Rate your professors!!!

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 10, 2011

If you ever use that site to choose classes to take ... Be aware that professors know all about it. It is not unusual for faculty members to"tilt" the information there one way or the other. They will arrange for friends and family to write glowing comments about themselves ... and some have even written negative comments about thier political enemies.

Use it at your own risk. It may be worth looking at ... but don't use it as your only source of information.

Lifeofanurse · Aug 11, 2011

I always use it to find out about my regular class instructors. No I don't believe everything I read but it can give you a good idea about specific problems I may have w/ the instructor. Ex: heavy accents, too easy, gives all the answers to tests to make everyone pass, gives/does not give extra credit, do they allow you to review your tests to see what you missed. things like that.

I'm not looking to marry my instructors but wouldn't mind a heads up on some of the basics. I hate seeing poor reviews due to personality conflicts (but that is usually obvious) or ones that are just MEAN. That isn't necessary.

Instructors, ALL instructors pretty much hate that site. Can't say I blame them if they are excessively difficult or have a high failure rate. I can't see a point in reading about my nursing instructors though. We don't get to choose. So why not form an opinion all on your own? I don't want to misjudge w/o really getting to know them myself.

RangeinPlace · Aug 11, 2011

I can't see a point in reading about my nursing instructors though. We don't get to choose. So why not form an opinion all on your own? I don't want to misjudge w/o really getting to know them myself.

That's true but if someone is "shopping around" for a nursing program, it would be pretty useful. Also, if there are issues that other students have had with the instructors it's helpful to be aware of that as it could help you to avoid (those issues).

grownuprosie · Aug 11, 2011

i wish i had not just looked at that site! most of the nursing instructors at my school have less then a 2.0... depressed now...

on eagles wings, ASN, RN · Aug 11, 2011

I used it from time to time, and for the most part I still do, but mostly for curiousity. A lot of lazy students give bad ratings and comments like "YOU HAVE TO STUDY FOR HER CLASS!!! UGHHH I HATE HER!!!" so I actually just sift through those. I like to see if they can tell me if the teacher uses ppts or not, if they are helpful after class etc. I ignore most comments. And I avoid "Easy A" teachers at all costs, lol.

Pneumothorax, BSN, RN · Aug 11, 2011

If you ever use that site to choose classes to take ... Be aware that professors know all about it. It is not unusual for faculty members to"tilt" the information there one way or the other. They will arrange for friends and family to write glowing comments about themselves ... and some have even written negative comments about thier political enemies.
Use it at your own risk. It may be worth looking at ... but don't use it as your only source of information.

sometimes you can tell when a comment is fixed in comparison to the others, esp if u look at reviews for a teacher you have had before LOL!...

i do use it as the be all /end on on class decisions but as one person said, its nice to know if they use powerpoints, are bookthumpers or have study guides..any thing to make this studying less painful hehe.

CrazierThanYou · Aug 14, 2011

Um, yeah. There is an instructor at my school. If you were to look this person up on that website, you will see glowing reviews of her. She is one of those kind of people who are constantly smiling and bubbly, even when you can tell its forced. Her classes are interesting but deep down, she is a horrible teacher. When I left that school and went to university, I realized that nearly every single thing I learned in her class was incorrect. There is very little thinking involved in her tests. She will ask questions like "What color sweater was the main character wearing at the river scene?" WHO CARES? Her classes have little to no educational value, yet everyone thinks she is this great teacher based on her constant fake smiling.

She is also incredibly bad to play favorites and makes NO attempt to hide it.

Certifiable, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2011

t nearly every single thing I learned in her class was incorrect. There is very little thinking involved in her tests. She will ask questions like "What color sweater was the main character wearing at the river scene?" WHO CARES? Her classes have little to no educational value, yet everyone thinks she is this great teacher based on her constant fake smiling.
She is also incredibly bad to play favorites and makes NO attempt to hide it.

Some teachers ask those questions so as to see who actually read the book, and not just read cliff notes or something. My mum said she once had a teacher ask what was on the cover of the book...

CrazierThanYou · Aug 14, 2011

Some teachers ask those questions so as to see who actually read the book, and not just read cliff notes or something. My mum said she once had a teacher ask what was on the cover of the book...

It still has no educational value AND the whole test would be that way.

Everline · Aug 14, 2011

I have found that site to be very helpful and quite accurate. It is interesting to go look up some professors I had years back and see how incredibly accurate the ratings are and that ten to fifteen years later, these professors are still teaching in the same ways and even saying the same things on the first day. I use the site to choose my professors when I can. If someone has several pages of good reviews, with specifics, it's a good indication that they are actually good professors. That's my personal experience. And certainly the opposite is true. I avoid taking classes with professors who have review after review saying stuff like "RUN!" or "She does not care about the students and if you ask for help she treats you like you are bothering her" or "She's a career crusher". Page upon page and review after review like that does not bode well to me. Of course, YMMV. Whenever possible, I ask people in person who have had the professor, but that is not always possible. Also, sometimes I find that some of the things people complain about are not issues for me, so I don't worry about it so much.

jennylouwho · Aug 14, 2011

I've used it and still use it. As others have said, I don't use it as the end all, be all. Rather, I read comments. If someone is complaining about a professor, they are not taken seriously by me if they can't spell, use capital letters, etc.

I look for specifics like "Take someone else for Statistics. Professor X does not take kindly to asking any questions about anything, if something is unclear in the book, you should just go to the tutoring center or face being belittled by her. She also assigns a ton of homework. I was spending time on homework for her class, than I was studying for A&P (which I got an A in and was spending close to 10 hours a week in). Not only do you have a lot of homework, it's also not worth very much point wise".

That tells me that 2) this student managed to get an A in A&P, with some effort - s/he's not afraid of some work, but come on, this is Statistics, this isn't something that you need to be spending more than 10 hours per week on (IMO, lol).

-The professor does not like to help students.

If I read something like this:

"professor x is totally lame. her tests are really, really hard. the book is expensive so i didn't buy it. she loved the people who sat in the front, what a bunch of brown nosers. she gave pop quizzes a lot and i lost a lot of points because i wasn't there that day".

To me, that student says:

-I didn't take the class seriously enough to buy the book.

-I didn't take the class seriously enough to even show up most times.

-While the professor might favor those in the front, it's more likely to be because they bought the book and read it, than those in the back.