Ratemyprofessor.com-blessing or bluffing?

"Your pillow will need a pillow."

That is just one example of a comment from RateMy Professor.com, a Web site forum where students anonymously rate their professors from "good quality," "poor quality," "average quality," to "hot." Additionally, students rate the professor's performance regarding issues such as easiness, helpfulness, and clarity. Students can also make anonymous postings, with comments ranging from the extreme negative ("She already hates you") to the outright affectionate ("I love him").

According to RateMyPro-fessor.com, the site's popularity has grown 150 to 200 percent in the past six years, with a user base of 8,300,000. There are 376 Providence College professors listed on the Web site, and the site claims it is moderated by a Providence College student.

While the Web site may be "un-refereed," according to Dr. Bruce Graver, professor of English and chair of the department, there is no denying that it has become a heavily-relied upon tool for the Providence College community, particularly at registration time.

"Anyone can say anything. A professor can go on there and write his own reviews," said Graver.

"Every time I register I check RateMyProfessor.com," said Maura Ghio '08.

"I started two years ago. I got burned by professors who I discovered matched their ratings," said Diana Kane-Calvert '06.

But who exactly is posting and who is listening?

"The postings have been pretty accurate," said Will Bussiere '07. "I never thought that it would make that much of a difference, but it does feel safer to see a higher number on the page for a professor."

"It is a Web site designed for students by students to identify professors who are easy and entertaining," said Dr. Aurelie Hagstrom, associate professor of theology.

"I think the majority of students who actually write things on it are students who have negative feelings on a professor, so you have to be careful," said Brendan Brown '07.

"If you can weed out the bitter ratings, the people who are just out to say something bad then it becomes more valuable," said Bussiere.

"Bitter ratings" range from comments such as, "Not only is the book a better teacher, it also has a better personality," to "Evil computer science teaching robot who crushes humans for pleasure."

But how easy is it to differentiate the downright angry students from the reasonably disappointed? Students say the postings can often be confusing when a professor has two postings that sound reliable but differ extremely in content.

For example, one comment about a professor reads, "He is one of the most passionate professors I've ever had. Although his lectures can be a bit disorganized, his love for the material always inspires people to work and learn. He is incredibly helpful outside of class."

However, a scroll down the page will reveal a complete opposite review: "Very difficult to follow his lectures, not helpful at all outside of class. I felt his method of teaching was poor."

Students claim they do not blindly follow the comments; however, they are influenced by them.

"I have been persuaded by it before," said Ghio. "Especially if there is a bad review such as 'stay away from this teacher,' or 'he is the worst grader, uninteresting, confusing, unhelpful'".

"If half the ratings are bad, I will ask around about the professor. If every rating is poor I won't take the teacher. No deal," said Kane-Calvert.

Not everybody shares similar sentiments.

"I think its hearsay and I don't really want to base my decisions on comments from people I don't know," said Lindsay Pepin '06.

"I have never gone on it. I don't trust it," said Isaac Wash '07.

"I have never looked myself up. I looked up my wife who teaches at Dartmouth on it once as a joke. She wasn't rated," said Graver.

He said she was not rated because Dartmouth already had an "organized" and "systematic" way for students to check up on their professors.

"The colleges in which students depend heavily on RateMyProfessor.com are colleges that don't have a structure in place for organized and systematic professor evaluations," said Graver.

From a faculty perspective, RateMyProfessor.com does not supply the student with the relevant information that should factor into the decision making process at registration time.

"I am frustrated by what seems to be a lack of intellectual curiosity when a student rates a professor like 'no tests' and 'lets us out on Fridays,'" said Hagstrom.

One might be inclined to agree with her position that the Web site "reduces the student to a consumer and they want a report on what would be the most entertaining class to take," when reading postings such as "BORING! But I learned there are 137 tiles on the ceiling" or "He is HOT!"

However, some students think those are exactly the details people want to know about their professors.

"I don't think it's at all surprising that the Internet is ahead of the curve in figuring out what students care about the most," said Bussiere.

"We laugh about the chili peppers," said Graver. If a student thinks a professor is "ho,t" a chili pepper is put next to his name. Graver, who said he does not think he has a chili pepper, added, "Some faculty members take it too seriously, but some take it as a joke."

Hagstrom, who finds the Web site "not valuable from a faculty perspective" agreed that faculty members should not take the harsh criticisms too seriously and joked, "I think we should have a RateMyStudent.com."

Despite the Web site's apparent fallibility, Graver noted that there is a student demand for reliable professor evaluations and said he thinks the College will address this demand within the next two years.