[Anti-Bubba182]

Ratemyprofessors.com is a good idea! Professors, especially tenured ones, are practically immune from sanction. Let them be rated and defend themselves.

[awelliott]

I started taking some courses a couple of years ago (20+ years after getting my degree), and I’ve found this to be an outstanding and very helpful site. Granted, there are some criticisms that seem to be petty but, if the professor is good, they are more than balanced out by positive statements. From what I’ve observed, it’s a pretty valuable tool that I’d recommend to every student....

[Billthedrill]

“The worst thing about ratemyprofessors.com is that there is no quality control and any disgruntled student can go there and say whatever he or she pleases,” said Boston University Professor Sassan Tabatabai.

Yeah. Dang that whole "free speech" thingy anyhows.

[navyguy]

It’s the professors who are unaccountable. Most professors are pretty good (especially in the sciences and engineering), but humanities professors often go WAY over the line of professional conduct, conduct that would get ordinary, private company employees fired in short order.

The same applies to public school teachers.

[murdoog]

I am a lecturer in Computer Science. I went to ratemyprofessor.com once and saw I had a bunch of positive comments, and was fairly happy about that.

I went back later and it was mostly negative comments. I dismisssed them as the rantings of disgruntled students.

Then it occurred to me that if the unfavorable comments were so meaningless, the favorable ones probably were too.

As a result, I no longer go back to ratemyprofessor. I would advise anyone teaching college not to go there either.

[DUMBGRUNT]

Professor Sassan Tabatabai. He also argued that the “the type of student who leave negative remarks about the professors on ratemyprofessors.com are the real s— heads.”....

A well developed argument and excellent presentation!

His use of the term s-heads trouble me. I may be in error here but this term often refers to a nappy head?

[Dilbert56]

Oh, what to do? Hmmm, maybe if the evaluations are backed up by specific examples then they're valuable. And if they're a just rants, ignore them. Perhaps this could issue in a new era of accountability, where professors will suffer if they abuse their positions. An era where the customers actually get to rate the products. A new era where incompetent hacks can't hide behind the veil of B.S. that permeates academia....

NAH!

[Alkhin]

I know of a better site: www.NoIndoctrination.com

[Dante3]

I object to anonymous ratings. They can be and have been manipulated. There is also a privacy issue. Unless one is a public figure, personal information should not be disseminated on the Internet. If there are problems, there should be some other means of bringing them to the attention of the chairman or dean of faculty.

I took an art history class and the anonymous ratings for the prof were inaccurate. For example, many marked "dates for exams were unclear." Yet we had a handout stating the dates and they were also announced in class. Also, more student responses were recorded than were enrolled in class. The teacher was relatively conservative and this apparently did sit well with some.