Robert William Longair - University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Professor: Robert William Longair

Department: Biological Sciences

College: University of Calgary, Calgary, AB

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL591
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Field course. Awesome.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL567
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Longair is a wonderful prof but it is easy to underestimate how much you need to study for the midterm and how hard you need to work on assignments. The tests are all written but over all the class is on a fun topic so it isn't hard putting a bit more effort in.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL435
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Longair is hilarious. His lectures are great, he's a nice guy + gets to know you very well. You will enjoy the material he teaches just because of how he teaches it. Lots of videos which is awesome. His slides are thorough so you don't have to go to lecture, but they can get disorganized. Lab component is difficult. But a great class overall.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL205
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Only taught two weeks of the course, but he was super engaging, and didn't just take his slides right out of the textbook. Seemed like he actually wanted to be there and teach, which was refreshing. Midterm was more than fair. Sad that he didn't teach longer.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL205
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I had him for only 2 weeks as a prof for BIOL 205. Great prof! Funny, gets to the point and knows his stuff! He tests on really specific stuff- including numbers, dates and important people, but if you- like I did- attended all of his lectures and reviewed for an hour or two, the midterm was fine!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Excellent professor. He makes the lectures enjoyable by showing a lot of video clips, and he communicates the material with great enthusiasm. You can really tell he is passionate about the subject.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ZOO375
• 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:

Very fair prof, if you know the lecture notes well you'll be fine on the midterm and final..notes are very concise but is all you need to know, although going to class helps. Lab exams are harder but overall it's easy to do well in this course

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• 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:

Very interesting course if you like animals. Study the lecture notes and the lecture exams are fine. The lab exams are a lot harder and some questions on the lab exam can be very ambiguous. However, Dr. Longair made his lectures very interesting.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

really enjoyed learning about the content of the class but he is very hard to pay attention to. the lectures are boring and long and hes all over the place. very unorganized. didnt even finish the entire course but still tested it. overall not an easy A but achievable if you study. study for labs like you would a final!!!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL567
• 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:

Rob Longair is a really great prof but isn't one to hold your hand and teach the test. His lectures are usually interesting and he is very personable and approachable if you ever have questions are difficulties with the course. He is somewhat less than organized and he grades at a glacial pace but his marking is fair.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Didn't go fast enough to start, so burned through the last 8 lectures skipping tons of slides, still didn't even finish, but still tested on all material. Lab exams extremely difficult and detailed. Was interested in subject until I had this prof, made me hate zoology.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ZOO375
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

AVOID! This class is already so challenging because of the labs. He is really disorganized, his notes are all over the place and he always posts notes up late. The content is interesting and he shows a lot of nice videos but it requires A LOT of work! The lab midterm and final are harder than the lecture exams. Know everything! Memorize EVERYTHING

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL591
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Just finished BIOL 591 with Longair. The course was a TON of work but I enjoyed what we were doing. The professor is helpful if you ask intelligent questions but will not hold your hand as you go through the material. Thoroughly enjoyed the field course and would gladly take another course with Longair.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL435
• 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. Longair was pretty unorganized, but was very passionate about what he was teaching us. I found this helped, he was very helpful if you talked to him in his office, and had an overall fairly entertaining class!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL435
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Longair is super disorganized. I had a small class with him (~30 people) and it took him a month to mark our midterms. When I got it back there were marking mistakes all over it. He is the nicest man in the world, but a terrible prof.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL435
• 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:

....STAY AWAY!!! he was so disorganized. The midterm took him a month to mark and i still never did get an assignment mark back. The lab were so disorganized and had no clear concept....

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• 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:

Terrible! His notes are all over the place and he jumps around within topics....be ready to teach yourself. Also, the lab midterms and final are very very hard. Basically, memorize everything you have seen, even the most randon of things. Avoid him!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ZOO435
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor EVER. Never willing to help after class.. wouldn't show up to appointments I made. Terrible notes that were so brief and useless when studying... I attended every class and still struggled understanding. Incredibly unfair marking. Unless you like to teach yourself then I would not take any of his classes.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Passionate prof, however his notes are not very organized and make no sense when you are trying to study. The final was very detailed...but fair!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ZOOL375
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

His personality was great! He has a sense of humor too which makes coming to class not such a pain. He knows his stuff on the subject and you can tell that he's passionate about it. He used many examples and videos to keep class interesting. The only weakness in his teaching that I can think of are perhaps his notes. They can be quite messy.