Fred Joutz - George Washington University, Washington, DC

Professor: Fred Joutz

Department: Economics

College: George Washington University, Washington, DC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Avoid his class at all costs. Grading criteria is unclear, tests are way too difficult and there are way too many homework.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ECON102
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

tests makes absolutely no sense, no clear grading criteria whatsoever

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ECON1012
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

"I haven't taught this class for 20 years!" That was the first thing he said in the very first lecture. To be quite honest, macroeconomics is not too difficult and is more concept-based (which means less math more memorization). He forced students to buy Pearson ($120). Yet we never used MyEconLab. He reads off slides from Pearson and never explain

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ECON102
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was the most cursed class I've ever taken. The TA's grade the test uncharacteristically hard and the textbook is a literal joke. Do not take this class. Professor Joutz does not put in the amount of effort he should for this class. All of his powerpoint are made by the textbook and do not give clear formulas or definitions

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lectures do not help. He spends most of the time talking about his own life. Most of the learning that I obtained was through the textbook. There are the rare occasions that he does give a good lecture, so definitely still go to class. His tests are MC and short answer, but the MC are extremely vague. And he also curves grades down if he wants to.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He started the first lecture with "I haven't taught this class in 25 years." That's when I should have dropped. He is a terrible lecturer, often going on about totally irrelevant topics for 75% of the class. Tests aren't TOO difficult but I still did terrible because I can't self teach myself economics, which you'll end up doing. Save yourself.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

hes very unorganized, our syllabus changed at least 4x throughout the course of the semester. tests have misleading questions

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Really cares about his students, clear lectures!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

AVOID. He's unorganized and sparse with communication. Course ended 2 weeks ago and it's been 3 weeks since we've heard from him. The online tests were clearly not well planned--some are 30 questions, some are 60; some are given 120 minutes, some only 90 minutes (no-the longer tests and longer times don't correlate.) No feedback on grades yet.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Pr. Joutz does not give handouts. However, if you show that you actually care about economics and go to him with questions, he is very accommodating. He isn't the best lecturer, but he tries very hard to be engaging and cares about students as individuals. The final exam is difficult so prepare more than you think you'll need.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

AVOID HIM, there is noway that i am going to take this class again. He don't respond to emails and he is always right. Don't try to argue with him because you are going to fail. One exam 50% of the grade and it is cumulative. He gave us the final grade after 3 weeks of the the final.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• 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:

I think its about time GW upgrades from horrible professors like him. I dont know who allowed him to "teach" in the first place. Beware, he will make you lose interest in economics and fail you. If you are having trouble with anything, he will not respond until it becomes irrelevant. Please avoid.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He is the kind of professor that makes students pay for unnecessary online submissions instead of using Blackboard. He was a careless and unorganized professor. His dull and uninteresting lectures were impossible to stay awake at. He really shouldnt be allowed to teach. He is not accessible outside of classroom and wont respond to your emails.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ECON2102
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I lost my interests in Econ because of him. He doesn't know what he is talking about. He randomly talked about some random stuff which is not concerned with class material for the most of his class. He always assumes that we know everything about economics, which makes his lectures and class notes so unclear. Run from him before it's too late!!!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ECON195
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I don't recommend. Professor's bboard site is a huge mess.That's inefficient and risky, as you'll likely fail to find the assigned material. His syllabus is inexistent and the assignments impredictable. His grading style (tough) is inconsistent with his careless throughout the course. Ok he is a busy man, but the course is one of his duties.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ECON218
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Excellent course. I got my money's worth in this class. You have to want to learn not just coast through this course. It's not an easy course Professor Joutz expects you to understand all the material inside and out. He uses Blackboard heavily you can review all topics in lecture, handouts, and textbook.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

If you have to take intro level macro, Fred is your man. This guy focuses his lectures on GRAPHS, which speak volumes to the subject matter. Here's the selling point - he was actually unemployed at one point in his life. So unemployment is not just another economic concept to him, but a grieving social condition he wants you to understand.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not a great lecturer, as he himself will admit. Class was a bit boring, and tests were multiple choice so you had to memorize definitions and other useless info like that. Most questions were pretty tricky too. He also curves down the grades, and there's not much you can do about it either :-/

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This professor is not helpful. He did not even return my emails. He curves the grades down at the end if he wants to. BEWARE.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ECON012
• 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:

joutz is a nice guy. But his multiple choice questions are phrased in a way that makes them confusing, even if you know the material. This is a class that is acceptable for people who are familiar with econ, but for the others, a combination of the material and his phrasings makes it a nightmare.