Maureen Niwa-Heinen - Camosun College, Victoria, BC

Professor: Maureen Niwa-Heinen

Department: English

College: Camosun College, Victoria, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I was beyond excited to begin my semester with English. I have always exceeded in my English courses and I love a refresher. This prof is unorganized, unclear, will add things into your projects last minute, does not use D2L, and grades like youre in third year. If you can, avoid this prof at all costs.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG161
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Maureen really cares about her students and their learning. She is a fairly tough grader, but she is very accessible outside class and always offering additional help. You get to know a lot of the other students in this class compared to most uni classes which is really nice. There is quite a bit of homework and reading, but it is nicely spaced out

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Niwa is super passionate about English! She can be a bit scattered in her lectures but if you pay attention and ask question she gets the right info across to the students. If you have minimal writing skills going into the class I don't recommend it, but if you have some decent skills to begin with, she will be there to help you develop them.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENGL161
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Loved her selection of readings; nice mix of poems and "book club" novels. We went to see an actual play--very fun! Instructor is fair in her marking, and gives lots of guidance, tips, samples and instruction to complete the assignments. She knows how to support you when you are struggling, and is extremely motivating. I love lit a lot more now!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENGL161
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I am so grateful to have taken Maureen's class during my first semester at Camosun. She is passionate about English, extremely engaging during lectures, and makes the content feel relevant to all of her students from so many different backgrounds. I'm sorry I didn't take more classes with her!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENGL161
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Maureen gives conflicting instructions throughout her course. She does not have a rubric for grading. She seems to give you whatever grade she feels like in the moment and won't give you a reason. All major assignments are in the last few weeks of class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Also took ENG 161 with her. She gives good feedback but if you don't write like she does (dress ups, etc) it's wrong. She can be quite unclear as to what she wants out of an assignment and her thoughts are scattered. Classes are mandatory; she is hard to get a hold of via email and has few office hours. Have a question? ASK IN CLASS. Nice woman.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She gives great feedback on assignments. Learn from it! Strives for your improvement after every piece. Easy to get a hold of for feedback. Clear marking criteria. Textbook is a course pack she put together priced $25. All readings, examples, course relevant info included. Course leads to writing a proper research paper. NO FINAL EXAM

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Maureen was a great prof to have, especially for a first year course. She was super sweet and accommodating. She's pretty clear on what she expects for an assignment, and is a rather easy marker. I would definitely take her class again if I had the option.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor and very inspirational! She is funny and gives great feedback.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Maureen is an inspiring English teacher, gives clear feedback. Getting a solid mark is 100% possible if you follow the criteria and take risks, but It's not an automatic A if you don't work for it

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENGL161
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Maureen was a great teacher to have. If you're okay with overlapping assignments then you should do fine. Just show up to class and show her that you're putting in effort.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: 151
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Choose Niwa if you want a very relaxed prof who marked super easy. Her directions for assignments are confusing and she doesn't give much info on what she actually wants so that's annoying, but she doesn't mark hard so I didn't mind.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 161
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

FOR AN EASY A, GO WITH NIWA!!! Compared to all other profs, she is the easiest by far. Show up and look interested and you'll do great. She likes to overlap assignments though, so that was super annoying. But if you can, choose Niwa for sure!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: 151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Helpful and understanding when I was unable to hand in a small assignment on time due to a group project member slacking. Communicate with her if you are struggling. Great feedback, but if you take 151 with her, make sure you take 161 with her too, as Candace Fertile teaches the complete opposite of her, which was frustrating. Highly recommend!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENGL161
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Maureen is a very picky marker. Although the midterm was easy (and no final exam), she nitpicks all the writing assignments, even if you follow the very strict outlines that she gives out. Class time is mostly wasted. The one plus is that she is very passionate about English.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENGLISH151
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Maureen is an easy marker if you follow her outlines, add her 'dress ups' and use good transitions. If you attend class she couldn't make it any easier for you. Took her 'condensed' spring course. Bring a draft for your partner to give you feedback on then revise and hand in the next. Can't complain for one assignment per week due.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: 151002
• 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:

Maureen is such a sweet woman. Very positive and passionate in class. She focuses on essays more than lecture so its a learn as you go process. She selects great essay topics to ensure you are writing about things passionate to you.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• 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: Mandatory

Comment:

Quite friendly and the course is pretty easy if you did okay in high school English. If you're aiming for more than a B- though it's quite hard, since her instructions are unclear and she assigns many overlapping assignments. A word of advice to anyone who takes her class: do poorly on your writing sample assignment.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENG151
• 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:

One of the Nicest teachers you will ever have. Although I would recommend going to get 1 on 1 help with her, as she seems to teach better 1 on 1 than in a group setting. If you put in some form of effort into this class you'll do just fine. Remember to ask if you need help!, shes one of the best teachers at Camosun when it comes to actually helping