William Kroll - Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

Professor: William Kroll

Department: Biology

College: Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Kroll's class isn't easy, but he does that on purpose to really push you. I will admit, that if you want an easier professor, don't take him. Make sure you put a lot of effort into this class to pass. There are 3 exams that he will curve at the end, but they contain very specific questions that require a lot of studying.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOL320
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lots of studying, make sure you read the book and Powerpoints. 6 pop quizzes (announced), but drop lowest one. 4 exams, curved at the end if class average is low. Exams are very tricky. 5 Simutext assignments (similar to mastering). Very funny lectures, but you really need to study for this class to pass.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOL320
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Memorize everything you read and everything he says because even then you probably won't do great, this is a tough one. The material is very interesting though and Dr. Kroll is a good professor his tests are just really hard.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Listen this is how you succeed in this class. Buy the text book, read if throughly (and I mean know it, memorize it). Print out the lecture slides and write down notes DURING (go to class) lecture (sometimes lecture material isnt in book). Memorize both sets of notes and go to his office hours. Hes very nice, but its a hard class. Doable? Yes.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Unaccessible outside of class. Barely answered emails. Unwilling to help. Said wrong things in lectures. Unorganized. Forgot to post assignments. Made the material seem more complicated than it was. 4 exams made up most of the points. Exam questions were worded awkwardly. Made many mistakes on the exams. Didn't order correct books or all of them.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Kroll is nice, but his tests are much more difficult than other Biol 101 courses. He practically reads off his powerpoints, which often made lectures boring. However, he gives good feedback during his office hours. He also curved our final grades, since the class averages for exams were low.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Kroll is a very difficult teacher. His exams are around 75 questions every time and are nearly impossible. He also is not good at his lectures he just reads off the slides and confuses himself while teaching. You can read the textbook, go to SI sessions, and study for hours and you might get a C. Seems like a nice guy but is very difficult.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOL320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Material was great, Professor not so much. Lectures are hard to follow. Questions on exams worded so they are difficult to understand. Addl book required, but available online through the library. SimUText req. Make sure you have the current version of the textbook regardless of what youre told. Overall unorganized and unnecessarily complicated.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Do yourself a favor and stay clear from Dr. Kroll. His lectures are really hard to follow, his exams are usually around 75 questions and are extremely specific. You could go to all of the SI sessions, read the biology book front to back, and do all the mastering biology assignments and still fail. He is also really difficult to meet with.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I love Dr. Kroll! Yeah his tests are hard, but he curved everyone's exam by 10 points! He goes into great depth and gives good advice on what you need to know for the exams. If you bomb exams, you have the mastering assignments and quizzes to help you. He may go off topic a bit, but he always has corny dad jokes to share and I love it. Take him!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO112
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Kroll tries to tie his lectures to real world scenarios, which I appreciate! However his exams and quizzes were hard because they were all fill in the blank and harshly graded for anything a little but off

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Lecture attendance is not mandatory. He does have random quizzes that he announces in class so make sure to stay up to date. His exam and quiz content is awful and does not correlate with the material covered in lecture or the slides provided. There was no hw so your grades are calculated only through exams and quizzes, only final grades are posted

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO320
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Kroll is the only option for animal behavior, but hes really not all that bad. Goofy guy, makes good jokes. His only problem is that the language he uses on exams is harder to decipher than the material it is concerning. The actual material is easy and enjoyable but trying to determine what he is asking and the difference in the MC answers sucks.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He literally reads off of the slide. I took AP Bio last year and passed the test but I didn't want to be ill-prepared for my future bio courses and I wanted to boost my gpa a little bit. Bad idea. His exams are never straight forward and require critical thinking. Keep in mind I passed the AP exam and still got a B+ even after I studied so much.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOL101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He always gives good feedback, is available for office hours, and will answer student's questions very in depth. He likes to talk about his cats which is cute. However, I wish he would explain concepts more uniquely in lecture instead of reading off the slide.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO102
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Kroll is very intelligent and I think his ramblings are actually beneficial in getting a deeper understanding of biology but its not needed for the exam and takes up time. Lectures help but you need to read the pages listed in his syllabus. 3 exams with difficult application questions. His teachings help with the broad concepts but you need to read

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO102
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Kroll is a relatively funny guy but as far as his teaching method is concerned, you're better off just reading the textbook and then looking over his powerpoints rather than listening to what he has to say. Make sure to do the Mastering hw because it could save your grade if you are bombing the quizzes.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL102
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I feel extreme pity for you if you are stuck with this professor as I was. He rambles about random things that don't pertain to biology and puts information not discussed in class on quizzes and exams. He is very rude when you ask questions, often times not answering or saying "I don't know." Save your GPA & DO NOT TAKE! Avoid at all costs.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL320
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Kroll is an interesting lecturer and is very clear about what information will be on exams. He is genuinely interested in the subject matter and in his students. He added extra assignments throughout the course but the assignments were simple and aided in the understanding the application of the topics. Beware of corny jokes.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO320
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Took Kroll for General Biology and loved him and got an A. So, i took him for animal behavior and it was awful. His exams cover very little from his lectures and the books so average grades were just above a D. Weekly forum posts, 3 exams and a non-cumul final, quizzes (lowest dropped), and Sim-u text assignments (like mastering). Try not to take.