Started by a graduate student at San Jose State University in 1999, the Web site RateMyProfessors.com has logged more than six million ratings of over one million faculty members.

Students use a five-point scale to grade their teachers in three areas: helpfulness, clarity and easiness. Written comments are welcomed and posted.

Professor Bob Franciosi is an English professor at Grand Valley State University, home of three national championships: one for football, another for volleyball, and the third for the most often ranked faculty on RateMyProfessors.com.

Franciosi is not a red hot chili pepper, the highest rank given to a college professor, which bugged him to the point of where he had to get it off his chest.

“Each addition to my set of rankings creates immediate pleasure or pain. A flattering or wounding comment is enough to affect the rest of my day,” wrote the professor, a self-professed slave to the vagaries of this student-scored report card, in an essay he penned for The Chronicle.

So let’s take a look at this visceral site and see what students (bitten and smitten) are writing about their professors, and how it might help you when it comes to deciding on whether to apply to a school or to take a particular class.

Now before we get to the grades, it’s important to remember that this site is just another tool you may want to add to your toolbox, and like all tools, it can’t do the whole job.

I went to UConn first. Clicked on a specific department and randomly clicked on the name of a professor, who you can find, but I’m not going to name here, because he got terrible reviews.

“He is difficult to understand,” wrote the first student. “His notes are very chaotic, there really is no order or structure. He goes by the book which is good but I hardly feel like I’ve learned anything from him at all. He’s extremely boring and he emphasizes the wrong things. He also expects you to pick up the mistakes he makes, which are often.”

Another student wrote, “Don’t ever take him. He messes problems up on the board. He can never answer a question. One time in lecture nobody understood what was going on and he said let’s just pretend you do and move on. He is a horrible teacher.”

Now again, take the reviews with a grain of salt, the students who made those comments might have bombed the course because they didn’t do their share of the work and want to shift the blame. But that said, if you see a spate of bad reviews you might want to ask some students on campus about the teacher or email the department chair.

Then I looked at another professor in the same department, who happens to be a red hot chili pepper. “This dude is off the HOOK. Fo Shizzy!!!! Mr. (don’t want to mention his name either) or whatever his name is DA BOMB.”

I reviewed what students at Williams College were saying about their professors. “Tries to be hip and fails. Big flirt with guys … if you wear a skirt, forget any attention,” wrote one student.

“Exceptional professor – better looking so try not to be too distracted ... extremely sassy and helpful – what more could you want?” wrote another. And I was thinking that as I moved up the college food chain the chatter would be more erudite – clearly, I’ve learned nothing.

One more try, and then we’ll wrap up today’s class. Let’s go to University of Southern California in L.A. “Great class. Professor is not an easy grader so if you’re looking for an easy A – look elsewhere. However, by far one of the best classes and professors I’ve had at USC. Extremely intelligent, organized and structured. Lectures were never dull and I finished the course feeling as if I actually had a valuable learning experience.”

Another student wrote about the same professor, “Outstanding. Young, funny, brilliant, really knows her stuff. Too attractive to be a prof.” Well, just like in the earlier review where the students skewered the UConn professor it’s important to consider that this student, clearly taken with the professor, might simply be smitten with the lady.

The multi-faceted site also has a forum where students can post general questions for professors and students. One of the questions: Do professors really care about us?

“As a professor, I can say that the professors at research-driven universities are less likely to give a damn. Quite a few are ‘in it’ solely for the research opportunities, and they look upon teaching as an odious burden. Ironically, students tend to pay the highest tuitions at such places.”

Another professor: “Do we care? With 600 students a year I haven't got that much care in me. But for those that I get to know, absolutely.”

And one student wrote, “I think so. After all, they let us drink beer in the classroom and play poker when things get dull.”