Students evaluate professors’ ability to profess

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Zoe Deno

Editor-in-Chief

“If a professor is bad at teaching they shouldn’t be a professor,” said Sean Murray, a paramedics student said.

Many students will end up with a professor whose speciality may not be in the classroom at some point in their education. While Hudson Valley Community College is undoubtedly home to some phenomenal professors, there are still some who struggle to connect with their students.  

“I had this one really bad professor. He never asked any questions and just read from the powerpoint. I don’t think anyone ever spoke in that class. All you had to do was just sit there and listen,” Angela Ramsy, a criminal justice major said.

Ramsy got sick toward the end of the class and was absent from school for a week.  “When I showed back up, I noticed he didn’t call my name for attendance anymore. After one class I went over and I explained what had happened and he said, ‘and you are?;” Ramsy said.

“I had a physics professor who couldn’t explain anything. No one in my class knew what was going on, by the end of the semester only a few students were left. He was a nice guy, but he wasn’t cut out for teaching,” said individual studies student, Austin Bodmer.

Murray has also struggled with a professor who can’t seem to connect with his students. “My microbiology professor is terrible. He is a doctor and acts like every other student in the class is a doctor,” he said, “I’m not learning.”

“Sometimes I try to ask questions and [my professor] is just like, ‘you should know that,’” Murray said.

Bodmer thinks that there are definitely more good professors at Hudson Valley than bad ones, but that the college should do more to assure that the professors are equipped to teach students.

“Feedback from the students is important. They are the ones who want to be taught and if they aren’t learning than that’s not fair to them,” Bodner said.

Each semester the professors are required to give one of their classes a teacher evaluation form.  The professor never sees what the students write on the form and the evaluations are submitted to the college.

Zach Shepard, a physical education student filled out a teacher evaluation form last fall. “It was pretty thorough, but everything was multiple choice. There weren’t a lot of areas to write in,” he said.

Ramsy said that she has also filled out a teacher evaluation form. I feel like there aren’t  enough specifics,” she said.

Many students think that the college should be more aware of their professor’s “Rate My Professor” reviews.

Rate My Professor is a website where students can rate their professors and add additional comments and anecdotes about a specific professor.

“Rate My Professor scores matter. Any student can go on there and write a review regardless of whether they got to fill out a professor evaluation form,” Rebecca Cardin, an individual studies student said.

Shepard also thinks that Rate My Professor allows students to share their experience with a professor in a way that the teacher evaluation forms can’t.

“A lot of students on Rate my Professor are super harsh because they don’t want to learn, but at the same time, it is a good indicator of whether a professor is good or bad. If all the students on their rate my professor page are bad,” Murray said, “then maybe it’s not the students fault if they don’t do well.”