Professor Reviews

During my undergraduate years, I wasn't too savvy about the logistics when it came to choosing my classes. For example, the time of the class, the class size, and, most importantly, the professor. You don't realize how much professors matter until you get a truly bad professor.

Terrible professors can intentionally make classes harder and may offer little help to struggling students. Besides making class interesting, excellent professors may even provide professional connections—an invaluable resource in this job market.

But I didn't know there was a way to preview a certain professor's style before taking their class—that is, until I learned about professor reviews. Now, as a current graduate student, I make sure to do thorough research on every professor available to me because, believe me when I say, it matters.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• The best professor review forums
• The importance of professor reviews
• What to look for in professor reviews

I will also provide you with reasons to leave these reviews because, trust me, you will soon realize how beneficial it is to rate your professor experiences. I am excited to take you through this journey and tell you everything there is to know about professor reviews. Let's begin!

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What Are Professor Reviews?

Professor reviews, or professor ratings, are online ratings and first-hand feedback provided by students about professors in their courses. Professor reviews are seen as a valuable resource to help students choose their courses and teachers. These reviews are especially important for core classes like English and math, as well as other classes like electives.

Professor reviews are designed to provide students with direct access to teaching styles, class ambiance, grading rubrics, and the overall classroom and instructor experience. These reviews are typically measured by feedback and 1–5-star ratings, with 5 being the greatest experience.

How Professor Reviews Can Affect Personal Life

If you think professor reviews don't matter, reconsider. In 2022, an NYU organic chemistry professor was dismissed over professor reviews and student controversy. The New York Times reports his side of the story—that students unfairly blamed his teaching style for poor grades.

In contrast, student reviews on Rate My Professor paint him as someone who made little effort to make the course accessible. Other news articles interview faculty and students for even more opinions on the controversy. While Bold.org holds no opinion on the matter, it provides an interesting example of how professor reviews are often disputed and can have consequences for both professors and students.

Understanding and Utilizing Professor Ratings

While using professor reviews can help you make informed decisions about your course schedule and choices, there are a few things to consider about professor reviews in order to understand how they should work for you and not against you:

• Subjectivity and Bias: Professor reviews are purely subjective to one’s experience with a professor. That means, comments and feedback from students who have taken courses with specific instructors will only provide a view from their own point of view. Reviews may not always be representative of the professor’s overall teaching ability or the course content.
• Look for Specifics: Don’t just rely on star ratings—get into the nitty gritty of the comments: grading policies, class difficulty, class leisure, professor teaching styles, professor accessibility, and class material.
• Extreme Reviews: Students who take the time to leave reviews can provide controversial opinions at times. While I do think it’s important to consider all comments and feedback, it’s even more important to take those extreme opinions lightly unless there are multiple of the same kind of reviews. Professors have been known to sue Rate My Professors and other rating sites due to the severity of these reviews.
• Consider the source: Always, always, always consider the source. Whether it be user comments, word of mouth, or online review platforms, consider your source, especially if they are anonymous. One student can have a completely different experience in a class than another student in the same class.

Professor reviews are meant to help, not hinder, your decision-making, so it’s important to consider not only these factors but also yourself and what you want out of your learning experience.

Once you’ve chosen your professor, discover how to get good grades in college!

Best Platforms for Professor Reviews

As I mentioned above, considering your sources is the key to choosing your course and professor at your school. Which leads me here: my list of the BEST platforms for professor reviews.

Let’s talk about ‘em!

1. Rate My Professors

Rate My Professor is the oldest and largest online platform for professor ratings. Launched in May 1999, the website was "built for college students, by college students." RMP has amassed over 19 million ratings, 1.7 million professors, and thousands of schools/universities across the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

2. Rate My Teachers

Like RMP, Rate My Teachers, formerly TeacherRatings.com, is the second-most-used professor rating platform accessible to students to post their professor reviews. RMT uses a survey-like design created by education professionals to rate their class and instructor experience.

