.

Just by looking at the website, one can sense that these reviews aren’t exactly to be taken seriously. Categories when rating a professor even include stating how “hot” or good looking the teacher is. With a category such as this included in the mix, it’s hard to think these reviews hold any sort of merit.

Ideally, one would prefer students to give honest feedback without being biased, but is this a realistic expectation? Take into consideration the possibility that a student may have performed poorly in a class due to their own lack of dedication or other similar circumstances; This may lead that student to place the blame on the professor and rate them down on the website, failing to mention the reality of why their grade wasn’t satisfactory.

“I think RateMyProfessor.com can be both accurate and biased. If a student failed the class, of course they’re going to have a biased opinion, but I think it’s accurate coming from the students who took the courses and passed, telling you what to actually expect from the teachers,” said sophomore, Kristin Yeager.

Some reviews, like Yeager mentioned, do let readers know what to expect from professors, which is serves as a plus before enrolling in a course. Students who aren’t fond of professor’s who lecture, for example, would be warned in advance if a teacher speaks for long periods of time during each class meeting. A review with this sort of information would be a great tool for a student who was on the fence about whether or not to sign up for the class with that specific professor.

When it comes time to choose classes for an upcoming semester, it is important to keep in mind that the opinions on this website, are just that- opinions, and while this website is beneficial to an extent- it is not a factually based review. Ultimately, you’re the only one who can decide whether or not a professor is right for you.