Inside Higher Ed has provided an amusing, yet thought-provoking, look at a trend in higher education: the 'hotter' a professor is perceived to be, the higher s/he will be rated by her/his students. Being an easy grader seems to help too, but hotness is apparently held in high regard by college students today.

James Felton, a professor of finance and law at Central Michigan University, and colleagues looked at ratings for nearly 7,000 faculty members from 370 institutions in the United States and Canada, and his verdict is: the hotter and easier professors are, the more likely they'll get rated as a good teacher.

As far as students -- or whoever is rating professors on the open Rate My Professor site -- are concerned, nothing predicts a quality instructor like hotness.

Have you ever found a teacher attractive, or signed up for a class just because the instructor was cute? Do you think you'd rate 'hotter' professors higher? Come on now, admit it!

(Photo Source: By Thunder)