3. Uloop

Founded in 2007, ULoop allows college students to find college professors (and their reviews) by state, university, and professor's last name. ULoop connects millions of students to thousands of colleges and universities across the nation to not only find professors, but also other postings for housing, roommates, etc.

Though these reviews are told from one’s personal life experience, they are meant to make your life easier. Like I always say, it works if you work it!

Professors are important. So are your study habits. Read this guide on how to study in college!

Why Professor Reviews Matter

Now, I know I’ve been speaking about professor reviews from a student’s perspective, but they’re also beneficial for professors, as well. Here are some reasons why professor reviews matter for both student and professor:

How Reviews Affect Students:

• Helps you make an informed decision
• Gives you insight on what to expect
• Allows you to be prepared for certain learning methods
• Provides an outlet to be honest about classroom experiences

How Reviews Affect Professors:

• Can improve teaching methods
• Can help with course design
• Provides direct feedback to administrators
• Can potentially affect tenure and/or promotion opportunities

These reviews offer real insights into teaching styles, grading policies, and classroom environments, ultimately helping you find the best fit for your learning style. So, don’t underestimate how great your semester can be based on professor ranking and reviews.

Recommended Reading: How Long is A College Semester?

What to Look for in Professor Reviews

When choosing a specific course, you should consider specific aspects in the professor reviews. Let’s discuss what they are:

1. Constructive feedback
2. Course organization
3. Professor enthusiasm or passion
4. Professor integrity (i.e., level of honesty, knowledge, consistency, etc.)
5. Respectful practices

It's important to consider these factors to decide if each review is worth listening to. Sign up for classes based on inconsistent reviews at your own risk! Still, if you properly evaluate reviews, they can be a great way to help you choose classes that you'll actually enjoy.

Consider tutoring if you need extra help in classes. Check out this list of the best online math tutors!

Reasons to Leave Constructive Feedback in Professor Reviews

I know leaving and even reading through professor reviews sounds tedious and nitpicky, but trust me, it is worth the time to leave them, and here’s why:

1. Reliability – It’s hard to know which comments and critiques are coming from a sound and logical place when reading some reviews. However, you can be the exception for future students and leave the one reliable comment that can help someone pick the right class.
2. Classroom Satisfaction – As I’ve said, leaving professor reviews benefits the students, and it also benefits the professors. Leaving constructive and honest feedback about your experience in the course can hold professors accountable, as well as inspire them to switch things up, take student feedback into consideration, get direct insight into their classrooms through the students’ lens, etc.
3. Peer Support – Leaving reviews means supporting your peers with guidance. College can be intimidating and overwhelming at first, but these reviews can take some of the pressure off when it comes to not knowing which courses to take. Think of it as the guide for incoming students on which professors to take or avoid.
4. Shared Experiences – It’s very easy to feel “alone” in college, especially when you have no idea how to navigate your courses. Leaving professor reviews allows students to share their experiences, reassuring each other they aren’t the only ones feeling how they feel about their course selections.

Overall, leaving professor reviews extends far beyond rating instructors numerically. Leaving these reviews not only cultivates an environment of honesty and accountability but also keeps students united and provides a sense of community.

Frequently Asked Questions About Professor Reviews

What are professor reviews?

Professor reviews are online evaluations and ratings provided by students about professors in their courses (i.e., math, science, English, etc.). Professor reviews are a valuable resource that help students choose their courses and teachers. These reviews usually include the professor’s teaching method, grading practices and overall classroom experience.

How do professor reviews help students?

Professor reviews help students make informed decisions when choosing the right course and professor by providing insights into the instructors teaching style, grading scales, and overall classroom experience. These reviews have the potential to create better learning environments for students, as well improve academic experiences.

Why is leaving a professor review important?

Leaving professor reviews is important not only for student’s but for professors, as well. They are designed to provide valuable feedback that can benefit all parties, including university administrators. Reviews can help professors improve their teaching, inform administrators about their performance, as well as help future students make informed decisions about which professors and courses to take.

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