Website designed by students to rate aspects of professors

by Jenine J. Ike/er assistant photography editor

All college students are guilty of trying to find all the dirt on a professor before they register for their class.

Are they nice? Do they grade hard? How much work is involved?

Do they take attendance?

Questions like these are on the minds of so many young scholars' weeks before registeringfor next semester. They can finally be answered. TeacherRatings.com is a website whose goals are to aid students in organizing a schedule by compiling survey results on opinions of professors' teaching style. TeacherRatings.comgrades in three specific areas easiness, friendliness and clarity of the class.

The easiness is said to be the most controversialof the three categories. TeacherRatings.com believes that many students decide what class to take based on the difficulty of the teacher. The friendliness category rates the teacher's friendliness and approachability.The clarity category answers the questions of whether or not the professor makes clear presentations and if he/she is using class time effectively.

John Swapceinski and Ping Wu, two graduatesof San Jose University, designed TeacherRatings.com.

'There are students who want to take easy classes, and we cater to them," said Swapceinski.

Tim Melly, assistant professor of English at Miami University,said he believes it will be debilitating for some instructors to see themselves criticized in a public forum.

''TeacherRatings.com is a great idea. There has been a few times, where I have had to sit through a teacher from hell. I wish I knew about them beforehand," business administration major Brian Nerney said.

Oklahoma State University

Students contemplated the future of Napster.

'The creators of Napster clearly knew it was created to swap copyrighted material," Joey Senat, assistant professor of journalism and broadcasting and teacher of Mass Communication Law said. 'They were clearly contributing to someone else's direct infringement. In short, they're helping other people steal copyrighted material."

Many students agree that they feel like they are stealing their music when thy download, but they do not care. Many students state that if Napster creates a low monthly fee, they will not go to that site.

There are several sites that offer free downloads and Mp3's. The problem with these sites is that there is no middleman. Napster created a safe way to trade music. Other sites do not protect from hackers. The music takes an extremely long time to download.

University of Maryland

Substance-free housing offers a student a better chance to drink lighter or curb their heavy drinking habits.

The Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study, which surveyed 2,555 college students at 52 four-year colleges with substance-free housing and was released Feb. 7, found students in substance-free environments were three-fifths less likely to binge drink than those in conventional residences.

Only 30 percent of the students in controlled housing drank heavily. In unrestricted housing heavy drinking was 52 percent.

Many students choose alcohol-free housing because it removes them from the party atmosphere. They don't want the smell of cigarettes or the noise and mess created by drunks.

Substance free housing is available to all that apply.

-Jennifer Ford

Intercollegiate Career Fair 2001

"It is unfair to the teacher because it ruins their reputation as an educator. However,I feel that it would be ideal for first-year students who are registeringfor classes,"junior Maureen Kelly said.

Swapceinski compares TeacherRatings.com to constructive criticism in public education.

"As far the benefits go, I think the biggest one is that, by using our website, students can potentially avoid unfair teachers, the kind of teacher that can make a student lose , confidence in his or her ability to succeed,"he said.

Log on and register Cabrini. This way you can compliment the great professors you've had, or warn other students about your bad experiences. TeacherRatings.com feels stronglythat this will bring accountability to higher education and give you the ability to make wiser choices when planning your education.

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