By Jason LaMotte

As spring semester lies ahead many college students turn to RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) for guidance while planning their class schedules.

RMP, the Internet’s largest destination for college professor ratings, recently introduced a new set of rankings that capture the highest-rated college professors and faculty, from some who’ve had the greatest impact on students’ lives to those rated the “hottest.” Of the site’s top 50 faculties in the country, Northeastern came in at No. 36.

Although many students at Northeastern said they were impressed the school ranked No. 36 out of the 6,000 universities on the site, others said the school should have placed in the top 10.

“Out of the whole country, making the top 50 is good, but I would have thought we’d be higher,” said Jillian Pammett, a sophomore sociology major who recently learned of the site.

Brigham Young University bousts the highest rated faculty, while the highest-rated professor hails from Eastern Michigan University. Some of those professors ranked the “hottest” by RMP were from Manhattan College, Boston University and the College of Charleston.

According to a press release from Sharon Liveten of the college media network mtvU, the Standout Favorite Professors’ category was compiled through a combination of college student feedback, overall quality rating and the nature of user comments. All other rankings were determined by statistical support for student-generated professor ratings.

Acquired by mtvU in January, RMP has more than 7.5 million student-generated ratings of more than one million college professors. Many students rely on the site for advice when choosing classes, as it is the highest trafficked college professor rating site in the country.

“If the hours are bad but the reviews [of the professor] are good, then I’ll take the class,” said Milvio Jimenez, a middler international affairs major who said he uses the site each time he signs up for classes.

Although a lot of students use RMP, many said they think the site is unfair. Students, like Ravi Sarma, a freshman economics major who said he doesn’t base the classes he chooses on the site, said RMP’s student ratings are not always a true representation of a professor.

“[Professors] don’t want a bad reputation from some kid that didn’t go to class,” Sarma said.

The site has gained an infamous reputation among some collegiate professors, some of whom are upset about being rated poorly.

Professor Janet Randall, head of the linguistics program, who has an overall low marks on RMP, said she is more concerned with the Student Government Association’s Teacher Course Evaluation forms, which she said are more accurate, than the site’s ratings.

“If everything [RMP ratings and teacher evaluations] was terrible then I’d be really upset,” Randall said.

Professor Frances McSherry, assistant academic specialist, who has overall high marks agreed with Randall. Although she was flattered by her rating, she said the site is unfair.

The schools that appeared on the lists the most were Augusta State, the College of Charleston, St. John’s and the University of Houston. They also placed three times each, more than any other universities. Charleston and Marshall University both placed two faculty members in the top 10 on the “Highest Rated Professor” list. The complete 2007 rankings are available at RateMyProfessors.com.

RMP recently launched a new “Professor Rebuttal” feature, enabling rated professors to address students’ ratings. The website also recently launched a new series entitled “Professors Strike Back,” which gives professors a podium to speak to the college audience.

Despite the chance to rebut their poor ratings, some professors, like journalism professor William Kirtz, who has low marks on RMP, said the feature is not necessary.

“I think the students should have a chance to give their feedback,” Kirtz said. “After all, they’re the ones paying for the course.”