Michael Vaney - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Professor: Michael Vaney

Department: Economics

College: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON301
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

2 mid, 2 surprise quizes, 3 assign and a final. He doesn't post anything so you have to go to class to write down notes. Theory is taught in class (general idea), but all mathematical questions in exams that he doesn't go over. Focus on PS and practice exams. Both midterm average was 60%, quiz 40%, but he does curve it. Good luck.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON325
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Talks pretty quickly and hand-writes the class notes so if you miss class it's virtually impossible to access the material. Super caring guy, if you get to know him and actually listen to what he's saying it's easy to get a good grade. Class average for both midterms were super low but if you put the work in you can easily do well.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON365
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Had him for 221 and 365. Tips for success: 1) Make sure to do his practice midterms and finals. The actual exams will have questions based on the practice questions 2) Attend lectures. Notes are not posted. 3) Complete problem sets. Not going to lie, pretty hard classes so don't do them unless you are really interested in the topics.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON365
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Had him for his 3rd year version of 466 too and I found the 3rd year version far better and it felt like he was clearer when teaching the 3rd year version. However, the midterm average was concerning. Overall he is a nice person but the class felt unorganised at time which evens out to "average"

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON466
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Way harder than even ECON425 , which is usually considered the hardest ECON course at the VSE, because it is so hard to follow him in lectures because of the way he teaches by making you copy his notes. He lacks the ability to clearly breakdown concepts and teach. He is harder than even econ425 because he lacks teaching ability

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON466
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Never had such an instructor that is so bad in teaching. All he does is write endlessly on a document camera without pausing or teaching and students just copy whatever is on the board. He seems to think we can all follow his thought process and as a result he doesn;t explain crucial things or define things. Handwritting is messy at times too.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECON466
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Biggest regret in my undergrad life after 4 years and countless econ courses. He has zero structure in teaching; all you do is blindly copy lecture notes that have little structure and get lost. Moreover, excessive workload and everywhere in my room is research for his lit review paper and presentation assigment. Avoid this class at all costs.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON365
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I suggest you guys don't take his class, because his class is a note-taking class. You have to keep writing notes for one hour and twenty minutes, and you will never ever catch up his writing speed. Most importantly, his writing is not clear. Besides, the class midterm ave is around 52, and I think the final will harder than the midterm.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECON325
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Ignore the post saying that his exams are bombs. His midterms are definitely doable if you go to lectures and work through the problem sets. His notes is extremely useful and clear when study for the final exam. His class average is much lower than other prof's but I don't regret taking his course:)

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Super helpful prof, as long as you attend his lecture, you would learn a lot. Even though there are a lot of notes to take in every lecture (he dose not post online ever), I would like to recommended it. I guess Econ 221 is the easiest course for 200-level Econ, and Micheal's section is supposed to be one of the best one for this course.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECON221
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Go to class! Give his lectures a chance and you will learn lots.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON326
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Good Guy. Blue Polo.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECON326
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not a great prof, assignments are pretty challenging. His tests are easier than the lectures/assignments indicate, BUT the class average is still much lower than other profs! Find someone else if you can.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECON301
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Michael's very approachable, but lectures are hard. He doesn't post notes online so get ready to write a TON.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This class is not easy, but it is one of the most interesting classes I have taken during my undergrad - I highly recommend it if game theory floats your boat like it floats mine. He does not post lectures online and lectures quickly, but he is clear and helpful during office hours . Start studying early for the final / do past exams. Good luck!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON371
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

he is a very nice and helpful professor. His exams are hard but he will scale up :)

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON303
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great prof overall. Exams are hard, but it's upper level econ, so it's to be expected. Micro lectures are straightforward but comprehensive. Would take again.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON221
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

GO TO CLASS otherwise you'll fail. He does not post lecture notes and everything on his exams are from the lectures.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON221
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

By far one of my favourite professors at UBC. You'll have to copy his lecture notes that he writes by hand in class since he does not post his notes online but he's very clear in his lectures and is extremely helpful during his office hours. Exams were not overly difficult if you study and review the assigned problem sets and past exams.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ECON325
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

First 8 am class ever but I barely skipped it since he is a good lecturer. Maybe his hand writing was not clear to read but he gave us enough explanation to understand the contexts. The midterm was really hard and the average was low. But the good thing is he will scale the grades up and gave us an easy final.