On 7/30/2014 7:30 PM, William Scott wrote:
I see that 5% of the "quality of education" is based on RateMyProfessor scores.
That is very funny. RateMyProfessor doesn't distinguish among a
1st time graduate student, a person who has been teaching the
course for 20 years, and an adjunct who has been brought in to
teach a course because of an emergency.
Moreover, there is no shelf life on RMP ratings. What happened
10 years ago is not differentiated from what happened last
semester. Half of our ASU ratings are for grad students who
taught 1 course many years ago. Even if retired, your personal
ratings remain to contribute to your school ratings. I know
faculty who are dead and their names are still on the RMP site.
As was said earlier, these college ratings are done to generate
"buzz" and business. But the Time.Money web site is so bloated
and slow that USNaR has not much to worry about. (What
programmers/site developers allowed the site to be released in
this state is another mystery.)
Ken
PS - I always wondered about the long-term viability of a
business like RMP. What venture capitalists fund these things?
Do they do actual research or do they rely on their gut
intuitions after viewing rosy Powerpoint presentations? Perhaps
they know that they know in a blink. What use is a teacher
evaluation site that can't differentiate between a live current
faculty member and a long-dead faculty member?
Most students I know do their RMP evaluations by asking peers who
are sitting next to them in class. Why would you go to a web
site full of unknown judges when you have someone you know to
pass on judgement?
Students are interested in instructor information. I have had
students who will ask me about other psych faculty, citing peer
comments. (To which I demur always; explaining that I am not a
student, have never taken that class from that faculty member,
and have no idea how fair are the tests.)
I have had students who tell me they picked an instructor based
on peer comments. I have never heard a student state that they
picked an instructor only on RMP ratings. What venture
capitalists have never checked on this issue?
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Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [email protected]
Professor
Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608
USA
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