SPOTLIGHT ON
FACULTY Classroom learning at Bryant is enhanced by the accomplished faculty’s experience as practitioners, researchers, and thought-leaders in their fields.
MARKETING PROFESSORS’ RESEARCH DEBUNKS RATEMYPROFESSORS.COM Recently published research by two marketing professors poses a serious challenge to the accuracy and usefulness of on-line ratings from RateMyProfessors. com (RMP.com). Professor of Marketing Keith Murray, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Marketing Srdan Zdravkovic, Ph.D., decided to explore the popular website used by many students to decide which professor’s class to take. Their findings were published in The Journal of Education for Business. “While pre-existing research reports a positive correlation between RMP.com and existing,
independent institutional instruments, the correlations are, while technically positive, practically speaking very weak and virtually worthless,” says Murray. Murray and Zdravkovic found that, compared to conventional measures of sample-based polling data, the publicly available RMP.com ratings exhibit an enormous estimate of margin for error. More than 15 million raters reportedly participated on RMP. com, rating a total of 1.8 million instructors at institutions of higher learning in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. “However, when one looks at the data across all professors in this research, to achieve a comparable confidence level
Lookman Buky Folami, Ph.D. professor of accounting Director, PwC Accounting Careers Leadership Institute Teaching for nearly a decade in Bryant’s Accounting program, named #3 in the nation Consults on forensic accounting, general accounting, and financial management for a wide range of clients Prolific researcher on topics including cash management, risk management, and job satisfaction
More than 200 faculty members joined Julie Schell, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert on pedagogical innovation including peer-to-peer instruction and flipping the classroom, for a Feb. 10 workshop. Schell is the director of OnRamps and strategic initiatives at The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Teaching and Learning and also advises on the increase of pedagogical innovation at Harvard University. She engaged with Bryant faculty members as they explore the innovative teaching and learning experiences they will bring to the Academic Innovation Center when it opens in September.
and confidence interval to standards expected in national polling and sample reporting, RMP.com would have to deliver between 15 to 20 times the number of student raters per professor than it presently does,” Zdravkovic says. “As a result,
the numbers shown for most professors are meaningless.” Murray and Zdravkovic concluded that “better research is called for when university instructors’ professional reputations and career livelihoods are being judged.”
“PwC entrusts Professor Folami with providing inspiring, expert leadership of its Accounting Careers Leadership Institute. Part of PwC’s commitment to develop diverse talent in the field, this program introduces high school seniors to the crucial roles accountants play in society.” robert j. calabro ´88 pwc partner
BR YA NT D EL I VER S A CCOUNTING EX CELLENCE | www.bryant.edu
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