Alan Shaffer - East Stroudsburg University

Professor: Alan Shaffer

Department: Chemistry

College: East Stroudsburg University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ORGANIC1
• Grade Received: F
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I got an A in Orgo 1, somehow now have an E in Orgo 2. Horrible teacher. Only teaches with old clear overhead slides, expects you to memorize the whole textbook for one quiz. Most people either drop his courses or fail. Even the other teachers on campus pity you when you say you're taking him.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ORGANIC1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

For Orgo l it was really hard because he went through the slides really fast and doesn't provide anything on D2L but if you're good at teaching yourself and your study skills are good then this class will be fairly easy. He is a very nice guy and very helpful, don't be shy to ask for help! He is very understanding.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: CHEM233
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I really enjoyed him over other chemistry professors I've had. His lectures can get a little boring, but he's always accessible outside of class to kindly help. He informs you of what will be on each quiz which is 15 points, but has 30 points available (15 extra credit points). The exams are also the quizzes with additional extra credit available.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: CHEM236
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

He does give a lot of extra credit, but its nearly impossible to get. He is very hard to rate because he is very nice and caring but he is not the best teacher. Always in his office, so thats good. But your basically teaching yourself

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ORGANIC1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great professor. Read the chapters to study for quizzes. He emails about the quizzes in detail, so you know what topics to focus on for studying. Quizzes are worth 15 points, but has 30 points available (15 extra credit points). The quizzes are also the exam (extra credit built in), so memorize quizzes!

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: CHEM236
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easy A. All you need to do is read the chapters and study for quizzes. Quizzes are graded out of 15 with 30 available points. This means the there are going to be 15 additional extra credit points possible for each quiz. Sometimes the quizzes are more than 30 points so more bonus points. Also the exam is the the 3 previous quizzes put together.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ORGANIC1
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Just reads powerpoints with info taken from the book. His lectures are basically him just reading the text book to the class. Doesnt do any examples on the board and he doesnt even try to have the class understand the material. Soooo boring. I wish i had a different professor.

Rating # 8

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Very good lab professor. Very helpful if you're not clear on something he explains. He's also a very nice person in general and one of the nicest professors at ESU. Overall take him for lab because you really do benefit from his instruction.

Rating # 9

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Dr. Shaffer is probably one of the nicest and most understanding professors on campus, he can occasionally get too involved in the specifics of the lab and not do the best job explaining the material but if you have a question he can clarify it for you, also very funny

Rating # 10

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Good teacher, really nice, but a bit boring. If this class is hard for you, don't get discouraged, not everyone is good at Organic chemistry because you have to be able to think about 3D shapes in your head or be really good at memorization.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: CHEM101
• 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:

he really needs to move into the 21st century and use the online resources that our tuition is paying for. impossible to copy down his pages of notes when his writing is barely recognizable and his lectures are 2 or 3 pages faster than anybody can write. Unless you have a really good understand of chemistry before you take this class avoid him.

Rating # 12

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

I found the class difficult because I didn't realize how different organic was from general chemistry. It wasn't until half way through orgo II that I caught on. Anyhoo, everything I learned in those two classes really helped in Org III.

Rating # 13

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Dr. Shaffer is a good professor but expects you to actually understand organic chemistry. I thought he was hard because at the time I didnt know what the heck I was doing but looking back I learned alot. He is helpful if you go to his office but dont expect to pass just by showing up for the lab. Overall he is a good professor.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: CHEM2LAB
• 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:

He is a nice guy but cannot teach for his life...especially not in lab. I would send him my reports before they were due, he would say they are fine, then take off 10 points for small things. He is smart, but should not be teaching. Does not give much extra credit in lab at all.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: CHEM101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He is dorky, but a VERY good professor. Gives you many opportunities to do well. He provides extra credit opportunities, and even if you do bad on his exams, show him that you care and he'll give you a good grade. Confusing content, tests based on exact wording of quizzes, but definitely take him if you want to pass chemistry!!!

Rating # 16

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Great Professor! Definetly taking him again for Orgo 2. Alot of work, but he is clear and gives you all his notes. If you are behind he will sit with you and go over everything, even let you make copies of his notes. Great teacher, memorize quizzes!!!!!

Rating # 17

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Dr. Shaffer expected work, graded hard but graded consistent. He gave extra points and was always available to help. Answered questions quickly and was willing to help out when you didn't know a technique. Too much work, but a nice guy!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: OCHEMLAB
• 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:

way too much work for a 1 credit class

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ORGANLAB
• 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:

nice guy...but gives alot of work and lab reports. try to avoid him for lab!

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Teacher used boring jokes, highly technical terms making info more confusing then book and wanted exact replications of drawings-so memorization was more important than comprehension of concepts to this ex-army graduate professor. I highly recommend taking another teacher for organic chemistry