At least twice a year University of Memphis students walk into a new classroom and are confronted with a new teacher and a new teaching style. But there is a way to find out what to expect before class.
Two Web sites are available for students to not only read evaluations on their prospective teachers, but also give positive or negative personal feedback.
Myprofessorsucks.com provide surveys students can complete about their teachers. Most U of M professors are listed on one, if not both sites.
"We have the SIRs that we look at, at the end of each term," said Dr. James Chumney, history professor, who is listed on both Web sites. "But this is carrying it to another dimension."
Chumney said he doubted the reliability of the Web sites.
"In my nearly 40 years experience, students who do well in the class usually have very positive things to say," he said. "And those who did badly will shift and say it was the teacher's fault."
Chumney said he teaches mostly based on what the current class is like, not surveys, which are usually vague. Chumney was the recipient of a distinguished teaching award and has confidence in his teaching ability.
"I would not use them to check on myself," he said.
One Web site advertises as the place, "Where the students do the grading." But how productive are evaluations the teachers may not even see?
Chumney said the SIRs are a much better way to give teachers feedback.
"I pay attention if it was constructive criticism," he said. "But you have to have professional standards. You can't give everybody an A or a B, it dumbs (the class) down."
The Web sites serve more as a place for students to get an idea of what their prospective teacher is like than a valid tool for choosing classes.
"I want to know how hard I am going to have to work before I take the class," said Andy Maliskas, freshman criminal justice major. Maliskas has never used the Web sites before, but plans to at the end of the semester.
"I want people to know what they are getting into before they go into the room," he said.
"I think it helps to know a little before you go into the classroom," said Will Carter, junior theater major. Carter said the Web sites are probably better for freshmen or transfer students who do not already know about The University.
Students should not trust the Web sites fully, though. Dr. Bill Dwyer, psychology professor, said the sites are not dependable.
"It is not representative of the students, and therein lies the problem," he said. Dwyer has evaluations on ratemyprofessor.com."If you have 400 students in one class at a time, who fills out the forms?" he said. Dwyer said that a random sampling is a better way of getting a rounded opinion of a professor, "but that doesn't mean there isn't some truth in what the students say.
"The SIRs are more representative because you have more students filling them out," he said. "But the SIR scores are correlated with the grade.
"It is the fundamental attribution error. The 'I got an A' or 'he gave me a D system.'"
Dwyer said that the grade the student receives in class directly effects the evaluation given. A bad grade equals a bad evaluation.However, some students on the Web sites report having earned As or Bs in certain classes and still given University of Memphis professors a negative evaluation.
Both Web sites have options for people to write in a dispute with an evaluation and a filter for written comments.
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