Recently across campus, students have been asked to fill out evaluations on their professors. The evaluations are anonymous, and the professors are required to leave the room. Students must check boxes and answer questions that describe the style of teaching and grading. Once completed, a student volunteer takes up the evaluations, seals them in an envelope and takes them to the designated department. The instructor does not see the evaluations until next semester. Even though these evaluations are anonymous, students should be honest and accurate in their critiques.
   These evaluations help the university better assess its employees and help the professors understand what needs improvement and what works for them in their classroom. Many students see these as a waste of time and will not take it as seriously as they should. Also, students should not base their answers on the one bad grade they received or the assignment with which he or she did not agree. Whatever a student’s grade is, they earned it. It is not the professor’s fault, nor should it be taken out on him or her.
   In addition to the on-campus evaluations, there are websites such as RateMyProfessors.com. It is the largest online destination for professor ratings. Users have added more than 14 million ratings, 1.3 million professors and 7,000 schools to RateMyProfessors.com. User-generated content makes RateMyProfessors.com the highest-trafficked site for quickly researching and rating professors, colleges and universities across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. More than 4 million college students each month are using RateMyProfessors.com.
  This resource is a great tool for students to use when registering for classes because it allows a student to find an instructor who will mesh well with his or her personality and academic expectations.
  It is important to remember these types of websites and the on-campus evaluations can be extremely biased. Students often base their assessments on any number of non-sequential reasons: a grade they received, if an instructor is male or female or maybe the student does not like the subject. These reasons are mundane and students should try to be as unbiased as possible. Students should want their answers to reflect an accurate depiction of that professor’s style of teaching for future students base his or her selections.
  All in all, these tools can be beneficial to both instructors and students. A student should research their future professors to verify that the professor is right for him or her. On the flip side, a professor should consider the evaluations and go with the majority consensus. Professors and teachers should not let one or two bad assessments affect their confidence in the classroom because in all likelihood, the few bad reports came from bitter students who were biased. Students should be accurate and honest because it will be better for everyone in the grand scheme of academics.