Weixin Cheng - University of California Santa Cruz

Professor: Weixin Cheng

Department: TBD

College: University of California Santa Cruz

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He has a fairly heavy accent, which makes lectures hard to process at first. You get used to it after a few lectures though. He is very knowledgeable and cares about the subject. Every lecture he has you write a short summary that is worth a decent amount of your grade. It's very simple; pretty much free points if you show up. Easy class mostly.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't speak very clear English, making it hard to follow along. Further more, his lectures were pretty dry and hard to stay awake in. There was a fair amount of reading but it felt like the book was doing all the teaching for him. This class made me want to switch out of the ENVS major. He is very sweet though

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

If you like documentaries that are science based and are at least slightly aware of what is going on in the world - this class is easy. I showed up on Tues/Thurs and took his participation summaries and easy weekly quizzes and passed with an A. There's some chem to learn but nothing too complex. Cheerful professor and loves his students/class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The lectures are pretty dry and boring but if you pay attention and attend lectures and follow along his notes (which are really unorganized organized strangely) you should do fine. The textbook isn't really needed unless you really want to go above and beyond, his lecture notes should be good enough. He's really nice and loves doing what he does

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Seems like a nice guy but he was very difficult to understand and not that interesting. Would probably be a little better in a smaller environment but definitely not for a large lecture class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Weixin was extremely difficult to understand, which made the class dull and uninteresting. The subject itself is not exactly thrilling, so having a professor add to that made it nearly unbearable. He gives pop class summaries once a week. I thoroughly disliked his class. Tests focused on seemingly unimportant information

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• 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:

The class was alright, during lecture he would usually dwell on complicated graphs that we don't actually need to understand for the midterm or final. The material was more Earth Science based than Chemistry based. He gives weekly online quizzes and random weekly short summaries during lecture. He helps you a lot during office hours.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

His accent is very strong and hard to understand. Classes are not too necessary since his lectures aren't that helpful and he posts them online. only reason to go to class is for the quizzes. His tests are a bit tough but he curves them. Not one of the most significant classes that i've taken.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I really enjoyed this class. Yes, it was pretty basic knowledge but nonetheless a great prereq for the major. Cheng is very passionate about teaching. The online quizzes are helpful & boost your grade quite a bit if you do them well. Tests were fair. I really loved him as a teacher. He is kind, open to questions, & passionate about what he does.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I am an ENVS major and am pretty passionate about the environment. That said, this class was a waste of my time. It felt similar to beginner level high school earth science. Weixan was unorganized and his english (speaking and writing) was terrible. It seemed like he just quoted Al Gore in his lectures the whole time. Take chem instead please.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

To be honest, he seems like a really nice guy, but this just didn't work. His lectures and notes were horribly organized, and very confusing, even with simple ideas. Additionally, he's not a very good speaker- all monotone, reads the notes practically verbatim (even the charts and stats). I'm an ENVS major and I LOVE ENVS, but this was torturous.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Completely incompressible. He is a scientist to a teacher. His english is horrific, his test are near impossible to study for and he has no format what so ever. Unless you research it, the significance of the class is hard to grasp in relation to environmental studies. Take this at a CC, dont waste your money on this class. Worst UC Class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENVS168
• 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:

if you like envs 23 take this class. cheng is as usual a great professor, the class isn't too hard and its very interesting!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• 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:

awesome class if you are into the environment. cheng is a really great professor and extremely passionate! expect to have to study a lot for the midterm and final

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENVS161
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I want my money back! Weixin is capable of a good / passionate lecture- I saw him do it ONCE (when discussing his own research) This makes the rest of his uninspired, formulaic lectures all the more unforgiveable. He didn't even bother to provide study material for the final. UC- this man is a researcher, not a teacher.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENVS161
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Whoever said that Weixin has heart is right on...super passionate and excited about what he's teaching. Although hard to understand at times this is a teacher that makes you want to go to class, sit and listen every single day.I strongly recommend this class if you're at all interested in soils as it isn't challenging and you can learn a lot

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENVS161
• 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:

Boring. Talks too quietly, has an accent. Doesn't respond to e-mails. Essay prompts and other assignment details very vague. Tests aren't too hard, in spite of it all. Did I mention boring? VERY boring. Don't take this one it unless you're already totally into soil systems.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• 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:

Prof. Cheng was very prepared and cares deeply about his subject, But his lectures are rather dull. Sometimes its difficult to understand him, but he is very accessible and cares for the level of his students' success

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• 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:

Prof. Cheng has HEART. He loves the environment and it shows. All the notes are online which makes it easier to review for the midterm and final. Go to office hours and get to know him! Class is medium on the easy/hard scale. You do need to study but a lot of the material builds on itself so that helps. Take his class!

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENVS23
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Midterm was fair but easier than the final, notes were not hard to understand and he puts the lectures online so you don't have to go to class. The only problem I had was his thick accent- some words he says don't make any sense. Other than that, he is pretty funny and tells jokes about other teachers that no one gets but laughs anyway.