Max Utsler - University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Professor: Max Utsler

Department: Journalism

College: University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: JOUR620
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Max is one of the best professors I have had at KU. He is one of the few professors that will give it to you straight about working in the industry. He is extremely well connected and is a valuable resource in getting a good job post grad.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: JOUR304
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Max was one of the toughest professors I ever dealt with. His tends to ramble on unrelated topics during his lectures, making them seem long and boring. When it comes to actual journalism, though, my writing improved significantly because of him. Good journalist, okay teacher.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: JOUR540
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His grade scale makes absolutely zero sense. It seems as if he reads the name of the student at the top of the paper and then just gives you a grade based on whether he likes you or not. Didn't learn anything from his lectures, he just sort of throws out random facts in which majority of them are from 6-10 years ago. Terrible professor.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: JOUR620
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took Professor Utsler for Jour 620, TV-News class. He can be a little dry during lecture and a tough grader, but he is so helpful and knows his stuff (especially for broadcasting.) He is a great resource if you want help with an assignment or something like job searching

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: JOUR540
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Interesting class, half online half in lecture which was nice and different. Max is fine if you give him a chance, he tries his best to keep things fresh and enthusiastic. The class isn't the easiest but you have relatively little work to do and it's not too rough getting an A.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: JOUR301
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He sucks, I didn't learn much of anything from his lab, but lecture was key. He grades you the same on every assignment but doesn't really make clear what he is looking for or due dates. Don't recommend his lab but he's an okay guy.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: JOUR445
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Agree with comment saying Max decides A and B students at beginning of semester and then stays consistent. Unfortunately, I was a "B." Expectations are never clear, grading is unnecessarily harsh and then he wonders why nobody works hard to get involved.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: JOUR445
• 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:

He is crazy. He never tells you what his expectations are, but grade you poorly. Never gives feedbacks. Terrible guy

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: JOUR415
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

DONT BUY THE BOOK! There are reading assignments, but he never talks specifically about it during lecture and there are no tests. I'm sure it has handy tips in it, but it's not worth $75. Max's criticism is brutal, but I think you'll find that in any 415 class. To succeed, do more work than you think you should.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: JOUR435
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I had Max for Message Development Lab. He was extremely boring in lecture, and I felt most of the things he told us were common sense. He is not very helpful in lab, and does not tell you what he expects out of projects, then grades you lower on them. Very nice guy, but not a good teacher, he grades hard, without telling you what he wants.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: JOUR415
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He decides what he thinks of your work before he sees it..and then he stays with the style the whole year

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: 445
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Max decides which students are "A" students "B" students etc at the beginning of the semester. Then, he consistently grades them that way for the entire course.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: JOUR415
• 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:

Always available for help... Difficult prof though.

Rating # 14

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: J415
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Max doesn't look carefully at your work... make sure to impress him on the first assignment and he'll back off some for the rest of the semester.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: JOUR415
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: JOUR415
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

No Comments