Donal Carbaugh - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Donal Carbaugh

Department: Communication

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Incredibly easy course if you go to class and take solid notes. Skim the long readings that he posts. All of the exams were predictable and only included things gone over during lectures/from readings. This course is pure memorization. It's important not to skip class because he'll do a random pop "quiz" (just participation points).

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Your grade is all from the tests . Not an Easy A. LOTS of trick questions (all of the above, none of the above) so try your best to watch out for those. Lecture can feel boring and redundant but it helps for the tests. Do the readings and you'll do alright. As a Comm major, its a decent class to take but I wouldn't take it as a GenEd/Filler.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: COM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very sweet guy. Class is pretty boring but its a boring subject so not much to do with it. Class is very test heavy as the tests are worth 80% of grade. Lots of readings to do and you'll need them for the tests. Remember to take notes. Overall decent class. Show up and read and you'll be fine.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Donal definitely knows what he is talking about and is well experienced in his field. Your grade is mostly composed of just the tests, with in class assignments being the other 20%. The tests are not bad if you study and scan the readings, but he puts some weird trick questions on there. In class assignments are wicked easy so go to class

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: COM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very nice man, tests are mostly based on trick questions that include None or all of the above for no reason.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: COM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very nice guy but worst teacher I have ever had. Stay away from this class if possible, he is so ambiguous in his teaching and very strict about grading policies (i.e will never allow for makeups and has random in class evaluations ). Even the TA's don't understand him and his material. Readings are long and boring, tests are ridiculously hard.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: COM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

80% of your grades is on the exams. There are random in-class assignments that make up the last 20%, so attending class is pretty important. Material seems pretty easy, but some tricky questions on exams. A very nice guy. Not that accessible and only sometimes responds to emails.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is the sweetest professor I have. He is genuinely happy to be teaching this class and loves all the material he is teaching. He brings in many examples making the class more interesting. The exams have vague questions that can be slightly confusing making them difficult if you don't know all the material. I genuinely enjoy going to this class!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: COM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is a very nice guy. But, he does not have a well organized class. The powerpoints are not helpful at all. He just goes on about stuff that has a very ambiguous connection with the content that we are supposed to be learning. If you are sick he will not give you any of the material you missed. This is the first class that I have dreaded going to.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's a really nice guy and you can tell he loves the material, but the class was a bore. I found the exams to be inconsistent and really vague which made them difficult. Nice guy but just an okay course.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• 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:

Professor Carbaugh genuinely loves to teach his course. His hours aren't too flexible, but he is always available after class to talk. The exams are easy and not accumulative. The only prob is they're 33 questions. Just pay attention/take notes and skim through the readings. I found the case studies to be fairly interesting, but a bit random.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• 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:

Overall his lectures will bore you to death. Personally I found it very hard to stay focused because it was so boring, the worst being when the TA taught the lecture. He goes over most points from the readings in class on his slides. I didn't read every reading and skimmed most and did well.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: COMM118
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Donal is a great guy but his lectures are extremely boring. It was hard to stay awake during most classes. He goes over most main points from the readings but you still have to do them cause he will pull random questions from them for the tests. Besides that tests are straightforward. Readings can be long and boring. Still a decent class though.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: COMM212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Carbaugh is extremely nice and very helpful. He has a clear interest in the subject and that shows in his teaching. The content of the class wasn't hard to understand but the tests were difficult and only 30 or so questions so each counted more. Overall, I would recommend the class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: COMM212
• 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:

He's a nice guy but the class is so lame. I wish I never took it but it was a global ed requirement. The discussion is useless and the class was really boring. Even if you do the long and boring readings the test questions are tricky.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: COMM212
• 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:

Donal is probably the nicest professor you will ever meet. Some of the material in the class got a little boring, but overall I enjoyed his course. I would recommend to anyone to take a course with Donal.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: COMM212
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The nicest guy ever but one of the worst classes I have ever taken. All the information you learn in this class you already learned in 2nd grade. You dont have to go to class. However, the tests are tricky so you have to know the information well. Many of his points are from his opinion and can be argued. Also dont bother buying the books.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: COMM497M
• 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:

Great professor, always willing to meet with you, genuinely a great guy and a wonderful teacher!

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: COM794K
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Carbaugh was able to bring us into the cultural communication conversations--not easy.I enjoyed his challenges!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: COMM514
• 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:

Donal deserves the teacher of the year award! He is always available to meet, willing to help you out, and interested in what you think. He wants you to get what you want out of your education. He doesnt make you do any worthless work. He is fair in his grading and makes sure to give you ample time to complete assignments.