Randall (Scott) Babcock - Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

Professor: Randall (Scott) Babcock

Department: Geology

College: Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• 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:

Really fun, interesting class! I'd recommend it for a science GUR. He has awesome lectures, too & always adds in personal experiences from his travels, which is always fun to hear. It's not the easiest class (mostly the labs are tough) but if you work hard you'll do just fine.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Definitely easy, he allows a page of notes on tests and tells you what each question on test is about but the questions are usually pretty vague and the answers don't make sense. He speks really quietly, which is annoying. Not a very good lecturer but he has been pretty much everywhere and so has some cool pictures.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Good professor, he's traveled a lot and will show plenty of pictures during lecture. If you come to class and make sure you know what he tells you will be on the test you'll do fine.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• 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:

For some reason this class was challenging. Whats funny is he tells you what every question on the test is going to be, but when it came time to take the test they were obscure and didn't really line up with what he said. Also, my TA was AWFULL!

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Ill be honest, unfortunately I did not attend class all that much because all of the slides are online and all he does is go over them. But i liked his sense of humor and he tells you what questions will be on the test and lets you bring a sheet of paper for reference. Good Teacher

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Never misses class, tests straight forward, allowed study sheets for exams, great prof, recommended to attend classes, helpful with questions. Good class, but it can be boring. Pay attention for an easy A, but there requires some effort.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I really liked Babcock, mostly because it was a stress free lecture class. I got the misfortune of getting an AWEFUL t.a for the lab part... stay away from Joel B. But like someone else mentioned, you get to have a page of notes, and he tells you what's broadly on the test. I never went to class and got an A on the first exam.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• 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:

Babcock knows what he's talking about. His lectures can be boring and he speaks too fast to take good notes. Thankfully his powerpoints are online, so you don't even need to go to class to get the lecture information. He tells you what each question on his tests is about and lets you use a note sheet on the test. Overall, he's a great teacher.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Babcock used to be an expedition leader for NatGeo so his lectures are full of super cool pics. Exams can be hard, but he curves them. Ending grade = best 2 out of 3 exams (3rd is optional, so if you do well you don't have to take the final). Went to class probably 60% of the time and got an A. Hands out 10pts E.C. fridays before long weekends!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: GEO462
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

AWESOME TEACHER AND CLASS. he really cares about his students and the powerpoints he makes are amazing. No textbook, just listen to what he says and you will understand the material in the class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Overall class was boring but his lectures only last 25-30 minutes or so. The class period before the test he tells you what each question is going to be about but his clues are very broad. There are always ten pictures, so when he gives you the clues for those make sure you look over that part of his powerpoints. Boring but not too hard.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GEOL414
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

GREAT summer course! Highly recommended. Weekend field trips and camping, then you compile a thorough geologic guide to everything you visited. It was a lot of work to compile, so it's not an "easy A", but the course is really fun. Scott is super laid-back and knows everything about every rock, bug, start, plant, or world dictator.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Most boring teacher I've had to date. His lectures and powerpoints are super boring. He rushes through 100 slides in 20 mins which means you can't even take notes in his class. For test, he lets you have a 8 x 11 double sided cheat sheet and the day before the test, he will tell you whats exactly on the test question for question.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• 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:

Proffessor Babcock is an awesome teacher. His lectures are full of pictures, and they are pretty interesting for the most part. The only problem is that he goes too fast to take notes on all the slides, so I recommend going over the powerpoint after class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst prof i've had yet.Doesn't actually teach in class.Just reads through powerpoint slides way too fast for anyone to take notes.Easier to take notes from online. Does test review by going though every question on the test and telling us what its on. Yet somehow everyone still seems to do very bad. Good curve which helps. Learned far more in lab.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

A 50 min class turns into a 20-30 min lecture most days. Lecture is mostly him showing pictures of places he's been pertaining to the geologic landform/situation/whatever that is being talked about--which is cool, but not helpful. Zips through the powerpoint, so no use in taking notes until after class. I recommend reading the textbook instead.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's great, kind of funny, but really knows his stuff. I'm pretty sure he's the dept. chair or something. It's definitely easier than CHEM 121 for a GUR. Make the most of your dbl-sided note page and get a group together to study. He's really helpful, but goes through the PP slides pretty fast, so print them before coming to class!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GEOL101
• 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:

Powerpoints are okay and he puts them online to attendance is not mandatory, but make sure to go during test review, and also make sure to organize a good study group before each test because he lets you make a double-sided typed notes page for the tests, which are difficult.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great prof. His lectures aren't always interesting, but when he shows the pictures from all the amazing places he has been it makes it really cool. He works for National Geo and I wish i had his job. Definitely reccommend. Easy class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GEO101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Fabulous guy- amazing career! his powerpoints are great but tests are WAY HARDER then you think they'd be! SUPER hard tests and the labs are SO STUPID and annoying! I liked the lecture not the labs.