Forbes magazine recently came out with its college rankings. The methodology was pretty controversial because of its heavy reliance on RateMyProfessors.com reviews.
RMP has been written about from a number of angles, including the propensity of some professors to post reviews of themselves and friends as a way to deflect criticism that’s been posted. It’s hardly a scientific means of assessing teaching effectiveness.
Having said that, I suspect that most search committees review the RMP postings of job finalists. Typically that review looks for the red flag of consistent complaints. In fact, I sense that totally positive reviews are dismissed, while consistently negative ones find their way into committee deliberations.
Is it fair to use RMP postings at all in search deliberations?
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