RWC students are currently able to register for Spring Quarter courses. Students usually register for courses that are available during a certain time or on a certain day of the week, which makes sense, but in reality, the time a course meets is not going to have much effect on your success in the course. It would make more sense to choose courses depending on the professor. The professor is the one who is teaching the course and passing the material on to students, so the professor’s teaching methods have a lot of influence over how well you do in the course. As all students know, there are many different methods of teaching as well as many different methods of learning. The key to being successful in a course is to find a professor who teaches in a style that works the best for you, and now, finding this information is easy.
A website called RateMyProfessors.com is a database composed of professors from colleges all over the country. The site works by allowing users to “rate a professor” after they have had them for a course (or not). Ratings are given on everything from clarity to level of difficulty, and ratings can be done anonymously. The downside to the site is that, while it is a great way to see what others have thought or experienced, anyone is able to post ratings for any teacher.
The best way to use the site would be to concentrate on good ratings and not automatically rule out bad ratings. Students who had one bad experience with a professor are much more likely to post a rating and exaggerate because they want to be heard, while people who had a great professor are less likely to speak out about it.
Up until recently, profs could only sit back and watch as students rated them, but now, profs can add to their own profiles and can make rebuttals to anything a student has said. Although this website is obviously not completely accurate, if students post real information about professors it could be a great tool to helping students find a professor that is perfect for their own learning needs. If you plan to use the site, please rate responsibly! Check it out!