Valerie Voorheis - University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Professor: Valerie Voorheis

Department: Economics

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON397CI
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Best Economics professor at umass! Never boring and easy. Skimmed through the books to make cheat sheets that are allowed during quizzes. Fun class

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON330
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Val is depth with Econ! I learned a lot in her class. Just go to lectures, read her slide and make notes!

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON330
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Lots of reading, but you can get away with not doing most of it. One individual class presentation. Instead of a final exam, there is a group project. Participation is a grade booster. Quizzes are open notes. Overall she is a nice teacher who grades pretty easy.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON104H
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She isn't a bad professor, just not the best. She reads all the information straight off the power point and goes on many tangents. If Economic policy and theory is tricky for you don't take it with her. There are two exams, a final and a few homework assignments so tests are basically your grade. Her lectures become confusing fast.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON331
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class is the easiest econ course. Didn't buy the books and barely went to class and am still doing well in the class. Val is the coolest and she lets you use cheat sheets for tests and the assignments are pretty much test questions. Attendance is extra credit. Don't get the books. Not boring lectures.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON331
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Really great lecturer and could actually keep my attention She lays out everything in the slides and it's pretty straightforward. No need to read the books just learn her slides. Exam questions are taken right from the assignments so if you study those you'll ace the exams. Only hard thing is a 95 is an A. Attendance is extra credit (sort of).

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: 394CI
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Val is the bomb! I learned a lot in her class. Tons of reading but if you show up and understand a few core concepts you dont really have to do all of it. 3 quizzes, 2 short papers(1-2 pages), one solo presentation and one group presentation.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON330
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Her lectures and discussion are all extra credit. She is loud, super opinionated and all over the place. Her lectures were only 50 min but they dragged on. Her tests aren't too hard but the material isn't that interesting. Also, you need a 95 to get an A which I think is unnecessary

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 104
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Valerie might annoy some people as she is very opinionated, but if you agree with her or if you just pay attention to the material itself you will learn pretty quickly. Got an A in this class without studying very much. She puts all the slides up online so you don't really need to go to class unless you want to hear it explained in person.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She's super friendly and posts all the lecture slides on moodle so you never actually have to show up

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECON105
• 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:

Val is super nice and the perfect professor for ECON 105. The class is basic (as it should it be) for a gen ed. I went to about 50% of lectures and did minimal to no studying and got an A-. If you need the gen ed or just want an easy class about economics then this is it.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Val is a good teacher who is knowledgable about the subject, but she sometimes gets carried away with other things during lecture & doesn't go over the important stuff as in depth. You don't really have to go to lecture b/c the slides are online. The exams are based on all of the homework and slides mostly, so if you follow along you should be set.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• 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:

Val is a pretty good teacher, she's kind and laid back. Lectures were ok, boring at times. Very easy class imo, many ppl skipped class almost everyday and still got an A(NOT recommended). No need to buy textbook, answers to problem sets were deducible via google, although the book probably would have helped. Exams are fair, on the easy side.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECON330
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Valerie is an excellent teacher, and I highly recommend her classes to anyone. There's a reason she won an award for being a distinguished professor. She covers the topics exhaustively and handles questions very well while keeping the course moving at a good pace. Easy but extremely helpful writing exercises, and no surprises on her tests. A+.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• 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:

This class wasn't that bad. There are 3 exams, 2 through the semester and 1 cumulative final. The second exam was hard, but the TAs were helpful if you don't understand something

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Val isn't a bad professor, just not my favorite. She makes class interesting, but most of the information she says in class is right off of the powerpoint slides or she goes on a random tangent about something. The first exam is ridiculously easy, but the second exam was impossible. TAs grade so they scale them. Mandatory discussions.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• 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:

Val is so cool! I love her lecture teaching style and she's really chill. Goes on rants sometimes but it's not a problem. Mid-terms are very similar to the study guides she publishes. Didn't read the textbook that much since she puts the powerpoint slides online.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I never went to class so I can't really comment on Valerie's teaching, but the tests were pretty easy and graded leniently. Doesn't explain the math too well, but I still got an A with little effort.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Test was ridicously easy.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ECON104
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Some students swear by her, I personally thought she was pretty unhelpful. She puts the powerpoints online which is somewhat useful but the tests involve you knowing the math. She's not available for office hours and the lectures are a waste of time. Go to the extra help before the final.