Donald Katzner - University of Massachusetts,Amherst, MA

Professor: Donald Katzner

Department: Economics

College: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• 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:

Very old school and his teaching is difficult to understand and is quite dry. He takes fairly simple, intuitive concepts and makes them incredibly confusing.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• 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:

This is the only class that I have ever taken where I feel like the professor wants you to fail. 4 quizzes worth 25 percent. Midterm worth 25 percent. Final worth 50 percent. That's it. Katzner thinks he is a great guy for giving you the questions beforehand but there are over 200 questions for an exam with 7 questions on it. Don't take this class.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• 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:

If you are a person who can't retain anything in lecture (especially with no powerpoints) then you should not take this class. Teaching yourself is impossible. I tried to go to lecture and teach myself but it didn't work. I went to discussion and just listened as people were talking about things I didn't know. Don't take this class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON203H
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Although this is probably the hardest class in the department, Prof. Katzner really strives to teach his students the material. He's a tough grader, but he's willing to answer any question and always hosts office hours. I'd recommend his class if you're willing to put in the time, but it will take a decent amount of time.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This is probably the hardest class in the department. In order to succeed, you almost need to attend office hours bc that's the only way to get clear cut answers to the study questions for the quizzes. There isn't any HW but there are 4 quizzes which are crucial down the road towards your grade. Tests are tough but if you study hard, you'll do well

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Katzner is very old school. When class starts he gets going and you better be sitting up front because he does not talk loud and does not use a microphone. If you can survive a couple weeks you can make it. Take very good notes and expect things to make sense when your TA explains it all. He knows micro econ very well.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Katzner teaches as if he's talking to a class full of students who know everything about economics. 4 quizzes, a midterm and a final, with the final being 50% of your grade. He gives all of the questions which will appear on the quizzes and the exams at the beginning itself. Only the TAs are helpful as they go over the questions and help understand

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

All the questions for the quizzes and exams are given to you from day 1 but its impractical to memorize everything. lectures are very stale and i stopped going after exam 1. I would say your ta is the most helpful person for this course. would highly avoid this class if possible because you're gonna have a longgg semester

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Econ 203 is a notoriously difficult class. However, Katzner makes it as clear cut as possible. He provides all the questions that will be on quizzes and Exams. He tends to explain material in terms of calculus which can get boring if your not interested by mathematics. If you attend discussion section, listen during lecture, study you can do well.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

It is impossible to pay attention in lecture and the tests and quizzes are incredibly hard. Only thing that would help is a new professor and grading/teaching style altogether. Sorry to everyone who has to take this but good luck!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Katzner is a smart guy, but his teaching style is archaic and he is awful at explaining the material. He makes every definition and theory seem more complicated than they actually are, and the course is extremely back heavy, with the final being worth 50% of your final grade. Do not take a class with him.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This is the worst class at UMass Amherst. His teaching is impossibly confusing. If you zone out for 20 seconds you'll be lost for the rest of the class. I stopped going after the first exam because it was unbearable. He is an incredibly smart dude that could not care less if you learn anything or have any idea what he's talking about.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He's an incredible guy, however his teaching is quite old-school and I find it be be fairly inaccessible for students who are not "traditional" learners. With only four quizzes and two exams it makes it difficult to get a good grade in this course when these are the main things determining your grade.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECON1203
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Katzner is a smart guy and a good professor but the course material is difficult to understand. There are 4 quizzes and a midterm and final. Attending lecture and discussion is necessary to pass. One of the most difficult classes I've ever taken. I have never studied so much for an exam as I did for the final. But all the material is given to you.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Katzner is a great professor and a smart guy, but has a very old style of teaching. He doesn't give homework, projects, papers, etc. There are four quizzes worth 100 points , a mid term worth 100, and a final worth 200 points. I got a 40 on the mid term and that counted as a C. Don't take this class if you plan on skipping and missing lecture

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

No homework assigned, do the study questions/problem sets posted online (there are an absurd amount) or prepare to get what appears to be a failing grade. Scaling is absurd, a 30 on the midterm was a C- . Still mid-semester so unsure of final scaling. Archaic teaching style, theories' real world relevance is never mentioned. ECON WEEDER COURSE

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This class really isn't that hard. Make sure you do well on your 4 quizes because those will really help your grade. I never bought the book and did well. It's also important to know the equations that go with each graph. The two exams aren't hard, but they are graded very tough. Make sure you label everything and go to class!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A great professor, very clear and easy to follow. The book helped but was not used very often. I didn't do much homework and passed with a B.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Katzner is clearly a very smart man, however he has an older style of teaching that is extremely inaccessible for students. The whole class is theory based, and its pretty much an hour or so of him whizzing across the black board, deriving different equations and graphs and not fully explaining how he got them or what their significance is.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ECON203
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Katzner is a pretty good professor. Everything is theory based. I just payed attention to the lectures and never bought the book. My TA did a good job on going more in depth to help explain the concepts. I don't think this class is very hard, but the final exam is graded very strictly so it's very difficult to get full credit. Do well on the quizes