Jim Gray - James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Professor: Jim Gray

Department: Chemistry

College: James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: 242L
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

If you take good ole Jim Gray as a professor you will learn that water is not polar. There are just so many things he will correct you on! Sike! This man incompetent! I would rather take my chances in shark infested waters before attending another class with this guy. Get ready to buy a life vest because you will too.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM132L
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you can enroll in another lab course, DO IT. If you can't here's what to do 1) Know you're entering a lab with an extremely hard professor 2) put on your charm and go to his office hours FROM LAB 1. 3) Copy word for word his notes and include every single word in your lab reports. 4) memorize every single thing from every lab to pass MT & final.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: 132L
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Gray is a really tough grader for lab write-ups, but if you go to office hours you'll definitely do much better (I went from 72 and 74 to 90-100 after I started going to office hours). His tests are SUPER HARD and there's basically no way to prepare!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is literally the worst professor I've encountered here at JMU. You spend 20+ hrs on one report and he'll still fail you without even reading a page of your work. Very unfair, inconsistent, and extremely grumpy. You will probably cry at least once in lab. His ultimate goal is to get as many students to withdrawal/fail as possible. DO NOT TAKE!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM132L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!! He spends the first 2 hours of the lab giving history lectures that have nothing to do with the lab. The midterm and final was super hard. Lab report due every week, if you follow the guidelines you can at most get a B. Tough grader and doesn't give any feedback. Hardest lab ever.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Gray expects way too much out of students for a 1 credit class. be prepared to write 15 page lab reports every week. Grading is extremely hard but if he knows you put in the work he will like you! Concepts are hard to understand and he goes very quickly. Go to office hours and designate a lot of time to reports. Basically a struggle to the end!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM132L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He loves lecturing, giving work and holds you over lab. Would not take.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM132L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He has unrealistic expectations and he talks for the first 2 hours of lab so you run over lab time every lab. He also is very strict with lab reports, be prepared to spend HOURS on lab reports.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242L
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The worst professor I've ever had. Missed a class during my semester, emailed us 2 hours after it was supposed to start with a HW assignment based off the lecture he never gave. Gives no grading criteria, is unhelpful and won't explain why your paper got the grade it did. Avoid at all costs.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 132L
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Stay away and I mean it... There is no clear grading material. you could do the same lab report as your partner and get a totally different grade. He is NOT helpful. STAY AWAY, RUN AWAY.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM242L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Mr. Gray was by far the vaguest, most unhelpful teacher I've ever had at JMU. He's office hours are a joke; he won't answer straight yes or no questions, he grades papers while you're talking to him, and he denies things that he's told you later in class. Please do yourself a favor and enroll in a different lab section.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 132L
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He shows overhead slides for about an hour before class- take notes. Of all of it. If you tie EVERYTHING in those slides in your reports, you'll get A's or B's. He'll notice if you don't. People say he's hard, which he is, but if you stay after lab and ask him questions or are confused about some questions, he will seriously help you out big time.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: 242L
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ochem is hard and Mr. Gray definitely makes you work for your grade, but his class is not impossible. As long as you take good notes, record his lectures, and include absolutely everything he says in your lab reports, the class isn't too hard. He makes you earn respect, but it is not as terrible as everyone else makes it out to be

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 242L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This lab itself is pretty easy but Gray never shows you how to do the labs first. He just lectures you with prepared slides for an hour and then you go figure it out on your own. Your lab reports are expected to be way longer than lab reports in other lab sections. He basically wants you to spit back out to him word for word what he said to you.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The worst prof I have ever come across. Being a 1credit lab, this prof treats it as a 4credit thesis class. The material can be learned thru mch shorter lectures & thru othr means of depicting the info rather than usin transparencies tht are written like books. Having to write 10-15 pg lab reports almost every wk just created a miserable sem. avoid

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

AWFUL PROFESSOR!!!!! This is a one credit lab but I spent more time on it than all of my other classes combined. He expects a 20 page lab report ever week along with a tedious lab entry. He lectures for 2+ hours every class where you take about 15 pages of extremely confusing notes then go into lab not knowing what to do. DO NOT TAKE!!!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I feel sorry for you if you are forced to spend a semester with this man. Not only is he unclear during lectures and what he wants for lab reports, but also randomly grades everything. You can have the same report as your partner and receive a 50 while they receive a 70. Stay away at all costs

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's not as bad as everyone says he is. He never did anything to make me agree with all the negative reviews. Of course this class is extremely difficult and time consuming. He does grade hard, but he is willing to help if you ask. Don't just assume the worst about him just because everyone else is putting their frustration into hating him.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

terrible communicator insults students and those who drop his class 1/2 of my class dropped because of him and his reputation says they are "stupid" says jmu has dumb students terrible teacher stay away

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM241L
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Hands down the worst teacher I've had in my entire life. Lectures are very fast paced. You need to make sure you copy down everything on the board plus the things he is saying simultaneously. When you go to him to try to understand why points were missed on something he makes you feel dumb. Directions were often unclear.