UF does not have the highest-rated or hottest professors in the country.
When www.RateMyProfessors.com released its annual rankings last month, UF did not claim a spot on the Top 25 Professors, Top 10 Hottest Professors or Top 25 Universities lists.
Amber Riccinto, a 20-year-old journalism junior, said it was interesting that a school with about 50,000 students failed to make the list.
“Since we have such a high caliber of teachers, we might be more critical,” she said.
Although the website allows students to rate their professors on clarity, helpfulness, easiness and rater interest (“hot” teachers get a chili pepper next to their names) for an overall rating, the only two criteria considered for highest-rated professors were clarity and helpfulness.
According to the site’s UF page, the average professor received a 3.82 rating on a scale of 5.0.
Mark Rush, economics, received the most ratings: 387. Amanda Reynolds, English; Laurie Taylor, English; and Kathy Zambrana, criminology; received the best overall quality with 11 rankings each of 5.0. Todd Palmer, biology, is considered UF’s hottest professor, with 46 total rankings and comments such as “Don’t forget to bring your fire extinguisher because this man is HOT.”
Last spring, the Princeton Review partnered with Rate My Professors to release its Best 300 Professors list. Three notable UF professors made the list: Steven Noll, history; Sergei Shabanov, mathematics; and Mike Foley, journalism.
Foley said he has read each of his own ratings and reviews. He finds some to be terrific and appreciates student feedback, but said that ratings vary.
“It’s not science,” he said. “It’s not going out and conducting a scientific survey or poll with a margin of error of ‘x’ percent.”
Riccinto agreed and said the rankings aren’t the only aspect that should be considered.
“You have to take all that with a grain of salt,” she said.
“Everyone has their own opinion.”
