Andy Heard - Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Professor: Andy Heard

Department: Political Science

College: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POL324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Probably one of the most pleasant person you will ever meet. Manages to make super dry content enjoyable. Also really appreciate that he records lecture

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POL324
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is able to make the Canadian constitution incredibly interesting given how dry the content is. Dr. Heard takes the time to make the content understandable by providing many examples that can even be used on exams. He really took the time to reconstruct this course and he did an excellent job.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POL324
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Andy Heard is a great professor, he does his best to make dry course material interesting. He also records his lectures and posts them to canvas which is extremely helpful when studying! He really cares about his students, 10/10 would recommend.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Kind and personable professor however RIDICULOUSLY tough on essay marking for lower-division PoliSci courses; as if you're a Master's student. Gives no detailed criteria for marking. Spare your GPA the unnecessary hit and AVOID

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I didn't like this course at all. I think I had a bad TA so that did't help whatsoever. Andrew Heard is using the same outdated textbook - references 2010 Olympics, 9/11 terrorism, and the Harper government. Some of the online modules Heard writes are worded weird and hard to follow. SO MUCH READING for being tested on such specific things. DO NOT.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Heard is a really funny professor who definitely knows a lot about what he's teaching. Exams are really fair, and he records lectures and puts them online if you're sick. The term paper is lengthy, with a lot of research requirements, but it's not that bad. Grading is a bit harder than usual, but not crushing. Overall, a good prof for POL221!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Amazing lectures. Really funny guy. Very knowledgeable and definitely prominent in his field. He does grade fairly difficultly as others have noted and the paper is pretty long but not too bad. His tests aren't too bad; all written from a pool that you can choose from. He records his lectures Audio/Video/Slides which is nice.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Being a 4th year student, I did not expect this class to be as difficult as Dr. Heard made it out to be. He is a very strict marker for a first-year introductory course. Had I known this, I would have not taken the class with him and waited another semester with a different professor.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

excellent lecturer. he wants you to do well, but will make you work your ass off for it. he's also super tough on papers, so be sure you triple-check your writing. other than that, I retained most of the information he taught during class, and seriously helped me build a vital fundamental knowledge base for upper-division polisci courses.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Took POL 101W online w Heard. Good guy, gives helpful feedback, & course is pretty clear overall. Although as others have pointed out, marking on essays is tough for a 100 level class so it's not an easy A. For tests, he won't tell you exactly what to study but they midterm & final are pretty straightforward. You'll likely need the textbook.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Nice guy, but by far he is one of the hardest markers I have had. I am a third year and for a 200 level course he marks it like a 400. If you dont mind hard marking, hes the one for you. Hes a nice guy and lecture notes are posted online.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor with clear explanation of topics in lectures!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lots of reading but not overly dense.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POL221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great professor!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Unlike others, I thought Heard was a pretty decent prof. His lectures are clearly delivered, with many examples to follow concepts. The exams were fair. My only complaint is the 10 page paper we had to write - for a 100 level course, it was too much.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I didn't like the class because there is no chance to write about your opinion in the exam. You must write what he said in the lecture & the textbook word by word. Very hard marker

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POL
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Good prof but very hard marker

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

It's writen as 101(100 level) but he and his TA will mark your work as 400 level class. I'm a third year student took this class and it's the most hard marker class I ever take

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Was my first pol class and absolutely my last class with him. Wish I didn't take his class or at least take it with another prof

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POL101W
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I can't understand why he has such high rating ?! yes he is a good person but at the end of the semester you want to get a good grade. right? then just forget about pol101