Gerald Baier - University of British Columbia

Professor: Gerald Baier

Department: TBD

College: University of British Columbia

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Baier is an amazing lecturer, able to compose an entire presentation off the top of his head. He's super knowledgable and makes concepts really easy to understand. His exams were awesome in that they were great opportunities to apply the concepts we learned. Although it's seen as a pretty dry topic, he made Canadian gov't very interesting.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I was initially taking this class as an elective, but found that it was so interesting and informative that I would definitely want to take another POLI class in the future! He is consistently well-prepared for lectures, and his stories are very funny and engaging. Professor Baier is compassionate and fair, and uses current events to engage.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very engaging and accommodating

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Baier is a funny, charming and engaging professor! His personal stories and clear passion for Canadian politics makes the subject a little less boring for those who are taking it as a requirement, and his expansive knowledge informs students who are taking this class for interest. He was well-organized, and I didn't want to skip a class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Enthusiastic and engaging lecturer with an expansive knowledge of Canadian politics. Test formats and assignment expectations are clearly conveyed; although, are by no means marked leniently. Lecture attendance is key as it is worth 10%, and is tracked online.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• 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 prof! I took POLI 101 as my elective and I wasn't disappointed. I loved Professor Baier as a lecturer, he is very kind and funny and tries his best to relate to the students which can be amusing. He is incredibly passionate about Canadian politics, and even if you aren't, he will immediately engage you with his personal interest and stories.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• 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:

I loved taking Gerald's class in first year so much. He has a super charming and charismatic personality, and always kept his lectures engaging. This class sparked my interest in poli sci and led me to take upper year classes. I highly recommend this class - the prof is amazing and the course content is very applicable and important to learn!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Professor Baier is enthusiastic and makes the course easy to understand. He is also fair when it comes to attendance.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• 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:

Baier was a great prof who got stuck with a boring subject to teach. He managed to keep people relatively interested and is very very passionate. he told decent jokes and stories to keep the class entertained and truly cares about his students

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Easiest class I took, simply should be common knowledge for Canadians. Baier is super passionate and it shows. Lectures are boring however, but discussions are great and in depth. He does not communicate well with TA's however, and his use of in class technology is extensive but is often out of order or useless.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Super passionate about politics. He shared lots of little personal stories or facts about the political figures. I personally found his lecture style to be a bit boring. I feel like you have to have a genuine interest in politics to enjoy this class. Doesn't add much outside of textbook. 2 short writing assignments, 1 essay, participation + final.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A good prof plagued by a dull course, he still managed to be relatively engaging and keep the lecture somewhat entertaining. Attendance was mandatory for a participation grade, although as long as you're reading the textbook (a lot), you'll be fine for the tests and the writing assignments. TAs do all the marking, and they can be pretty tough.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Baier told decent jokes, and did a good job of keeping a boring class manageable. Most grading is done by TAs but it seems to be standardized. As long as you study a bit, his exams and papers are easy- but you won't feel confident until you're writing. He seems to genuinely want his students to enjoy and understand poli. Hard to get a hold of!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Entertaining and usually pretty engaging, rambles pretty often during lecture. His TAs are pretty tough markers both for assignments and tutorials though.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He rambles a bit in lectures, but he's actually pretty entertaining. Textbook is key to getting a good grade, his TAs mark brutally tough.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• 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: Not Mandatory

Comment:

HE'S A GOOD PROFESSOR BUT THE TA'S ARE REALLY HARD MARKERS. I ENJOYED THE CONTENT, BUT NOT EASY TO GET GOOD GRADES.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Follows the textbook religiously - it's definitely possible to pass without ever going to the lecture, although he's very engaging and worth going to listen to. The TAs mark brutally hard, don't be afraid to ask for it remarked from Baier. Pretty dry material but Baier's sense of humour definitely makes it more tolerable.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was really helpful. Very clear on the political concepts. Assigns long papers but exams are easy.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great prof, his passion for canadian politics is very evident and I appreciated his peppering of trivia and Canadian history and in-jokes to add some, shall we say, life to our political regime? As a canadian politics nerd I more than enjoyed it, but even for the uninitiated it is an engaging, and relatively easy class under his professorship.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: POLI101
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

super enthusiastic about the material, if you read the textbook you'll do super well in the class. He is really clear and sparks interest in a potentially dull subject.