RateMyProfessor.com is one of the primary resources students use to determine what instructors they will choose to take for their upcoming classes. Students use this website as a tool to discover their peers’ anonymous opinions on both professors and the course itself.
This site can influence which professor’s class will fill up the fastest and the type of students that will be attracted to the course. After reading professors’ reviews, what is the most important quality students look for in a professor?
Some professors are more successful with students than others. What is the secret that makes some professors have such high quality reviews?
Shawna Stewart (senior, Health Promotions) says that she looks for reviews that say the professor is “reliable and also that they care about their students.” Most students have said that it is important to them that they find a professor that they feel genuinely cares about them and their success.

Dr. Keith Nainby, Chair of Communications Department, said he feels fortunate to have the job he has right now. “Only a small percentage of people, like me, are able to make a living doing something that we would do for free and I feel very fortunate to be in that group of people. I think what makes me stand out as a teacher is that students can tell that that’s true,” he said. 
According to Dr. Nainby’s reviews, he has a 4.8/5 rating on the website with 30 ratings. This shows the consistent positive ratings that he has received.
Some of Dr/ Nainby’s reviews say things like, “he encourages all voices and is always willing to help/give advice”, “he truly values his students and wants to see everyone succeed”, “he goes out of his way to help his students in anything that they need”, “he gives you extensive feedback and is extremely fair, actually cares about you and your performance as a student.”
One of the most important traits a professor can have is the ability to show students that they care and that they want them to succeed.
Stewart said she once left a positive review for one her professors. “He cared so much about the students and would make us feel like we could approach him about anything. He would also leave all kinds of positive things on our papers that we did good on and not just mark-up all of the stuff we did bad on,” she said.
Alyssa Acosta (senior, Psychology) said she had left a negative review for one of her professors once. “She included things on her tests that she never covered in lecture or had us read about on our own. She also didn’t respond to emails. She got a bad review,” Acosta said, adding that she has never left a review on any professor’s page, although she uses the website frequently to find classes.