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Students ‘pick a prof’ from the internet

Toward the end of the semester, Cal State Long Beach students fill out evaluations to give their opinions about their professors’ performances. But students also use Web sites such as pick-a-prof.com and RateMyProfessors.com as sources of feedback to help build their class schedules.

These Web sites allow students to see how others have rated their potential professors and to anonymously grade them.

Pick-a-prof.com allows students to not only rate their professors, but to also see letter grades that professors give to their students in past courses.

RateMyProfessors.com lets students rate their professors based on the categories of easiness, helpfulness, clarity, physical attractiveness (called “hotness”) and overall quality.

Its purpose is to be a resource for students and a place to voice their opinions, the Web site stated. All categories are based on a five-point rating system, with five being the highest score. It also allows students to post their personal comments about a professor.

Political Science lecturer Robert Shurtz said he admits to visiting these Web sites and does not mind the feedback from students.

However, Shurtz said he gets more information from the evaluations that CSULB students fill out at the end of each semester. He said the school evaluations are “more systematic.”

The Grade My Professor tool found on MySpace.com is also gaining fast popularity among students. With this tool, students may select their school and browse through a list of professors. Students can give letter grades for their professors based on their lectures, homework, tests, fairness, grading and accessibility. The tool also allows students to post and read comments made about professors.

Students at CSULB have different perspectives about these Web sites to determine how to schedule their classes.

“It’s a good thing because other students give you the heads up for how class is going to go and how the professor will run the class and grading,” said graduate student assistant Jaime Johnson.

She said that if she were a teacher, she would be interested to know what students think and how she could improve her course.

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