Jim Baxter - Ohlone College, Fremont, CA

Professor: Jim Baxter

Department: Biology

College: Ohlone College, Fremont, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Clearly an expert in his field, Baxter has high expectations for his students. Advice: record lectures and only study his slides. Weekly quizzes should help keep you on track with the material. Phylogeny is hell to remember, so start early. Despite the suffering, I'm coming out of two semesters with him with a renewed passion for Bio.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO101B
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Jim is a very knowledge person and he prepares you very well on a good amount of biological topics. He's fair and reasonable but the amount of resources that he puts out for the problems that he asks is insufficient. You are expected to remember objects that you've seen once and he's overkill on taxonomy. Nonetheless, a nice rigorous teacher.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO101A
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

In order to pass this class you need to go to his lectures and write EVERYTHING down. He usually tells you what things he will test you on in the quizzes, which are weekly. In total, you will have 3 tests and 1 final so make sure to study your lecture notes very well. He is very reasonable and will curve your final grade if its borderline.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: 101AB
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Honestly, one of the hardest courses I have taken, but worth it! Classes after you transfer are much easier because Baxter's already introduced you to almost everything. Advice: Show up to every class, write EVERYTHING down, form a study group, go to office hours! Makes dad jokes, very friendly, but you really work for the grade. Catch bugs early!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: 101A101B
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very hard class. I got C for both 101A&B but I could say my love toward Biology has nourished ever since. Record lectures, understand and remember every single little thing on the notes, do labs and online homework, those are easy points. Lecture exams are hard. STUDY! Each exam has 5 topics. Final is cumulative, relatively easier than exams.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO101AB
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This series was by far the hardest series I've taken to date. Biology is heavily memorization based but Jim takes it to a new extreme. Tests will include vocab he mentioned maybe once/twice. Labs aren't too hard but lab exams are difficult. Weekly quizzes & the lecture exams are killer. Record the lectures if you can, makes all the difference.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO101A
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Barely passed and got into his Bio 101b. Less than half the class passed. Makes the tests in a way that he tries his hardest for you to get it wrong or misunderstand. Exam questions tend to be random things he covered for maybe a few seconds instead of main topic ideas. Very biased. Will accuse certain students of cheating when it is PARTNER work.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: 101A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was the hardest class I've ever taken. When he says that anything he says in lecture can be on the exam, he means it. His exams questions are very specific and difficult. I did not pass the class and thought I wasn't ready for Bio101 until I started taking it with a new professor now and having a much easier time.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO101A
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Jim's class was the hardest class I've ever taken, but it was worth it. To pass you need to record lectures & dedicate time to study for quizzes and exams. All labs, prelabs & online hw need to be completed bc these are all easy points that help boost your grade. He has cool dad jokes, is knowledgeable and very helpful! Hard work but worth it:)

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 101A101B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hard class but doable as long as you record his lectures and study efficiently. You get weekly quizzes which helps you pace yourself with studying so make sure to study! Don't even bother buying the textbook because everything is based on what he says in class. He's got the best dad jokes (make sure to laugh at them) and a great sense of humor!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO101A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Take him if you're pre-med and a hard worker. I got an A by recording his lectures and then listening to them again at home to write down anything I might have missed in class. Anything on lecture is fair game which is why I recommend this. Ask classmates if they have previous years' quizzes and midterms, and practice ALL of em! Very approachable!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 101A101B
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

You lose sleep, his tests are excruciatingly hard, but Dr. Baxter is the best professor I've had so far. Most of the learning in class is very fast paced, so take notes and record lectures. If you love biology, Dr. Baxter is the professor for you, he's a very knowledgable man, and is very willing to help. Dedicate a lot of time to this class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO130
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Most difficult tests ever. Baxter is a very tough teacher. Whatever you do, do NOT take him. Wait another semester or take it at a diferent school. He is very unreasonable in test difficulty. He expects you to know extremely specific details even though he doesn't go in depth. The highest grade on his test was a 86%. most people literally failed.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 130
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

So funny that I checked TODAY. Wonder which classmate posted the OTHER review. Another Quiz given back, more drops -- 25% in week 9. He's not that personable. You don't know what would push his buttons. Notes not that perfect. Many mistakes in grading, but he insists you meet his high demands. Needs 70+% for a C, 20+ chapters, totally unreasonable.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 130
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Baxter is a really tough teacher I took him for Intro to bio. I assumed he wouldn't go so into detail but I was wrong for the whole semester you have 3 big test and a few quizzes. His test are really hard he only gives a few multiple choice and the rest are matching or fill in the blank. His quizzes are the same. Do not need text book.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO101AB
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

By far the toughest class I have Taken in my undergrad. The amount of detail you're required to learn is much more than that of an upper div UC biochem course. Dr Baxter is a very nice and approachable man however his exams are brutal. You can never be sure what he will ask on an exam. Dont regret taking this class at all. Prepared me well

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: 101AANDB
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

You will learn so much in Professor Baxter's class. He is a great lecturer, and will go out of his way to make sure he answers your questions in a complete way. His tests are really tough, but kind of fun at the same time. He is a kind guy and has the weirdest but oddly funniest jokes!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 101A101B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Attendance is not mandatory but HIGHLY SUGGESTED or you will fail because of missing material details. He is extremely good with teaching and the class is fun. He presents and updates the class with front of science, which will make it HARDER.I got an B and C, but I still recommend him.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101A
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Definitely not an easy A class. Tough class. But if you learn the materials well in his class, you will be more than prepared when you take all the other upper division classes in the future, such as biochemistry. I feel like you learn everything, stuff beyond general biology. BTW, he writes questions for the MCAT. dont cram, you will die lol.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101AB
• 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:

Dont listen to the folks who say to avoid him. If your major is biology and you go to Ohlone, TAKE BOTH A AND B with him. His knowledge of the material is incredibly vast and sophisticated. He's easy to approach and his challenging exams keep you on your toes. His class made me fall in love with biology even more.