Comments from Individual Students
The following are some of the least complimentary and most complimentary
comments from students in these two classes. They prove once again that
student opinions of courses and instructors cannot be taken as a literal
assessment of performance. They need to be qualified by the fact that
student opinions are biased in unpredictable ways.
Note: All students were told at the beginning of the class to
expect about 10 hours of work per week. Arizona Board of Regents' policy
is that each of these courses should take 9-12 hours per week. Three hours
per week is the equivalent of sitting in lecture three times a week and
doing nothing more.
Not complimentary
- Student No 1
- "Do not be so knit picky. This course is a course in understanding the concepts of ecology, not a course to see if you can read into little, tiny, worthless details. The tests were ridiculously maticulous and most of the questions were not testing your knowledge of the subject matter, rather seeing if you can read in incredible depth into one or two sentences. This, to me is worthless and extremely frustrating. I am a senior pre med student who gets A's and B's in pretty much all of my classes, I am currently recieving a "C" in this class. I have put quite a bit of work into this class and am frustrated with this grade. I have taken Botany and Zoology as well as many other biology courses and I feel that I understand most of the material covered in this class very well. However, I still did not do nearly as well as I expected. I feel that this is a direct result of the questions asked, and not for the lack of understanding of this material."
- This student actually had a 2.91 GPA. Talking to him on several
occasions revealed that he was having difficulty grasping the concepts
underlying the assignments. His C grade in this class was appropriate
for his "mastery" of the subject, but was frustrating to him especially if he had ambitions for med school.
- Student No. 2
- "Some of the questions were considered to be busywork instead of an active learning activity. The professor for this course needs to be more available to student questions and answer them in a more timely manner (i.e. email back sooner). He also needs to develop a better way to handle questions as far as helping the student understand a topic better if the student is having trouble. I believe he may be considered intimidating and condescending to some students."
- This student became angry when the instructor would not provide
the answers to an assignment which involved adding and subtracting
a set of numbers according to a diagram in the textbook. She left
in a huff and slammed the door to the stairwell. This student also
said that the course provided her unexpected insight but did not live
up to her expectations.
Mixed
- Student No. 1
- "I enjoyed the material studied in this class, and the lab was educational as well. Nonetheless, I have never put this much effort into a class"
- She said she worked 9-12 hours per week on this class. She earned an A.
- Student No. 2
- "This class was much harder than a normal class. This is my first web course and I don't reccommend them to anyone. If at all possible I will take a regular class next time."
- He worked 3-6 hours per week and earned a C.
Complimentary
- Student No. 1
- "You've been really helpful and understanding this semester, and I really appreciate it. I've enjoyed the class, and wish that I had taken ecology a long time ago."
- She claimed 12-15 hours per week, and this was probably accurate
considering the thoroughness of her assignments. She earned an A.
- Student No. 2
- "I thought the class was great--and I'm glad to have taken it! Navigating the Web was fun; I often came upon additional "new" information which was helpful in completing the assignments. Overall, the stucture and format offered just enough of a challenge from keeping bored, but not too much of a challenge to feel confused and overwhelmed."
- This student worked 6-9 hours per week, always was early with her assignments,
and earned an A
- Student No. 3
- "Thanks for you hard work and time put into this class. It is definitely one of the better courses (in several aspects) that I have taken at NAU."
- She claimed more than 15 hours per week, and earned an A
- Student No. 4
- "The course was well put together and demanding. There was a lot of information to cram in such a short time period. Nonetheless, I feel much more enriched after this class."
- This student had a full-time job in Phoenix, but spent 9-12 hours per week and earned an A.
- Student No. 5
- "This was one of the most educational and useful courses I have ever taken. I never thought I would learn so much in this non-traditional classroom. I want to take many more courses on the internet now.
From the beginning I found the course to be very organized, challenging, and educational.I never anticipated enjoying working on the computer so much. I feel I did because the course was so well planned."
- She worked 9-12 hours per week and earned an A
- Student No. 6
- "I spent AT LEAST 10 hrs. per week reading and writing. My writing skills and typing speed improved."
- This student worked 9-12 hours per week and earned an A.
Last Updated on 5/16/99
9. Costs of a Web Course.