BYU professor Rosalind Hall recently made Rate My Professors’ Top 25 professors of the year list, garnering the No. 4 rank out of 1.8 million professors.
Rate My Professors, a popular blog run by mtvU for college professor ratings, releases annual lists based entirely on student opinions.
“It’s not voting so much as it is ranking,” said Jake Urbanski, MTV communications manager. Urbanski also said the list uniquely provides a real view into the daily life and opinions of students. Students rate professors based on easiness, helpfulness and clarity. Hall was rated a five out of five for overall quality.
Hall, a native of Wales, U.K., not only teaches concert choir classes but is the director for Men’s Chorus. Rather than talk of her own accomplishments, she felt her students opinions were more valuable.
“You know how there’s a lot of people who say they can change the world? Sister Hall is just a living, breathing epitome of that idea,” said Nathaniel Gardner, president of Men’s Chorus. “She believes anybody can change the world for better. She not only lives that herself, but motivates her students to do the same thing.”
Students say Hall’s teaching styles set her apart from other professors, which helped her gain her the high ranking.
“She teaches in a way that demands perfection but in such a positive and uplifting way,” said Jane Silva, a junior vocal performance major from Hamilton, Mont. “She chose songs that brought us so close to the spirit, we had weekly devotionals and we opened class with a prayer. Her calm and peaceful presence really set the tone for each class period.”
Both her Men’s Chorus and concert choir students agree that taking Professor Hall’s class has shaped them into better performers.
“As a solo singer, I walked into my first BYU choir going, ‘This is really just going to hurt my solo singing. I’m wasting my time.’ I was so wrong,” Silva said. “I know that I came out of concert choir a better musician.”
Not only do her students feel that Hall teaches in an uplifting way, but she also pushes them to strive for excellence.
“She is very conscious about helping other people realize their full potential,” Gardner said. “She doesn’t settle for mediocrity.”
Halls’ high ranking just might put her on the top 25 list in future.
“The list usually varies every year,” Urbanski said. “Though we do sometimes see the high rated names pop up again.”
