Rating Ratemyprofessors.com: A Comparison of Online and Official Student Evaluations of Teaching.

Web sites like RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) are increasing in popularity. However, many have questioned the validity of unofficial online teaching evaluations. We first surveyed students about their use and perceptions of RMP. We then compared RMP ratings to official student evaluations of teaching (SET). We found that students believe RMP ratings are honest and representative of instructors' abilities. The results of our comparison suggest that, in lieu of SET ratings, RMP ratings may serve as a practical alternative for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]