Elizabeth McCain - Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA

Professor: Elizabeth McCain

Department: Biology

College: Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIO240
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I find Dr. McCain to be a really great professor, especially in the upper level classes. I had her for Developmental Biology and you could tell how enthusiastic she is about the material. She only wants you to succeed and if you go to her office hours she is very helpful!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Often got caught in lecture making mistakes. Wastes a lot of lecture time, poorly written exam questions that make you guess whether you should consider the technicalities or not. Not a good prof for intro bio sequence, but I heard she is very good in upper level courses (no confirmation on that)

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain's lectures are confusing, and filled with questions that she tends to skip and never come back to. And if she does ask a question, she "doesn't actually know the answer" to it. Very sweet woman, but a difficult lecturer. If you want to pass her class, get familiar with your LA's and workshops, and be prepared to teach yourself.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• 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:

She is the absolute worst teacher ive ever had, no exaggeration. Her Catchphrases include: "I dont know", "Wait i messed up", and she generally terrible.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain is a very nice and understanding woman, but her lectures are very hard to understand and can be a complete mess. She is very unclear with certain topics and confuses most of the students.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Poor lecturer. Dont bother asking questions in class because she either wont know the answer, or will tell you the wrong answer. Prepare to become best friends with your textbook, because youre going to be teaching yourself. Shes a nice person I guess, she just cant teach.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very poor teacher. Nice as a professor but bad lecturer.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The last two comments are spot on. Very nice, sweet woman. Her lectures are a mess and people leave upset and confused. Students generally find BIOII material extremely interesting, but she explains it in an extremely concluded manner that makes it hard to enjoy. Her test questions are poorly written and ambiguous.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

poor teaching style, wasn't extremely enthusiastic and wasn't the best teacher did not suit my learning style should not be head of department.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain is an extremely nice professor, but unfortunately her teaching is the opposite. She is unclear about different concepts she goes over in lecture and will leave you with a headache at the end of every class because you won't understand 99% of what she was talking about. Its very hard to do well in her class.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain is very nice and extremely good in her specific field. But, when she taught General BIO II in the big lecture hall she seemed nervous and unsure in the material that wasn't her field. Also, sometimes her lecture andor test questions were unclear. She was fair though and removed questions that were unclear.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO423
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain is hands down one of the best on campus. Though tough when teaching BioII, her upperclass classes are amazing! TAKE SEM AND HISTOLOGY IF YOU CAN!! I have learned more from her classes than anywhere else in the department or on campus. Lots of work but clear and if you do it well you should get an A.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIO400
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I have had McCain over 3 times. She demands a heavy workload and a lot of study hours to succeed, but her tests are clear and reflect anything she goes over in lecture. There will never be anything on a test that has not been in one of her powerpoints. Many rate her poorly because of her intensity when teaching Bio II weeding out many pre-meds.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Her class is like going into a biological heavyweight boxing match. The work load is heavy and the tests are tricky and microscopic. Though, I have not learned more in a 50 minute time span. Her knowledge is extensive and contagious. She is clear in her lecture style and expectations. Work hard, study excessively, & aim high and it should pay off.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO360
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

May appear to many to be peevish, however she is one of the best and most helpful teachers at the Berg.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. McCain is a solid professor. She is clear and concise during lecture and she tries not to overwhelm her students with details. She was more than willing to answer questions and her tests were fair.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

These ratings are completely off. Dr. McCain is judged wrongly because of her difficulty. She is the clearest and best teacher I have ever had in my life. She explains biology with finesse; a gem in the biology department. I have learned so much & been challenged in the process. I can see my own growth as a student. Endless thanks to Dr. McCain!!!!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: DEVBIO
• 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:

Dr. Mccain is a great professor. very nice and always willing to help. good lectures and she is good at making material easy to understand. Very fair but challenging exams.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• 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:

The course material is about the same as Bio 1, but McCain seems unaware of her incompetence. She regularly disagrees with the book and her own slides, and never answers questions fully when asked. She appears to know her information, but has no idea of how to express her knowledge, which makes her a frustrating professor.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO151
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

horrible professor. difficult class that was not interesting.