Facebook app grades professors, classes
CampusBuddy, a new application on Facebook, aims to help students choose what university classes would be most beneficial for them to take.
The application provides students with the percentage of each letter grade given at universities, broken down by class and professor. Students can also post reviews of a particular class or professor to better prepare those registering for a class.
“Our goal is to put students in charge of their academic career,” said Mike Moradian, the creator of CampusBuddy. “We want them to be able to make educated decisions about the classes they are choosing. “
CampusBuddy was launched Oct. 14. It currently gives students access to the grades given in classes at 250 universities, including the University of Nevada, Reno, with more than 80 million grades. Anyone with a Facebook account can access CampusBuddy by logging onto their page. Access to grades and reviews are free, unlike similar services such as pickaprofessor.com, which charges $10 a year for its service.
“We feel that charging defeats the entire purpose of helping students,” Moradian said.
He said it is similar to sites such as ratemyprofessor.com but is more beneficial because of its social networking features. Unlike reading reviews from mostly anonymous sources, such as pickaprofessor.com, here students can get feedback from people they know and trust.
“It’s great that we are working with Facebook because it is so college-oriented,” Moradian said. “It’s a great way to foster interaction between students and is the best resource for students to find what classes they want to take.”
Moradian developed the idea of CampusBuddy three years ago while he was still a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has been collecting data from universities for more than two years.
Many students and professors say that while CampusBuddy can be helpful, it can also have a negative effect if used incorrectly.
“I think it can be very beneficial if a student is looking for an easy A,” said Jake Carey, an 18-year-old English major. “But if they do that, they might not be getting the most out of their class. It can easily hinder someone’s education, or it can be beneficial if it is used to find a professor who teaches well or in the style they like,”
Nancy Markee, director of the UNR advising center, agreed.
“We usually tell students that when it comes to picking a professor or class, they need to think in terms of their learning style compared to the professor’s teaching style. Students need to be thinking about how the class is structured.”
Considering how grades are weighted, whether there is homework and how the professor lectures are all important when choosing a class, Markee said.
Through the social networking aspect of the site, Moradian said students will have a much easier time discussing classes with other students. By being a part of Facebook, friends and classmates are already linked to each other and can access information more easily.
“It’s not about easy grades,” Moradian said. “It’s about finding classes that will help you succeed and will be more meaningful for you.”
Grades do not necessarily determine how much you learn in a class, he said.
“I tell my students that my hope is to be transparent and fair in grading,” journalism professor David Ryfe said. “But grades should be a diagnostic of learning, not an end goal in themselves. My hope is to never allow grades to get in the way of student learning.”
While most think that CampusBuddy is a good resource, they said it should not be the only way to choose a class.
“It’s a great place for a student to start,” Markee said. “But I suggest that they dig deeper to find out if the class is best for them.”
Tara Verderosa can be reached at editor@nevadasagerbrush.com.
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