Stephen Arons - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Stephen Arons

Department: Law

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: 387K
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

One of the best professors i have had at Umass. Genuinely cares about his students success and is more focused on making sure the principles are easy and understandable than grading. Two papers and one final which he gave the questions out beforehand. I truly hope he teaches again next semester so I can take another course with him. Great course.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL491C
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Arons is/was my favorite Professor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL397N
• 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:

Midterm and final are both 50% of your grade. Talking a lot in class gets your extra points. His final is super easy; everyone got a 100 in the class. Study more for the midterm. Major bonus points for being the notetaker in the class. Definitely my favorite legal studies class at UMass

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL397N
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's nice. Two exams 50% each. Exams are difficult. A huge amount of studying yielded me an 85% on the first exam. Wrote the optional paper instead of taking the second exam and came away with an A in the class. Classes went by quickly and were sometimes interesting.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL397N
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Grading: 50% Exam 1 and 50% Exam 2. You can receive up to 5 pts extra credit by participating or writing extra 1-page papers on the readings. Exams are 20 questions multiple-choice. He gives you the questions (w/o answers) before the exam so you can study. Very helpful. Overall, a nice professor and a somewhat interesting class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's a very nice guy and very helpful. He gives out the questions before every exam. He's tough on the papers but gives a lot of chances to boost up grades with extra credit. Interesting topics. THE professor for Legal 250.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Arons is great. He respects the intelligence of his students and offers you gold. He is very experienced, humorous and passionate about his subject. If you do the readings and take good notes you will do well. He is not easy but very fair. Also plays great music before class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• 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:

He is an amazing prof!! one of my favorite yet. He is interesting and fun and has a great personality. I took his honors colloquium and it was easy and interesting.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Good guy. The class is moderately interesting. He gives you the questions to the exams before the test. Tough grader on the essays but all in all I would recommend the class.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL247
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a typical Harvard graduate Yahoo! Personalities are big with this guy. Watch out!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very knowledgable, but gives student discussion of topics a bit too much focus. Roughly a 70/30 split in terms of discussion and lecture, and for this course I'd prefer it to be even if not in favor of lecture. Great guy though, very approachable if you have a question.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL397N
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Amazing professor! His clarity helps us understand his teachings, unlike others. He's incredibly nice and carries a great personality. I wish we had more like around!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor Arons was incredibly informative and incredibly kind-hearted. I took away so much as this was my first class in Legal Studies. He seemed to want everyone to actually understand his material and was very understanding about extenuating circumstances. A+ for him.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• 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:

Amazing professor. Loves to help out his students, all you have to do is ask! I had him last semester and he did everything in his power to help me do well and also answered questions i had about the legal field. Very nice, jolly man! I recommend him.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: LGL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I have come to regret my decision to write papers that violated everything I believe in for the purpose of obtaining an A. A very unbalanced prof.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: LAW250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Arons gives amazing lectures and really sparked my interest in law... to the point that I declared Legal Studies after his class

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL397N
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A great teacher in general, and very smart. If you enjoy talking about the law and controversial issues in a scholarly setting, this is a great class. I've had him for another class and enjoyed him then too. Workload is totally managable. If you like to talk in class, you'll be on his good side.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL491C
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Amazing Professor. Loved going to this class each week. Roughly read a book every other week but most are short and all are good. He is fair and does not act like his class is the only one you are taking. All in all one of the best classes at Umass

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 333
• 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:

Good prof.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: LEGAL250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Made the class interesting, but told too many jokes. A nice guy. Left class too early often. Average class.