Rate Your Professors

During a discussion in my CIS 101 course in Paterson today, the site RateMyProfessors.com came up in conversation, and I was asked my opinion. This was part of a discussion on how computers have changed education.

Hey, we've all been there...

I think the site is a great idea, as I told my class, and here's why. You as a student KNOW when a professor cares and when they don't. I was there, I knew which professors wanted to be there and those who didn't. At Montclair State University, there were a few professors I had that we all knew were there to do research, and didn't care at all about teaching. It's sad, but since they were so good at researching and publishing papers, it DIDN'T MATTER that they came to class and wasted our time.

So, my point is, there was always "word of mouth" - your friends told you who was good and who was bad. You heard who cared and who didn't. Is RateMyProfessor any different than that? Not really, in my opinion.

For example, if you're a PCCC student, you probably already know that if you want a great experience in Psychology or Sociology, you go with Professor Ed Mosley. I've only heard one bad thing about him, and that was today, believe it or not. It doesn't mean he's going to give out a bunch of "A" grades - he will make you work - but he makes the class worth your time.

The thing I also like to point out is that one great rating or one poor rating doesn't mean a lot. The more ratings, the better an overall feel you get for your professors. For example, Ed Mosley has 56 ratings with a 4.8 out of 5.0 rating in terms of quality (!!!). That, folks, is a trend that says something. The more ratings, the better the quality of information.

Knowledge is power. This is an awesome example of shared knowledge.

Of course, if you're on Facebook or Myspace, they have their own professor ratings as well, but RateMyProfessor was out there first, and doesn't require a login to use.

Web Site Links:

• RateMyProfessors.com
• PCCC Professors on RateMyProfessor

Thanks to freeclipartnow for the public domain image above.

Community Colleges and You

As someone who went directly to a university, I was always intrigued by the idea of a community college. I remember thinking "wait, you don't have to take the SAT and you can transfer in as a junior?" - this was a foreign concept to me.

As I grew, I met many people who had attended community colleges and transferred over, and eventually I started teaching at PCCC. At least two of our full-time faculty members that I can think of off the top of my head (Professor Kim from math and Professor Dada from engineering) actually attended Passaic County Community College before going on for their B.S. and M.S. degrees. In addition, one of the school's Vice Presidents and some high ranking IT staff members came through our college. I also know many other faculty members who got degrees at other community colleges before moving on to other degrees.

My former student "Soprano Sue" sent me an article last week, and it got me thinking about this. Encarta has a partial list of famous people who started at community (or, as they are known in other parts of the country, "junior") colleges. Ross Perot...Tom Hanks...Morgan Freeman...Jackie Robinson...Hilary Swank...and many others.

Not everyone has the money or motivation to start at a fancy four-year college. That doesn't mean they can't achieve.

List on Encarta