Randall Phillis - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Randall Phillis

Department: Biology

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This course requires a lot of time. Questions require critical thinking. Find a study group early. Collaboration will allow you to explain & better your understanding. Lectures consist of diagrams & verbal explanations (there are some summary slides). Randy offers office hours & Thursday night review sessions- use them! Ultimately, I learned a lot!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Amazing Professor. You couldn't miss a class, but his classes were engaging and super helpful. His entire course is very cumulative, and you never have to study back much because you're constantly revisiting topics and incorporating them into new ideas. He has weekly review sessions+office hours which are very helpful because his course isn't easy.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Don't get me wrong, Randy is a funny guy. However, his questions are extremely confusing and he tends to trick you with his multiple T/F questions. He posts review problems but never posts the answers. Also, the lack of homework made it harder to understand a concept if you didn't go to lecture.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Randy's BIO151 class is hard, but I learned a lot. The only way to pass is to go to all of his lectures and review sessions. There are weekly quizzes which vary in difficulty but the exams are reliably difficult. This class requires a lot of thinking about possible scenarios and analyzing situations.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOLOGY151
• 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:

You will not pass the class if you do not show up for lectures. No homework and weekly Friday quizzes. Most of the quizzes are open notes, clicker quiz Friday after the test. He speaks quickly but only pay attention to the important points, aka explanations for his diagrams. His class is not based on memorization, more understanding for sure!!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Phillis is a very passionate professor. He wants you to understand and if you put in a lot of time, you will succeed. However, I cannot stress enough, you need to put in many hours on this class. harder than what a 100 level course should be.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Really gunny guy, don't understand his teaching style at all. Probably wouldn't want to go if he wasn't such a nice guy. I got a C on the first exam, when I am generally an A student. I attended SI sessions and other things, but I really can't get behind his teaching style of weird quizzes and strictly lecturing.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Take Randy's class if you're serious about biology/pre-med, or any science career. If you're not really into it or not dedicated, the class will be extremely difficult. Pay attention, take notes, go to SI sessions. His review sessiosn on Thursday nights are basically mandatory, as they help prepare for Friday quizzes. Lots of work but worth it!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

It's obvious that Randy seriously enjoys his job, and he does give good lectures. But I found his tests to be extremely confusing, involving multiple T/F trick questions, and sometimes had material we didn't even cover in class. I thought it was way harder than an intro bio 1 class should have been. His friday quizzes and discussions saved my grade

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Randall Phillis is the reason I dropped from the Pre-Med track to non-cultural Anthropology; nice way to stimulate my TATA box. I went to see him for office hours once and he made suggestive remarks to a female student, or should I say a fellow researcher. I did not know that the Flagship campus allowed profs with criminal records to teach there...

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Randy is one of the most exceptional professors I've ever had. Yes, his class was challenging, but I highly encourage you to take him IF you are up for that challenge (studying hard, attending most lectures, etc.) If you're looking for an easy gen-ed 'A', look elsewhere. If you're pre-med, Randy is a MUST!

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I took Randys course 2 years ago and wanted to come here and inform people of how helpful his class was to me. He teaches you so that you LEARN not to memorize. I recount information he taught me in almost all of my classes, I think about the way he taught it and can understand it when my current professors fail me. HIGHLY suggest randy!!!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOLOGY151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a good guy

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Randy really cares about his students. Loved his class but it is very important to put work in. SI and review sessions helped out a lot. Also, dont be afraid to ask questions.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Randy does really care about his students, but all you do in this bio class is look at unlabeled diagrams, most the time your not even sure what the diagrams are about. He is obsessed with cancer and true false trick questions. Has review sessions before every Friday quiz which are extremely helpful, but this class is definitely not an easy grade

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I really appreciated randy's class. He is very thorough in his teaching, which is annoying when going through the class but two years later I still remember what we've learned and its helped me in multiple classes. In this class you must be engaged, learning and participating. He wants students to succeed, to do well and to learn. Diagrams are key!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He really wants his students to succeed, holds his own review sessions, and seems to genuinely enjoy his job. His lectures are very important, as are the handouts: the diagrams are everything.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Randall is a great man and is super passionate about Bio. Go to lectures, SI sessions and his reviews and you'll be good. Friday quizzes can work as a grade booster if you study for them. Know your diagrams inside and out.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Randy's style of teaching is very lecture-based, and it is very important that you go to class and pick up the diagram handouts that he gives. They will be the exact diagrams and that will be on the quizzes and exams and they are very helpful. Also, he practices with clicker questions that are very similar to the quizzes (every week) and exams.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOLOGY151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

After watching all of my friends take Bio 151 with different professors, I'm so grateful for Randy. He really prepares you for the exams in class and holds review sessions before quizzes. There are clicker questions, quizzes every Friday, 3 exams, and a final. Definitely the best Bio 151 professor at UMass