When registering for courses, there are many factors you have to consider: \u201cIs this course part of my curriculum?\u201d \u201cDoes it fit my schedule?\u201d and \u201cWhat is the professors rating on Rate My Professor?\u201d Every semester millions of students around the world flock to the Rate My Professor website to check professors\u2019 ratings before registering for a course.<\/p>\n
The platform allows students to leave reviews on their professors. Any grievances or praises students have for their professors help build up the overall rating for the professors and their courses. Through this system, students are also able to investigate professors and decide whether their courses would be the correct fit for them or not, but is it useful to make such a decision based on what students you don\u2019t know have to say about professors?<\/p>\n
The platform\u2019s rating system uses an \u201cAwesome, Great, Good, Ok and Awful\u201d scale, which makes the ratings straightforward and easy to understand. Students are also able to share the grade they received in the course, whether the course was a requirement, whether attendance and textbooks are mandatory, and if they would take the course again. Additionally, students can also highlight things that they believe other student might take into consideration when looking for a course or professors, such as how important participation is, how often test or quizzes happen, how accessible the course is outside of the classroom, etc.<\/p>\n
At UTEP, many, if not most, students use Rate My Professor avidly. On the university\u2019s page in the platform there are ratings for over 2,300 professors, some of whom aren\u2019t active professors at UTEP anymore, with thousands of accumulated reviews from current and past miners. The ratings include professors from every study offered at the university, from core courses to graduate level courses.<\/p>\n
Many students turn to the platform to decide whether potential professors would be the right fit for them or not. Business student Marili Cervantes, says the reviews other student post about the professors helps her assess the quality of a course before registering for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use it to look up a professor and see if his class is easy and opinions about the, the class. If the professor puts a lot of work or does he teach well, stuff like that,\u201d Cervantes said. \u201cBasically, what I use it for is to choose my classes. So, if there\u2019s a professor who has like one star or two stars out of five, he\u2019s my last option.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, Industrial Engineering student Carmen Olmeda, says the platform has helped her decide whether to switch professors rather than avoiding the course entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has stopped me from taking a class, or maybe not taking the class, but switching [professors]. Just because they have really bad reviews and I don\u2019t wanna get into a class that is hard just because the professor makes it hard,\u201d Olmeda said.<\/p>\n
Overall, it seems like students do find the platform to be a useful resource when registering for courses. The reviews that other students post on the platform allow them to avoid courses that might not be the right fit for them before embarking on their semester. So as of now, it seems like Rate My Professor is here to stay.<\/p>\n