VCU receives high ratings for good professors, students who don’t study

VCU recently was rated No. 33 in the country among
schools for having students who put forth the least
amount of effort and have the most fun, yet it also was
ranked No. 41 for colleges with the best professors.

Are these ratings accurate? Some students say they
are.

Senior English major Virgilio Nebel said many VCU
students aren’t focused on their course work.

“I don’t think (the general student body) is as studious,”
Nebel said. “I think I’m a lot more studious than
a lot of people here.”

CollegeHumor.com released the report. According
to its Web site, VCU
has students who
have “the maximum
amount of fun while
putting forth the least
amount of effort.”

CollegeHumor.
com is a young-adult
Web site attracting 7
million young adults
per month through
its short articles,
videos and other multimedia, according to Richmond
Times-Dispatch reports.

But some students said they disagreed with the Web
site’s rankings.

“I don’t think that’s accurate,” Jacquelyn Donald,
a junior mass communications major, said of
CollegeHumor’s ratings.

Donald, 21, said her friends at VCU are very focused
on their academics.

Derwin Leigh, a sophomore business-marketing
major, agreed that the ranking is inaccurate.

“It’s not true,” Leigh said of CollegeHumor’s ratings,
adding that the people he knows at VCU faithfully
attend class.

Nebel, 22, said there is a group of determined students
who contradict this stereotype.

“I do believe there is a focused group of people (who
you see at the library),” he said. “You will see them
there today . tomorrow . and next week.”

At the same time, VCU is listed No. 41 out of the
top 50 colleges in the country by RateMyProfessors.com
with the highest-rated and most influential professors
and faculties.

RateMyProfessors.com is a commonly used student
Web site that lists student-generated professor
ratings. This Web site released its set of college
ratings on Oct. 10.

The top 50 list was created from more
than 7.5 million student-generated ratings
that RateMyProfessors selected, according to a
press release. The ratings were generated by a
five-point system, the press release stated.

Some VCU students said they were not
surprised that their professors received such
high ratings, and they have had overall positive
experiences with their professors.

“I actually like all of (my professors),” said
Ashley Hayes, a junior elementary education
major. “I’ve never had any problems.”

Nebel also said all his professors have been
excellent. Any poorly rated professors at VCU
are the result of special constraints, he said,
which force professors to teach classes that
are not really their expertise.

“I think (the professors at VCU) seem to be
qualified,” Nebel said. “I have good professors.
I can’t complain. It’s been very few professors
that I’ve had that I’ve been displeased with.”

RateMyProfessors rated the College of
William and Mary No. 9, with James Madison
University listed as No. 11 and the University
of Virginia ranked at No. 15.

And CollegeHumor listed Virginia Tech as
No. 3 for students putting forth little effort.

“I think that’s surprising,” Donald said.
“Virginia Tech is a really good school.”

—
—

RateMyProfessors.com’s top 10 colleges rated for the
best and most influential professors and faculties:

1. Brigham Young University
2. Southeastern Louisiana University
3. Christopher Newport University
4. Stephen F. Austin State University
5. University of Houston
6. Texas Christian University
7. Augusta State University
8. University of Central Oklahoma
9. College of William and Mary
10. Grove City College

Virginia colleges, according to RateMyProfessors.com:

No. 9 College of William and Mary
No. 11 James Madison University
No. 15 University of Virginia
No. 18 Liberty University
No. 37 Radford University
No. 41 VCU

– Information taken from RateMyProfessors.com and press release

CollegeHumor.com’s top 10 colleges rated for students
who have the most fun and put forth the least amount

of effort:
1. Penn State
2. University of Florida
3. Virginia Tech
4. University of Oklahoma
5. Auburn
6. University of Alabama
7. Louisiana State
8. University of Tennessee
9. Clemson
10. Michigan State

Virginia colleges, according to CollegeHumor.com:

No. 3 Virginia Tech No. 33 VCU

– Information taken from CollegeHumor.com