College Professor Ratings Websites

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Nov 13, 2006

Teacher evaluations used to be something college students filled out only at the end of the semester. Now, sites like RateMyProfessors.com and a whole host of other sites allow students to leave comments about their professors anonymously.

Is this use of technology helpful for the educational process? On the one hand, these sites provide students a source of information about their professors. They can help to hold professors more accountable for their teaching. Students might be more comfortable leaving ratings on this sites than on paper evaluations, where a professor might be able to read their handwriting.

On the other hand, are these sites reliable? Sometimes, but not always. Students who are motivated to leave feedback for a professor might do so because they either love or hate a professor, so the results may be skewed. Also, the number of ratings usually is small, and can you really know what a professor is like after reading the opinions of a few students? And while much of this professor feedback is well-written and useful, some students use these sites as an anonymous way to flame professors. Furthermore, the sites can't verify that the person who leaves the feedback is actually a student. Perhaps the professor's jealous colleague or vengeful ex-boyfriend is leaving the feedback.

As you can imagine, professors hate these sites. Thanks to these sites, if a student hates a professor, now the whole world can know about it! That includes the professor's other students, colleagues, potential employers, spouses, ex-lovers, children, neighbors, stalkers, and anyone else who logs onto the site.

Imagine how you would feel if your job performance evaluations were available to everyone on the planet. Let's say you're a restaurant server, and you're having a terrible day and give someone unusually bad service. What if your customer had the opportunity to leave a review of you on MyServerSucks.com? Now your bad day and poor service can be known the whole world over, and your vindictive ex-boyfriend or girlfriend can laugh with glee. Or imagine if there was a site called RateMyStudent.com, where professors could leave nasty, anonymous reviews about problem students. You feel entitled a little privacy, right? Professors feel the same way.

Should students use teacher evaluation sites? By all means, take advantage of them. But just remember that they're only one source of information, and that they may not be the most reliable source. And if you're going to leave feedback on these sites, please be constructive.

Oh, and check out:

• a satirical look at the future of teacher ratings websites and blog wars, and
• suggestions for how to fill out a helpful teacher evaluation form.