Jim Courtad - Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI

Professor: Jim Courtad

Department: Languages

College: Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• 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:

I had Sr. Courtad for my first Spanish class at CMU. I am normally a straight A student and I had to work HARD for a B. BUT ... I learned more in that class than in any spanish class afterword. He is a great prof and truly cares about students. The lessons he taught me set the base for my spanish skills now. If you want to LEARN spanish, take him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Courtad definitely has a passion for teaching and genuinely wants his students to succeed in his class. You are expected to do a lot of out of class studying and homework, but it pays off. His teaching style is straight forward and he is very organized!!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• 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:

By far the best professor I have ever had. He is hard but if you work at it, you will learn so much. Outside work is expected, but it is a foreign language. He grades hard but fair. Study and do homework outside of class and you will do fine.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: SPN214
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. Knows his Spanish. Will call on random students, make sure to do your homework, even if it's not required. Great sense of humor! Easy on grading, tests are easy. Wonderful class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Courtad is great! Makes you work for the grade, and you deserve what you put into the class. He is funny and is available to help anytime! GREAT!!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: SPN214
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Good Prof. makes you speak in front of class and do presentations. grades hard on compositions and exams are hard. go to class. participate and do the hw.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• 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:

Fantastic prof! I've taken a couple of his classes, he's very entusiastic and funny and makes classes about grammar much more interesting. He is a hard grader, but it helps you learn. If you can, take his class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: SPN214
• 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:

Great Prof...very helpful and sooo funny! He wants you to understand the material. Be sure you do your homework!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: SPN201
• 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:

Very difficult even with High School Spanish background! Tests were super hard. I did take it in the summer which made it 10 times worse because it was so fast. Don't take it if you're expecting an easy UP, it's not!!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: SPN201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The best Spanish teacher I have ever had by far. He makes sure you know the material. He is fun and really engages you in the class. I will be takeing him over if I can in the future.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Good prof. Be prepared this is a fast paced class and dometimes hes explainations are too fast to understand. Go to his office hours and he will clarify anything. Grades hard on compositions and tests can be difficult. I got a C in his class, I could have done better. He expects you to put the effort in.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: SPN331
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Good guy. Hes a great teacher and makes jokes to keep the class in tune. He is very helpful and puts you on the spot when speaking. (not to make you look bad, but to make sure you know what youre doing and to help you, and no make you look like a fool) GREAT TEACHER!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Half the class is easy, half is difficult. Anything involving oral work he tends to grade harshly, but the written work he is more lenient. It's very hard to get an A on the oral exams/presentations, but it's easy to make up those points on the written work. He often talks in Spanglish, so I didn't have any problem understanding him. No accent.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I had so much fun in his class, we did a lot of work, but I didn't mind doing it because mostly it was easy because he explained everything very well and was very helpful.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Very helpful and fair. Easy to understand, good teaching skills, very involved, & the class had a fun atmosphere.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Most people say he is hard, but he just grades strictly. He grades how it should be; unlike most other teachers who label A as average just to make students happy, he challenges his students and labels C as average, as it should be. He is a very funny and interesting teacher. Take all his classes.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: SPN102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Well everyone has said this so far, and I agree. He is incredibly difficult, but drills you with the information and you come out of his class knowing more than other people who had different profs. He's very helpful whe you don't understand but it's easy to fall behind so ask when you need help!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: SPN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I took this class online & it was WAY TOO difficult for just 8 weeks. He was helpful, but didn't provided enough feedback on papers & tests. I studied 35 hours a week, had to get a tutor & still struggled. The online tests & interviews where hard and the written tests where worse. DON'T Take Online!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: SPN202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very challenging but also very rewarding. I learned a lot in his class and think that anyone who is serious about learning spanish should take is class. He is a great professor.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SPN202
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Whoever thinks that Jim Courtad is a terrible teacher must not come to class... ever. It's true he is very demanding on tests and homework, but i've learned more in this one semester in his class than any other teacher i've ever had. If you are serious about this language, Courtad is the one to take