Professor Index, a Rate my Professors competitor, added three new features including the ability to request reviews, earn badges through more activity and invite people on the app.
Nash Mahmoud, an associate professor of computer science and engineering at LSU, created PI as an app for students to evaluate their professors. Mahmoud was inspired to design PI because he saw flaws with Rate My Professors, describing the information on the platform as outdated, biased and inconclusive.
PI and its newest updates combat the issues with Rate My Professors to provide a dependable way for students to take classes with the professor that best fits them, Mahmoud says.
For example, students can now request reviews on specific professors at any time. Professors can also request reviews if they want feedback on their teaching. This feature allows professors to make improvements throughout the course instead of relying on comments from students after the semester is over.
Felipe Fronchetti, an assistant professor in computer science and the top-rated instructor on PI, said this feature is helpful.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get this sort of feedback directly in class or throughout the semester, but when you have a platform for that, that makes your life way easier,” Fronchetti said.
The other updates incentivize engagement through virtual duck badges and allowing users to invite other students or professors to join. Being more active, getting likes or inviting others to join leads to unlocking these ducks on the app. PI also has a mystery duck set that users can unlock, further incentivizing use.
In order to have sufficient reviews, Mahmoud said students must be consistently downloading and using the app.
“The more reviews we get, we can get a more balanced view of professors. It’s because usually people who leave reviews are going to have extreme opinions. And you don’t want that all the time. You want to be able to see the average,” Mahmoud said.
These new features have proved successful in creating a more unbiased, efficient way for students to review their professors, but Mahmoud says he does still notice forms of bias appearing throughout the platform.
Creators are actively combating this concern by introducing AI summaries to write a general view of how students are rating the professors. AI reads reviews as they come in and creates a summary for each professor so students can get a balanced understanding of the entries.
Fronchetti said the biggest difference between PI and other professor-rating platforms is that an instructor created the app.
“Professor Index was made by a professor who cares about teaching,” Fronchetti said, “and when you have an app that was made by someone who cares about the learning experience of students, you get features that go beyond the system.”
