Colleen Jacks - Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN

Professor: Colleen Jacks

Department: Biology

College: Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have never had a prof who gave more resources than Colleen. She makes her slideshows available, gives outlines, gives unlabeled slides to study, gives practice questions, and gives you your tests back along with a key. Understanding her figures on her slides is essential - print her slides out and take notes that way. Lab is a major part.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Colleen's got a bit of a dry and subtle sense of humor. She's a tough/petty grader and sometimes expects you to read her mind so make sure you don't leave ambiguous answers on exams. Bit of a slow grader, but she does give detailed notes on how you should've answered a question. Offers a fair amount of extra credit. She's passionate about cell bio!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO382
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Colleen is great prof! She is passionate and knowledgeable about genetics. While her class is difficult it can be done if you know what your doing. Her slides don't have many words so it is helpful to print them off beforehand and write down what she says directly on each slide. Keep up with the reading and go in for feedback and you'll be fine!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO374
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Genetics with her is a nightmare. Don't be fooled by a lab free bio major elective. Be prepared to teach yourself, and to regurgitate it back to her in extreme detail on tests. that are graded at a graduate level. Likes pop quizzes in class, so show up to try to get those points. My biggest regret at GAC. Just don't do it!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Colleen's tests will seem easy, but the grading on them will be anything but. The book is your friend. Know her figures in the pp's really well. Her grading is detailed and she expects you to provide her best answer. Sometimes it doesn't make sense. Loves the topic, but doesn't connect to students well. Can be tough to get a question in.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Cell and molec was pretty horrific with her. She tries to be funny, although it doesn't make up for the fact that she gives you a TON of information and then expects tons of minute details on the tests. Also, she didn't tell my class until halfway through the semester that the clicker questions were actually for points. Try to get someone else!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO374
• 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:

Genetics with her was a nightmare. Your textbook will be your best friend since her teaching will not get you very far. Prepare for difficult exams, they are probably what graduate students in genetics see. Colleen is a truly wonderful person but in no way, shape or form a good educator.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Really nice person, but really horrible teacher. She doesn't respond to e-mails, she grades poorly, and doesn't make anything clear what-so-ever. I lost interest in biology after her class.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

By far the worst professor I have ever had. Does not make material any easier to learn, goes through useless pictures on slides that could be looked up on your own in the book, and then tests are impossible. She is very unclear and can't get point across. Grading is unclear and will take off points for no reason. Save yourself and take a diff prof

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: FTS150
• 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:

bad class through and through

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She takes forever to hand things back. It's the end of the semester now and we've only gotten half of the assignments back from lab. And she can be a very tough grader.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO210
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I could say a lot, but everything is already in the last few comments.......she is the only BAD prof I've had at Gustavus. She is a nice individual, but beyond that I wonder why she's teaching. BOTTOM LINE: She has no desire to help students learn.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Frustrating. It will take you two tests to figure out what she's looking for. If you're an individual that thrives in taking 100 pages of bio and diagrams and memorizing them, you'll do fine. I fell asleep in class most days, thankfully all of the diagrams are included online and are as useful in that form as they are when she explains them.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

to put it simply, she sucks. the material is relatively hard to begin with, and she doesn't make it any easier. lectures almost always go longer than the time alotted, and she can't teach worth crap. power point slides are typically diagrams straight from the text book with no explanation, so they are no help. avoid if possible!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Jack is the worst professor I've ever had. Avoid at all costs. Her lectures are vauge, rambling and obscure at best. You'll be bored out of your mind. She expects impossible details and memorization for the tests. Please, save yourself a nightmare and take it with somebody else.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Tough class, she's good but the class is just hard... maybe its because I dont like the subject ...

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst teacher I'm ever had. Boring lectures, poor quality teaching, and no desire to help students learn. She's a blackeye for the Gustavus Biology Department. Biology can be a very fun and exciting subject, but there is nothing interesting about her teaching.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEN343
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

worst teacher I've ever had --class should be called Genetics trivia. didn't get a single useful thing out of the class

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO382
• 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:

I loved her as a prof

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO201
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very interested and enthusiastic about the subject she teaches. However, terrible, terrible job of testing on the material you cover: ie diagrams and processes that take a long time to learn and are gone into in-depth in lecture are worth very few points on the exam. dont take bio 201 if you aren't serious about a bio major or minor