Many California Baptist University students use Rate My Professors, a popular website, to read and write reviews about professors and their courses. This helps students decide whether to take a professor’s class.
The website has reviews for professors from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The website allows students to write reviews about a professor by rating them on the overall quality and difficulty of the professor. It also allows students to describe a professor with phrases such as “tough grader,” “get ready to read” and “caring.” Students can use these phrases to provide a thorough summary of a professor’s teaching style.
Robert Brown, adjunct professor of English, said he used the website as a student.
“When I was an undergraduate, I did check Rate My Professors, but I couldn’t take it seriously as a credible source for making enrollment decisions,” Brown said.
Brown said he has not looked on the website to see what it says about him.
“I’m better off being unaware. But, of course, I still want to know what students think about my classes,” Brown said.
Andrew Torres, sophomore psychology major, said he uses the website to help him decide what classes to take.
“It’s a useful tool for students. There are a lot of different teaching styles and there are a lot of different ways people learn. It just helps the student pick the best professor for them,” Torres said.
Torres said he has also used the website to write a review about a professor.
“I did it for a professor because I enjoyed his class and wanted to encourage others to take his class,” Torres said.
Madison Swails, sophomore pre-nursing student, said she also used the website to learn about professors.
“It is helpful with choosing your professor because you can learn about him or her before taking the class. Previous students’ opinions and comments can help with getting to know how that professor grades and his or her teaching style,” Swails said.
Swails said she was thinking of future students when she decided to write a review.
“The process was simple and easy to rate one of my professors. I did it both for future students and also because I really enjoyed the professor,” Swails said.
There are currently 680 results on Rate My Professors for faculty at CBU.
While some professors may not enjoy being rated on Rate My Professors, students use the website to share their thoughts of past professors and courses and determine the best professors for their personal learning style based on reviews.
