Student-centered website would allow Toros to offer feedback beyond PTE surveys.
By Luiz Diaz, Social Media Editor
Journalism professor Brant Burkey devotes significant effort to making his classes engaging and inclusive. So he was taken aback one day when he looked at his profile on the website Rate My Professor and saw that, instead of critiquing the course, reviewers had commented on his appearance.
“My first Rate My Professor, there was a person commenting on my looks and how I was dressed, but didn’t talk about how I performed as a teacher, whether or not it was a hard class, whether or not they got something out of it,” Burkey said.
For what it’s worth, students seem to hold Burkey in high regard, often citing his passion and personality. If I were a freshman reading those reviews, I’d certainly be encouraged to take one of his classes. But I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d do if the only comment available before signing up was that an instructor had “devil eyes.”
Thinking about this made me wish there were an online platform where students could offer genuine reviews of faculty. College is expensive, and with so many changes happening at CSUDH right now, students sometimes have no idea about a course until after they’ve enrolled. Sometimes it’s a roll of the dice, especially with courses that are required for your degree.
“But Luis,” you might ask, “isn’t that the point of Rate My Professor already?”
Not exactly. Rate My Professor is an unaffiliated, third-party platform—there’s little moderation and anyone could leave a comment about anything. The website says it actively reviews profiles for comments that violate its terms of service, but I’ve found lots of out-of-pocket comments are still posted.
Plus, there are instructor profiles that haven’t been updated in years.
What I propose is a CSUDH website where Toros can leave practical feedback about courses and instructors. With some departments offering fewer electives due to lower enrollment and budget cuts, I think a student-centered platform could better inform students about what they should expect.
Unlike RateMyProfessor, this platform would exist within CSUDH’s closed system and require students to log in. It could be integrated directly into MyCSUDH or Canvas and only available for students, with mechanisms in place to moderate reviews that weren’t strictly about the course or the instruction.
In my experience, students often use sites like RateMyProfessor to critique instructors on a personal level rather than an academic one. An internal platform would instead unite students around a common goal: preparing each other for upcoming classes and supporting one another in planning schedules.
I’m a senior, and over the course of my college career at CSUDH and elsewhere, I’ve had professors who seemed less than enthusiastic about the material. At times, I found it difficult to approach them for help, even with something as simple as a question about the syllabus. Some professors were set in their ways—their courses fixed, for better or worse—and no amount of student feedback was going to change that.
Which brings me to the only method students currently have to affect change in the classroom: the Perceive Teaching Effectiveness survey, or PTE. The survey is offered toward the end of the semester and gives students an opportunity to share their thoughts anonymously.
Instructors often encourage students to complete the survey, and I am sure there are professors who use that feedback to adjust their courses accordingly.
I think the PTE survey should be a required assignment, personally. The only problem is that PTE results are only reviewed by faculty—students have no idea whether professors receive (constructive) feedback or ignore it completely.
“We depend on these professors,” said Lesly Sanchez, a sophomore business student. “It’s tough when I need to reach out. At times, they aren’t very good at communicating.”
Students would only find out once they enroll in the course, hypothetically, but how could they communicate their experience to others?
“What we want is transparency,” said junior psychology student Alisson Ochoa. “We go blind into the classes the following semester without knowing what will happen.”
Transparency is really what this all boils down to. It is not fair that faculty encourage students to fill out the PTEs, but other students don’t have access to see that feedback. Having a dedicated platform where students can share their experiences and offer critical insight into how courses are taught would go a long way toward helping them navigate college more effectively.
When I proposed this idea to Professor Burkey, he offered encouragement “as long as it’s done right.”
A student-to-student platform would not only promote accountability but also empower Toros to make informed choices about their education. “Done right,” it could strengthen trust between students and faculty while helping everyone at CSUDH have a five-star experience in the classroom.