Vern Paetkau - University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Professor: Vern Paetkau

Department: Biochemistry

College: University of Victoria, Victoria, BC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300B
• 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:

Test were difficult but fine if you study hard. Lectures are great, provided powerpoints to print out so you can follow along and write notes on them in the lectures.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: MIC303
• 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: N/A

Comment:

This prof is kind but his teaching is bad. Midterm was so unreasonable and beyond the scope of microbiology. Final was brutal! This prof is dumb and has bad memory.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His positive points are: well-dressed, funny, admirable grammar and vocabulary. None of these points have anything to do with teaching however. His lectures have quite a bit of information, but very little underlying structure. The best thing to do in this course is not only attend lecture, but also read the textbook closely.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Basically clear lectures that teach you only half what whill actually be tested. Rather rude in person. Does make the class semi-interesting. Overall the best way to describe Vern is, he isn't the worst prof at UVIC.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Basically clear lectures that teach you only half what whill actually be tested. Rather rude in person. Does make the class semi-interesting. Overall the best way to describe Vern is, he isn't the worst prof at UVIC.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Although I learned some hilarious quotes from Vern...well that's about all i learned. IN bioc 300A, i showed up to every class and got a lower mark than 300B, where I showed up to none. His exams are way too short... so if you get one little thing wrong, it's worth a LOT

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOCFO1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Basically this guy is a jerk, so be glad that he is retired. If you ask him a question all he does is make you look like an idiot or pretends that he doesn't know what you are talking about. Yes, of course, this is funny when he does it to other student, but let say he is an ass. Furthermore, his tests do not encompass everything he teaches.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Biochemistry GURU! Pure Genius.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300B
• 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 prof ever... exams are extremly unfair.. if you make a simple calculation mistake, you will lose 10% of the total mark.. he doen't really know his materials.. not a smart guy.. buckley is even better... Vern RETIRE!!!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His lectures are very very well done, everything is clear and he goes at the perfect pace to be able to write everything he says down. Tests are fair, and correlate perfectly with his practice questions (DO THE TEXTBOOK ONES TOO). Whatever you do, do not ask him questions though; you will be chewed out. A great prof kept at arms length.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300B
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

WTF, this class is brutally hard. Paetkau tries to make it interesting, but his lectures don't correlate to what you need to know for the tests. His exams are horrid, it's not about knowing the material its about knowing the trivia question details. Do well on the midterms cos the final is worse.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• 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:

Funny guy in class- attempting to make it interesting....liked him until i went to ask him a question to which he replied that "no" i could not ask one little question because "too many students want to ask one little question"...imagine that? it's not your job or anything??!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Tough Class, Paetkau made it intresting with fun facts. Tests were pretty hard, but the questions he provided were very helpful

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• 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:

Paetkau likes to test on random details out of the text book. He doesn't ask concept or theory questions. So rely on luck for what to study!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOCHEM300
• 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:

It doesn't seem like he cares about how well his students do, or how much they learn.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very hard course. But, if you put the effort in, you will be rewarded.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIOCHEM300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

PAINFUL PAINFUL course....but you learn soooo much - if your commited enough, you'll get more out of this course than anything else at UVic....Paetkau is a good guy, straight forward, somewhat interesting to listen too...tests are fair, but tough....be prepared to WORK and work hard!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He's a really nice guy, and will help you during office hours, but as a lecturer he falls flat. His lectures don't flow very well. It could be the dry material, but he presents it in a boring, scattered way. Tests are, however, straight from the text, and his practice questions are helpful.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not the best prof in the classroom, but outside of the class he's pretty great. A really nice guy overall, and wants his students to do well (not that they will, with the way this course is). But he's trying to make it better. Nice prof in an ugly course

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOC300
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worse than Buckley! Exams: if answer is correct, but not on grading sheet, you get 0 (ask him). Shocked by exams, didn't know what he specifically wanted. He told someone (privately) to skip lectures and read the text instead. Nice guy, though.