Some students say a professor’s teaching style can make or break a class. And to learn more about these teaching styles, many students turn to professor review Web sites. Students can log on to Web sites like Universitytools.com and Ratemyprofessor.com when creating course schedules to view other students’ opinions about professors. Anonymous reviewers offer critiques of everything from a professor’s personality to the course’s difficulty. Corey Marino, ISDS junior, said he uses scheduling and review Web sites almost every semester. He said he takes the reviews into consideration with caution because the ratings may be skewed. “Whenever I look at the reviews, I see what grade they got in the class to see if they’re just being bitter about their grade,” he said. Allysa Doumiti, history and international studies sophomore, said the reviews are helpful to an extent. She said she only reads the professor profiles that have several reviews to evaluate the profile’s accuracy and reliability. Doumiti said she rated Karl Roider, history professor, on Ratemyprofessor.com after she took his class. “I just said he’s a very enthusiastic teacher who cares a lot about his students and helping them through the course,” she said. Rob Outland, history professor, is on the “Top Ten Instructors” list on Universitytools.com. He said he has heard of the Web sites that students use to review their professors, but he has never visited them. Outland said he does not have a problem with students researching their professors online, and he would visit the Web sites if he were a student. Phoebe Rouse, mathematics professor, said the reviews cover both positive and negative comments. “People do this voluntarily,” said Rouse, who is also on the site’s “Top Ten Instructors” list. “If they’re happy with a teacher, they’re likely to respond, and if they’re not happy with a teacher, you’ll see that also.” Outland said he would take negative comments into consideration if he received them. “It would cause me to pause and consider what I was doing that maybe wasn’t effective,” he said. Rouse said negative reviews can be biased because students may be upset about a particular grade. Rouse said that overall she thinks the Web sites are useful tools for students. “It’s not so much a popularity contest as it is looking for a teaching style that is compatible to their learning style,” she said. Mark Zucker, art history professor, said he likes being one of the top-rated professors on Universitytools.com. He said he is glad his teaching methods appeal to students. “I try to say interesting things and say them in an engaging way, occasionally in a humorous fashion,” he said. Rouse said she takes a personal approach to teaching. She said she tries to learn all of her students’ names and where they are from. She also said she makes learning math easier for her students by breaking down the course into smaller sections and helping her students with common errors.
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon [email protected]