Evaluating and finding professors is something of an arcane art.
There is no single place students can turn to find a comprehensive
review of professors and their classes. UCLA should challenge
professors and inform students by putting official reviews on the
MyUCLA Web site.
It’s not a radical idea. Professor reviews were published
by the university until 1995, amid high printing costs. Since then,
both students and the administration have talked of resurrecting
the program. Unfortunately, no one seems too concerned about making
this valuable resource available to students again.
Chancellor Albert Carnesale and UCLA College Executive Dean
Patricia O’Brien have both expressed to this board the merits
of such a system, but acknowledge they weren’t aware of a
demand. Having never known another system, it is understandable
students wouldn’t be actively campaigning.
At least one site, bruinwalk.com, has tried to fill the void by
allowing students with a Bruin Online ID to log in and post brief
reviews of their professors.
While the Web site is useful for getting a basic impression, the
reviews are sometimes dated and often reflect the views of students
who are either very pleased or very upset with a particular
instructor. For these reasons, the site is written off by students
and professors.
UCLA should take the initiative and integrate an online review
system into the MyUCLA Web site itself. Reviews could be limited to
those actually enrolled and could be entered online, saving the
university the likely substantial costs of paper, scanning and
transcription.
With a more representative sample that would be highly
accessible to students, the system could benefit students and
professors. Even teaching assistants could be included.
The online system could even allow students to conduct their
official reviews after they have completed final tests and
projects, a significant drawback to the current paper system.
The reviews would be officially recorded by UCLA, so both
students and professors would take them seriously.
The site could also serve as a conduit, giving professors a
chance to introduce themselves to prospective students in their own
words and post the classes they plan to teach.
It is understandable that professors might be leery of such a
change.
No one wants to face public criticism, especially coming from
individuals who might have personal reasons to be upset. But
professors should also realize students have a right to be part of
their own education process. Anecdotal evidence suggests
bruinwalk.com is actually quite accurate ““ difficult
professors are correctly identified, as are professors who are easy
or hard to contact.
Done correctly, such a review system would help students pick
classes and help professors improve their own pedagogical
practices. The university must take a proactive role in directing
students toward the most effective people and resources. The simple
act of making professor evaluations accessible would be an asset to
all.