The mtvU Web site RateMyProfessors.com has helped students determine what professors are top rated and which don’t make the grade.
When the site’s rankings came out in October, adjunct math professor Eric Wildman from UH-Downtown placed fifth nationally based on user ratings from the past three years.
Wildman was unaware of the popularity the site had among his students.
"I didn’t know (they) had so many things to say," he said.
According to mtvU, RateMyProfessors.com is the highest-frequented U.S. college professor rating site with almost 6,000 schools and rating more than one million professors from colleges and universities across the United States.
With the recent boom of Web Sites such as RateMyProfessors.com, Wildman was familiar with the site before he found out about his rank.
"The students had told me they had read about me on the site," Wildman said.
A graduate of Central Michigan University and doctoral graduate of the University of Texas, Wildman’s experience has helped him understand the varying situations of students.
"I teach in the evening, so the students have been at work all day and are trying to complete a degree in the evening. I respect that," he said. "It is difficult to juggle work, family and school – you have to admire the dedication."
A part-time instructor at UH-D, Wildman was surprised to find that despite the small student body – 11,500 – he has received such a large amount of positive feedback.
"I was surprised when I was told of the rating. If I have created a learning environment that helps people succeed in their educational goals, then I feel like I accomplished my goal," he said.
Wildman has looked at the Web Site, and as pleased as he is with the students’ positive comments, he doesn’t let it affect his teaching methods.
"I have read some of the comments. You have to take them with a grain of salt," he said.
Wildman was not the only one to gain recognition from the Web site. UH was ranked fifth in the overall quality of the teaching staff on the site.
According to mtvU, UH-D had two professors on their list of the top 50 in the nation.
The ranking is not only based on the positive feedback from students, but also the professors’ impact on the lives of the students.
The lists were compiled from more than 7.5 million student-generated rankings of over one million college professors nationwide, according to mtvU.
Wildman said the ranking shows that he is surrounding himself with the right people and doing what he loves.
"I like hanging around with winners – that’s how I view the students that I have," Wildman said.
Wildman teaches math and statistics at UH-D and is also the dean of the behavioral sciences, humanities and social sciences department at Tomball College.
For more information on the University or Wildman’s ranking, visit www.RateMyProfessors.com.
