‘ RateMyProfessors.com launches iPhone application’

Students react

Arth Pandya

Staff Writer’

The popular professor review site, RateMyProfessor.com, launched’ an iPhone application on Jan. 20, giving students access to a database consisting of reviews of over one million professors from over 6,000 schools, directly from their iPhone.’ ‘

The application comes at a time when Apple, the creator of the iPhone, reported a 100 percent rise in iPhone sales, selling 8.7 million iPhones in last quarter alone.’ ‘

The site, however, didn’t receive praise from faculty at the University.’

‘When I looked at it, it seemed to be more of a popularity contest for the professors, rather than whether it was a good course or professor,’ said Bobbie Kelley, an undergraduate advisor for biology.’ ‘

Gregory Neyhart, an associate professor in chemistry, said the site wasn’t a reliable source, as the comments do not reflect the majority of the students in the course.’ ‘

‘I’m not sure it gives an accurate picture of a professor.’ You tend to only get comments from students who really liked or disliked you [the professor],’ Neyhart said.’

Phil Brown, director of undergraduate studies in chemistry, said faculty reviews, even at the University, vary.’ ‘

‘If you get on NCSU’s Web site and look at the various comments, they’re all over the board,’ Brown said.’ ‘The first student will say the professor was the best they ever had, and the second says they were the worst.’

Grade distribution also influences the review professors receive, according to Brown.’

‘Grade distributions definitely correlate with reviews.’ Professors who are demanding typically have lower reviews,’ Brown said.’ ‘

According to a press release on Jan. 20 by Music Television’s college network, which owns and operates the site, RateMyProfessors.com experienced close to an 18 percent growth in visitors in 2009.’ ‘

With the release of the iPhone application, the numbers may rise even more.’ ‘

Chasen Arey, a freshman in biochemistry, said the site helped him choose his courses for the spring semester.’

‘It’s a good resource to use before signing up for classes,’ said Arey.’ ‘It [the site] helped me form the semester that I have now.’ ‘

Arey, however, admitted that some of the information on the site wasn’t the most accurate depiction of the professors.’

‘I looked more at the comments students made about the teaching style of the professor, rather than the statistics,’ Arey said.’ ‘

Huiying Shen, a junior in biological sciences, said the site helped her foresee how the class was going to be like beforehand.’ ‘

‘There are realistic comments from students about the professors that you wouldn’t know until you meet them,’ Shen said.’

According to Shen, the site is accurate in its reviews for good and bad professors, but not for average professors or those new to the University.’ ‘

‘I think the bad teachers, and the good teachers, the reviews are there, but for new professors or the average ones, you don’t really know what to expect,’ Shen said.’

The site can be helpful, Brown said, but students must keep in mind that some reviews might be misleading, and could possibly be detrimental to their education.’

‘It can be helpful, but it’s really not the way students should go about their education.’

The application costs 99 cents and is available for download in the iTunes Store.’

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