Douglas Klusmeyer - American University, Washington, DC

Professor: Douglas Klusmeyer

Department: Criminal Justice

College: American University, Washington, DC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: JLC110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Klusmeyer at first was really intimidating however, he turned out to be one of my best professors. He taught me how to improve my writing skills tremendously. You have reading every night for hw but its no more than 15 pages a night. you will have take home quizzes after each reading batch but this should only enhance your grade. you have 3 papers.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: JLS202
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Oddly enough, he looks eerily like my high school guidance counselor. Nice professor, if not a bit sarcastic. Only grades in the class are the midterm and final papers (each 40%) as well as class participation (20%). Readings are a bit dense but it gives you a lot of material for your papers.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: JLC110
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Even though he's a tough grader, Klus is an entertaining lecturer if you enjoy the subject. He has a good dry humor and loves participation. Super understanding if something comes up if you work in his class. Writing intensive; papers are difficult but interesting. Always accessible for questions in office hours. Definitely would recommend!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: JLC110
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He has arguably been one of my favorite professors. His class is writing intensive but he is a fair grader. He is an interesting lecturer, you can tell he is passionate about the subject. He is also always available and helpful during office hours. Take this course because its super interesting and helped me improve my writing.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I hated his lecturing. He was very aggressive and made it nearly impossible to get an idea out of your mouth. He also was one of those professors who was like "My class is impossible to get an A in" but I ended up getting As on all the assignments with very minimal effort.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: WESTERNLEGAL
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I have had Klusmeyer as a professor in multiple classes, and he has been extraordinarily helpful and informative. Western Legal, as a gen ed, was an extremely easy class- he was very clear in class, and his essays related directly to the class and reading content. In his upper level class and working with him on my capstone, he was a huge help.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Klusmeyer is a terrible professor if you don't like change. His guidelines will drive you crazy if you are not willing to adapt for a good grade. However, if you do adapt to his guidelines and meet with the TAs, you're pretty solid for an A. Do not take Western Legal though if you don't like that stuff. You will fall asleep every day.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

At first I hated him He comes off self absorbed and his essay rules seem archaic. However as the semester moves on you begin to realize that he is a very smart guy who maybe just isnt the most sociable The essay rules become understandable, and you do learn a lot from this class I probably wouldnt take another course with him but Im glad I took one

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Klusmeyer is a smart individual, who perhaps was not meant to teach. He is a little self-absorbed and it tends to show one-on-one, so office hours are never as useful as you'd hope. I don't think I would take another class with him though b/c he is all about lectures and can't moderate discussion well. Lots of favoritism too. Take if needed.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really difficult grader. Class is pretty easy though. I didn't do any of the readings all semester and still managed a B. Attendance isn't mandatory, but it's pretty entertaining most of the time, so you usually want to go. You'll learn alot, but be prepared to work.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Klusmeyer is hilarious. Not only is he comical and sarcastic, he is also a terrific professor. He knows just about everything about anything. While he may come off as standoffish, visit him at office hours and he's more than willing to help. Two midterms and a final, all take home papers. Terrific Professor, take this class

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Texts are dense but the in-class lectures were okay. Klusmeyer is funny, but he doesn't always communicate as well as he should. He's a pretty easy grader, which is good because his idiosyncratic paper guidelines are both confusing and frustrating. Not bad, but not great either.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: JLS202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Brilliant professor. Highly intelligent and genuinely cares about his students. The primary texts are a bit dense, but he will go out of his way to crystallize everything. Your grade is determined by class participation and 3 essays. Take advantage of his office hours if you feel lost. Also, great sense of humor, and pretty sarcastic.

Rating # 14

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Klusmeyer is the best professor I have ever encountered. He genuinely cares about educating his students and doesn't focus on frivolous material or busy work or huge exams where students cram and then lose all the information later. Very helpful with papers. Improved my writing incredibly. I highly recommend him.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Good professor with a sense of humor. You will find the class boring if you don't like ancient philosophy. Otherwise, he's an easy grader, there are no in class exams, and lectures are interesting.

Rating # 16

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

This class is what you make of it - if you are willing to commit to the material and the class then you'll love it, if not then this class is not for you. He actually cares about his students which is refreshing for a research focused university.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

You have to try for this class to be worth it. Discussions are fascinating - but only if you've read ahead of time. Likewise, midterm and final papers (which are the only grades) aren't that hard, as long as you take advantage of the TAs and office hours. He's also vastly helpful one-on-one: greatly improved my writing. I'd take him for anything.

Rating # 18

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Boring Classes, Tons of reading. Ridiculous Time consuming papers. Do yourself a favor and take another prof for this class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Took Western Legal for my GenEd, found it to be an easy yet informative cl****. Only two grades are the midterm and final which are take home papers. Course helped with my writing ability and was somewhat interesting to learn about philosophy.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: JLS110
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Two assignments all year, one take-home midterm paper and one take-home final. They are not long, but very difficult to write. He will help you a lot with the revisions, and even rewrite parts for you. Classes are not mandatory, and are extremely boring.