Thursday, May 03, 2007

How to find good classes and professors

Recently a student asked me what resources are available to him to find good classes and good professors. I asked my advisors, who in turn asked some students, and got a variety of answers. I have combined what I know with what they told me and this is what I have come up with.

  • Public sites. Students said that they are careful to note how many people rated the professor (obviously not much impact with just a few ratings). Also, remember that students who go to these sites tend to have strong feelings one way or the other.
  • UM sites.
    • Course evaluation forms: The Michigan Student Assembly has a form (for current UM students) that allows you to search through the data collected on the official course evaluation forms that professors hand out at the end of the semester.
    • Course evaluations: If you’re a Ross student and are interested in Ross professors, then use this site that is provided by the school to get course evaluation data.
  • Word of mouth: This is what students mostly rely on. (They should at least use the Ross advisors.)
  • Ross Student Advisors: If you are a Ross student, then you should definitely check in with an advisor when you are choosing your classes. They have sat in on many classes, have gotten feedback from many previous students, and understand how different courses relate to each other. They also have a broad and fairly deep understanding of the LS&A and engineering curriculums.

This seems to be the range of resources that students use to find good classes and good professors. I will update this list if I learn of other resources.

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