Sheldon Toplitt - Boston University, Boston, MA

Professor: Sheldon Toplitt

Department: Communication

College: Boston University, Boston, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I really like Toplitt. While his lectures aren't insanely interesting, he does a good job keeping the class engaged.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Decent lecturer, gets boring a lot, just bring laptop. Easy grader, not too much work, better than a lot of other 525s.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

very nice and helpful if you take time to speak to him! Easy Exam and fairly easy grader!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: JO307
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The material is very easy, but his grading is outrageous. He makes very few comments, and lowers a grade significantly for one small error. Avoid.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Terrible, the paper is hard (15 pages), doesn't give the benefit of the doubt and is not funny, although he thinks he is, take another class

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• 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:

Understands this class is a chore, and tries to get you through it without much pain. Lectures are as interesting as they can be; take home mid-term is great w/ lots of time to work on it (def. use the book!). Open paper topic, yay!, but write what you know and don't try to do law-heavy topic: he can spot bs and will mark you down if you wing it.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: JO307
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I never dislike professors, but I make an exception for Toplitt. He is pompous, unhelpful and an arbitrary grader. He just talks at the class and laughs at his own tired anecdotes. When you ask him a question, it's more of the same. He is also a lazy grader, so you never know why you end up with the grade you get. DO NOT TAKE HIM FOR 307!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: JO308
• 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:

toplitt is the man...there are alot of assignments but he's fairly lenient and really a good guy. theres no getting past the fact the class is tough, but he makes in bearable. i took two semesters of back to back toplitt just for that reason. just do your work and youll pass

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: JO308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Did not like this class. Has on syallabus one article due a week, but it ends up being 2 or 3. Ridiculous amount of unessessary work and the class itself was boring unless we had to write in class articles. Would not take him again. and take Lehr for 525 if you can.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Not too much work in this class. Prof was clear, funny, and engaging for the "law" part, which makes sense, because he's a lawyer. But at least in fall 05, the "ethics" part of the class was sketchy and scattered, with inconsiderate deadlines. Still, he's the best you're going to get for this required class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

very smart, very nice and very enthusiastic. made class fun and easy to understand with the jokes and examples. take him whenever you can

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• 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:

Professor Toplitt is just awesome. He's probably the sweetest, most enthusiastic professor at BU, and definitely my favorite in COM. I've had two classes with him, and though doing work is never fun, he makes everything a little bit better. Take him anytime you have the chance!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: JO308
• 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:

Toplitt's a great guy and helps to make smooth what could be a dreadful beat reporting course. His guidelines are clear and his examples usually enhance assignments. He's also flexible with deadlines...to a point. Just remember that he's your editor - and missed deadlines are a fireable offense(!).

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: COMJO525
• 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:

Great prof.. I avoided this class my first 3 years at BU because I thought it would be dreadful, but he makes it a pretty painless experience. Funny, helpful, and I thought all of my grades were fair.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

Real great professor.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: JO310
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's a really nice prof. I learned a lot from his class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Such a fun class. Always crackign jokes but I still learned a ton. One of the best professors out there.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: JO525
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Toplitt is the only thing that made this course fun... love the jokes!