Katharyn Machan - Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Professor: Katharyn Machan

Department: Writing

College: Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ICSM108
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very nice, eccentric woman. I would recommend taking the freshman seminar with her b/c the fourth hour included in the class but not any other class. Very harsh grader-has to be exactly the way she wants it. Four papers with little instruction while expecting perfection and plausibility. Very hard to get an A in the class but the spoon hour is good

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: WRTG238
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Katharyn gave us the opportunity to write whatever we wanted to, which not many professors do. Rather than lots of reading, we began writing 300 words for each class to share and moved into poetry seamlessly. She is helpful but clear about how you feel about your work is more important than how anyone else does. Great publishing resource too.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ICSM10500
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She's a bit full of herself sometimes and loves to talk about herself, but if you do the work you should be fine. It's very hard to get an A in the class though, your writing needs to be pretty exceptional. She picks favorites, but I think she does want everyone to succeed.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: WRTG01
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Phenomenal teacher with a real passion for what she does. There are very few people I've ever met who feel so much love for what they teach. if in anyway you can muster the same beautiful passion and love for writing as she does, take her class. Highly, highly reccomend her.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ICSM10812
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I had Dr. Machan for my freshman seminar. She has a very unique personality and I can see why people don't like her, but if you're accepting of those who aren't afraid to be different then you'll love her. She pushes the class to be open with one another and makes herself open to her students. I would totally take this class again if i could.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: WRTG30500
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Although I get the impression that Dr. Machan really cares about her students, she also does not have nearly enough boundaries about what she talks about in class. She's also very old-fashioned: she requires students to bring in hard copies of all assignments and seems to think that writers still submit work via mail.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ICSM10812
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Machan was an absolutely amazing professor. She was extremely kind, helpful, and would do anything to make sure that her students were happy and enjoying her class. I loved taking Fairy Tales with her and I would happily take any class of hers that was offered.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: WRTG305
• 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:

She is wicked awesome!! She was really fun and gave great feedback on my work. She absolutely loved the subject and loved helping out students whenever she could. Her clothes are wild, expressing her personality, and she made the class interesting. She is the best kind of crazy.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: WRTG102
• 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:

She picked favorites, gave virtually no feedback, was next to impossible to make an appointment to discuss assignments, and almost never accepted any interpretation of a work other than her own--everything you do NOT want in a professor.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ICSM108
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Machan is very enthusiastic and mildly eccentric. She has a love for what she teaches, and strives to get to know her students. Her feedback on writing can be very helpful. She never puts down a student for their individual beliefs and religions, and does not impose hers on her students.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: WRTG01
• 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:

Machan was an absolutely terrible teacher when compared against other faculity member who taught this course. If I had known of this site, I would have read the many negative comments about her lack of teaching skills and taken the course from another professor.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: WRTG01
• 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:

I absolutely love this professor! She's helpful and energetic about teaching. One of my only professors ever to encourage publication! Take her "break courses"! You'll write SO MUCH it's unbelievable, and reach new levels in your writing! If you have a passion for writing- TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: WRTG305
• 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:

Over the course of the semester, I felt that Dr. Machan taught our class with all the enthusiasm of someone who had to be there as opposed to a professor who WANTED to be there. She was almost impossible to make appointments with or to get fedback from. Avoid.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: WRTG305
• 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:

one of my favorite teachers. so personable and so helpful! a pleasure just to be around, very quirky, but very smart! highly recommended!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: WRTG01
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She is a terrible teacher. Definitely picks her favorites. No matter what I seemed to write for stories, she never liked them. AVOID!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: WRTG107
• 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:

A very boring prof. During her lectures, it was hard not to look at the clock and count the minutes until the end of class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: AUTOBCREA
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Belly dancing, promotion of her own books, and grading on quantity, not quality. If these are things you're looking for in a writing class, take a class with this lady! She didn't even give comments on anything (Autobiography).

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: CREATWTG1
• 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:

She wasa terrible teacher. She picked class favorites who got most of her time and attention, and gave us almost no instruction on how to improve our writing. Worse yet, Dr. Machan actually spent valuable class time trying to get us to buy pre-publication copies of her forthcoming poetry chapbook, "The Professor Poems!!"

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: WRTGKID
• 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:

Did a pathetic job attempting to teach Writing Children's Literature.

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

try to stay away from this one. class time is used poorly and there is little education going on here. i didnt care about a single assignment i turned in since we were graded on quantity not quality.