Betsy Ratcliff - West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Professor: Betsy Ratcliff

Department: Chemistry

College: West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ratcliff was a little unorganized, however she provided many resources to help learn the material. It was mostly self taught but if you asked her to explain something she would help one on one. She doesn't explain solving calculations very well, however it can be explained in solutions she posts on her webpage, which really helped me.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Took her my freshman year. Regardless of how much of the homework I had worked on, and examples that I had done, it didnt seem to matter when it came to her tests. Her tests were more difficult than they needed to be and frankly worded weirdly. I went to her office hours once and was met with nothing but a demeaning tone and attitude

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Attendance wasn't mandatory but not going to class will hurt you. The final and your lab grade is half of the class so try to max out your lab grades. She's nice but sometimes it feels like her lectures don't have very much direction.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHE115
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very attractive, great professor, explains very well, gives a good amount of extra credit.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She was easy to follow in lecture and was always ready to answer any questions no matter what! She was also easy to get a hold of out side of class

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher but very lecture heavy and does not explain concepts very well. If you learn best by doing examples of questions then this is the teacher for you. She makes her tests difficult but if you study you can get an A or B on them. She is usually available for office hours and can be helpful outside of class if you dont understand something.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you're looking for a great way to ruin your life, take this class! There's an overwhelming amount of hw that barely helps you study, but make sure to do them because there will be at least one of the hw questions will be on the test. I studied for 8 hours for the final and knew almost nothing on it

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A lot of people don't like her. She is very fast paced and the grade in the course is pretty dependent on your test grades. She wasn't the worst chem teacher but she wasn't the best either. She doesn't try to trick you or give excessively hard questions but the class is still pretty difficult. She is also very homework heavy.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ratcliff is pretty funny in class, and I learned a lot from her in lecture. She was really inaccessible outside of class though--I couldn't get ahold of her to schedule a meeting all semester. Her quizzes are also really difficult, but a lot of her test questions came directly from homework. Tests are heavily weighted.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Ratcliff is a mess. Her lectures make no sense at all, one minute she's working out a problem and the next minute she's explaining something completely different. If you have the opportunity to take a different professor I would HIGHLY recommend it. Her lectures did not help me at all in terms of the overall course, the homework is your best bet.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Chem 116 is a hard class to begin with. Having Dr. Ratcliff doesn't make it any easier. Her lectures are fast, and she gives little to no time for questions. She is difficult to talk to. Does offer extra credit bonus assignments.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Go to class and pay attention if you want to understand the material. Took her twice, failed the first time and got an A the second. Not exactly helpful in office hours, depends on her mood, but one of the better professors if you want to learn and still pass.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Probably the worst professor I've ever had. Avoid her at all costs. She is rude to students, makes mistakes constantly, and does not care about her classes. I never missed a class and took down every note and still had a hard time passing. She makes fun of kids who come see her privately and does not answer emails. She is the worst.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She was terrible. DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS. All she does is write things on the board and doesn't explain them well at all. She runs through the lecture and makes it so hard to understand. I would definitely not take any other course she gave. I love science and she ruined chemistry for me.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Ratcliff is the worst professor I've ever had. She does not respond to emails about any questions that you may have and even said in class that she won't because it's too much for her. She messes up on content 90% of the time and students have to correct her with previous chemistry knowledge. She is disorganized and rude.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Avoid taking her!!!!! She is the least helpful professor I have ever had. She doesn't help you when you go to her office & she has not once responded to any of my emails. She is a complete scatterbrain & constantly makes mistakes in lectures that she doesn't realize until a student points them out. Her tests are way different than what she teaches.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CHEM116
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This professor has heavy lectures but little explanations. She knows a lot about what she is teaching but is bad at explaining things.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CHAM116
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

A HARD TEACHER. SHE TEACH SOMETHING AND TEST YOU WITH SOMETHING ELSE. HER HW SYSTEM COMPLICATED. DONT CARE ABOUT THE STUDENTS IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS AND MAKES FUN OF STUDENTS WHO TALK TO HER PRIVATELY EVEN IN THE CLASS. SHE THINK EVEYONE KNOWS THE MATERIALS BUT NO! SHE HAVE NO MERCY. I STUDIED HARD. THINK BEFORE TAKING

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115116
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

saddle up if you decide to take her for chem 115/116 because your chili ring will never be the same. She doesnt teach well and expects you to know everything. If you go to her for help she basically tells you to go kick rocks because you should already know this. she is the chemistry equivalent of gary ganser in wvu's math department.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM115
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

PSA: DO NOT take Betsy for 115 if you don't have a decent understanding of chemistry. She does not explain things very clear. Also, she lacks interaction with students. Office hours might as well not be a thing. Look for old exams on her website for examples because otherwise you are not going to get any that are similar to the test.