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news
Professor
finds high marks online
By Sarah Duffy
On-line Forty-Niner
What does it take
to become a popular professor among college students?
Just ask one professor Ted Azarmi from the College of Business
at Cal State Long Beach. He admits that some of the material
he covers in class can potentially be viewed as "boring"
material, but still aims to approach it in such a way that
will help the students learn what they need to learn.
"For me [teaching] is learning together," Azarmi
said. "When students talk to me they always have a different
perspective. They're looking at the issue from some other
side that I've never been, and they shine a different light.
And sometimes when they say they don't understand, it's something
that we all have taken for granted."
That attitude, which one student described as "easygoing"
may be one reason so many of his former students say they
appreciate him.
"If you have a problem or question, it's so easy to go
and ask a question," said Inci Koroglu, a graduate business
student.
One Web site, RatingsOnline.com, provides a forum for students
nationwide to rate their professors, and nearly 1,800 former
students of Azarmi's have visited the site to report their
comments on him. The next highest number of hits for a single
professor is less than half that number.
Quality of instruction, exam preparation, material availability,
focus, enthusiasm and preparation are some of the criteria
that is rated.
Students gave him average score of 96 percent for the last
teaching session. Azarmi, who says he values students' opinions,
does encourage his students to log onto the site, but the
fact that they actually take the time to do that may say something
for this professor.
Azarmi appreciated the positive ratings, especially since
it gives CSULB recognition among top-rated schools such as
UCLA.
One group of students liked him so much that they all signed
up together to take an additional class with the Azarmi, Finance
490, international finance.
"When he started class nobody would talk," said
Niyati Patel, and international finance and international
business student. "He was funny. He would say 'Oh, I
guess you know everything, then.' After two or three days
we were participating, and asking lots of questions."
Azarmi gets similarly high approval ratings on the International
Business Association's Web site, www.ibalb.org, a student
organization in the College of Business at CSULB.
The IBA president, Scott Pfeifer, likes the rating system
but prefers it to be anonymous, as is the association's Web
site, for several reasons.
One is so students don't feel afraid to leave an honest opinion
about their experience with a particular professor or class.
And, it eliminates students who think they might get a better
grade by posting their names alongside with comments.
"It's a good option for students and for teachers to
get clear, honest commentary on their class and way of teaching,
how the course is run, and for the teacher to make use of
any constructive advice," Pfeifer said.
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