Dean Atkinson - Portland State University, Portland, OR

Professor: Dean Atkinson

Department: Chemistry

College: Portland State University, Portland, OR

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr A is one of the best lecturers there is in the world. He is as fluid as it gets with his instructions and is more than capable of answering any question. He is available anytime during the week and his workload isn't impossible (I took 4-week summer). He tests very thoroughly, but if you want to learn it he is always available. Work harder!!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dean is awesome. Rushes through material, but lectures are recorded and posted online for review. Practice exams are nearly identical to current exams, no answer keys, though. Free online textbook is unbelievably bad, just use google if you get confused. Always willing to explain things in class or in his office if you get confused.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM320
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Study for the exams and take the practice tests vs studying to learn the information. After the first exam he said "if you are premed and didn't get at least 90% you should just drop out now and get a w, its better than a bad GPA and not getting into med school". He also told students that if we did not understand this "basic" info to change majors

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dislikes: Talks fast through thought processes that he should really be writing down, clicker questions are not a great representation of tested material, exams are limited to only one hour so you have to race to finish. Likes: helpful one-on-one, makes practice exams available (best study material for this class), lots of grade buffers. Likable.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Super nice, funny guy, but not good at lecturing. Examples given in class and in Sapling are WAY easier than exams. However, study the practice exams for a good idea of what to expect. WARNING! A lot of unseen problems pop up in every exam so there's a limit-unless you're really smart.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CH320QUANT
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Expect to do lots of online homework (sapling) to understand the material being presented, and self teach.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

First test in this class was easy, but the second test was a nightmare. Go to class and work through the practice exams he posts online. He doesn't post keys but if you work through them and bring questions to his office hours then he is very helpful.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: CH107
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I didn't ever meet him. He left his class to a TA who made the class absolutely miserable. There is no professionalism whatsoever. I would have been nice to have an actual professor teaching this lab course, or at least having more of a handle on the way the TA was teaching. She was so condescending and rude people refused to ask questions.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: CH320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Atkinson is a great professor, mentor and all around good guy. Go to class! He is awesome! He is very helpful during office hours and really cares about his students.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: CH321
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Won't provide any keys, will ask questions you haven't seen in homework or in class, will not curve, lots of useless POGIL, writes on board often (cannot read his handwriting). Recommend taking lab at the same time because he will ask stuff in lecture that you've only learned in the lab. Only positive thing I can say is that he's pretty nice.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Well what can I say , I honestly think he could use some lecture time . If you come to class just know that you are coming for the clicker points and that is it, there will be no lectures you are on your own in this class and the sample exam have nothing to do with the real exams given. Good luck

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Tries to throw you off on exams. Didn't round up my grade when it was within 0.4%

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: CHEM222
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Dean Atkinson is the best Chemistry professor I have ever met: His exams reflect the practice given, and he clearly wants his students to succeed. (Unlike many of the professors.) If you are reading this, Dr. Atkinson, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR AN AMAZING TERM!!!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CH221
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

His lectures are confusing. No examples shown. He might ask you to try to carry out a titration or two with specific conditions, but he won't go step by step to show you how it's done. Get ready to teach yourself. Tests are decent but you have no extra time so work efficiently. Students didn't finish the first two tests due to time.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CH223CH320
• 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:

Dr. A is a very nice man and I have taken several of his classes but, unfortunately, his teaching style does not suit me. He explains math with words instead of examples, which is difficult for me and many others. This comment is coming from someone who earned A's in the entire Calculus series. Avoid his classes if you are a visual learner.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not the greatest professor in the world, but he is pretty up there. He gives interesting lectures and is fair on his grading. He likes it when students utilize office hours!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. A is really nice and entertaining to listen to. He uses a lot of visual aids, so if that is your thing his class will be great for you! The exams were structured with only a few problems but you oould get partial credit which was nice. My favorite chem teacher at PSU so far

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• 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:

He's extremely nice and helpful. Everything on the review sheet is exactly on the tests (different numbers). If he only curved for a bit I would have gotten an A. Extra credits and help are always provided. Take him if you want to learn chemistry well.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: CH222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. A is a very nice professor and likes to be helpful, but I found his lectures difficult to understand. I am great at math, but I felt like he was trying to explain all of the concepts in math terms instead of chemistry terms which made lectures very confusing. YouTube and reading the textbook is what helped me to pass the class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CHEM222
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Easiest science prof you'll ever have. Funny, cute, kind. Good guy.