Examining Social Media and Higher Education: An Empirical Study on Rate My Professors.com and Its Impact on College Students

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of Rate my professors.com (RMP) on college students choices in class selection and professors. The controversial site RMP has been a social media phenomenon. Is RMP a device for disgruntled college students with a score to settle with a professor? This social media trend has had an impact on college undergraduate students 18-25. These behaviors have made popular social media such as Facebook and RMP a power tool for students to use to connect or against individuals. As a social media tool, RMP has been used by college students to blog their comments concerning college professors performance in the classroom. Are these blog comments valid and reliable? This study was guided by three research questions: (a) does RMP have a major influence on college students choices of courses; (b) does RMP have an impact on students choices of professors; (c) does RMP have an impact on future students choices for selecting professors? This study used a principal component analysis (factor analysis) methodology. A pilot study of (N = 110) college students was taken conducted from two universities to test the instrument and data. What emerged from the factor analyses were six new factors that influenced student behavior.