Everyday reviews are being posted online to promote or warn others about a business, institute or merchandise. In the world of academia, it’s no different thanks to www.RateMyProfessors.com.

RMP is the leading professor ratings site that is user-generated by college students for college students.

Users can anonymously rate professors and institutions from a scale of one to five.

Currently, Victor Valley College has an overall quality rating of 2.9.

“I would rather have food poisoning than to take her class,” said Andrea Smith. This is her last semester at VVC as she is set to graduate in December 2019.

As she reminisces about her previous professor in English 102 at VVC. “I got an A in every class I’ve taken except for hers,” said Smith. “I know multiple people who have failed her class and on RMP she wasn’t well rated.”

Smith claims she will always recommend RMP to peers as a preventative measure of experiencing horrible professors and receiving bad grades. “I totally trust it,” said Smith.

She is among many students who agree that RMP is a necessary tool to use for decision making in registering for classes. But there are students who beg to differ.

Kimberly Canchola gives a different perspective of the site. When asked does she believe the reviews on RMP are accurate with professors she has experienced,

“I believe, not so much,” said Canchola. “Because one of my professors said that if we (the class) were to leave a good review of him, he would give us extra credit.”

While Canchola agrees there is a chance that the reviews could be bartered, she continues to recommend the site to fellow students and never registers for a course without visiting RMP first.

Mathematics professor Stephen Toner has an overall quality rating of 4.3 at VVC. When asked his thoughts on the popular site,

Toner said, “I believe that in statistics, there is a voluntary response bias, people who have the strongest opinions tend to be the people who voice those opinions.”

While Toner has a pretty high rating on the site, he says he generally chooses not to look at what people have said about him.

“Sometimes we teach differently in different classes, and we modify how we teach and how we grade, and that needs to be taken into consideration too,” said Toner.

“You have to take the reviews worth a grain of salt, and read between the lines,” he said.

While the professors do not have the option to reply back to students who have left reviews, most professors are aware of their ratings and understand that not every student will be thrilled about their teaching methods.

While visiting the RateMyProfessors official Facebook page, some students argued that the site has removed negative reviews and feel that the site is rigged to show more good reviews than bad.

Nevertheless, RMP is a great head start at learning the pros and cons of your future professor.

It is important to research and become aware of a professor’s reputation and ratings before registering for a class.

It could save you a bad grade on your transcript, prevent you from jeopardizing your financial aid and ultimately dodge a Grinch of a teacher.

But like any review, good or bad, keep in mind that ultimately personal experience will be the defining factor in the rapport you have with a professor.

RateMyProfessors.com is the best free tool on the web that could help you navigate your way to success in your academic journey.