What does Rate My Professors say about local politicians?

When I used to teach journalism at Kwantlen University College (now Kwantlen Polytechnic University), I was curious to see what my students thought of my class.

So every once in a while, I would go to the Rate My Professors website to see what some of them were saying.

Unfortunately for local politicians who teach at colleges and universities, there's a public record of what their students think as well.

The comments often don't make for very pleasant reading, particularly for those on the campaign trail. I'll leave them out of this post and just focus on the ratings.

Veteran Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson, for instance, has generated an overall-quality rating of 3.2 out of five, based on 83 evaluations. He's a theology instructor at Langara College.

His highest score, 3.5, came for "clarity"; his lowest, 2.3, was for "easiness".

In case you're wondering, students don't think Stevenson is "hot" because he didn't get any chili-pepper designations.

City of North Vancouver councillor Craig Keating fared slightly better with a 3.5 overall-quality rating. He teaches history at Langara.

Keating, who will be running for the NDP in North Vancouver–Lonsdale in 2013, is not hot, according to the 77 students who rated his performance.

Keating's "clarity" rating was 3.7 and his worst score, like Stevenson's, was for "easiness", posting a 2.8.

Langley Township councillor Kim Richter managed a 3.6 overall-quality score based on 75 ratings.

Alas, there were no chili peppers for her. She teaches business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

The B.C. Greens' star candidate in Oak Bay–Gordon Head, Andrew Weaver, generated a 3.5 overall-quality rating on 35 evaluations. He's an earth-sciences professor at the University of Victoria.

University of the Fraser Valley criminal-justice professor John Martin tied Stevenson with a 3.2 overall-quality rating, based on 103 ratings.

Martin will run for the B.C. Liberals in Chilliwack after flaming out as a B.C. Conservative in last year's by-election in Chilliwack-Hope.

The best-ranked instructor was Martin's faculty colleague Darryl Plecas, who is the B.C. Liberal candidate in Abbotsford South.

The criminal-justice instructor at University of the Fraser Valley posted a 4.6 rating for overall quality, based on 71 ratings. He's also hot, according to some students.

The lowest-ranked professor was Ken Denike, a veteran Vancouver NPA school trustee, who registered a 2.2 overall-quality rating. This was based on 34 evaluations.

Denike is not considered hot by his students.

There were no ratings on the site for Kennedy Stewart, the NDP MP for Burnaby-Douglas. He has been a prof in the SFU school of public policy.

Profs routinely criticize the Rate My Professors site as a forum for students with an axe to grind.

I haven't taught since 2004, so you can't find my old ratings on the site anymore. Too bad.