David Gard - University of Utah

Professor: David Gard

Department: TBD

College: University of Utah

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2320
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst teacher at the U. I wish I could use selective language to describe this piss poor excuse of a teacher. So glad hes retiring. He literally screwed over the last 7000 students he taught. Because of him we learned absolutely nothing.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Plan on taking this class with other difficult classes? Dont. This class requires extensive hours of studying, doing practice problem sets, and essentially memorizing everything on lecture slides. Unless youre blessed with being able to memorize a million different things, I would advise taking this class with another professor.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Print out/ get the notes accessible so that while you are in his class you can add notes and comments that he says during lecture. Don't buy the textbook, just study the slides and do the problem sets he gives and you will be fine.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

David Gard is a great professor. Although the class is intensive and a lot of complex information is given throughout the semester about cell biology, I have by far never learned so much in one semester and enjoyed doing so in the mean time. He has great lectures, is humorous and silly, and only wishing for his students to think outside the box.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

A decent lecturer, it's nice that his slides are all online. But, he teaches way too in depth for such a broad subject so it's hard to study for. The textbook is useless but his problem sets are kinda helpful. For all the information presented in class, it felt more like a 4 credit hour class than a 3 credit hour class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Gard is hands down the worst professor I have ever had. A strong biochemistry background won't help you in his class because his lectures are so unhelpful and his slides are disorganized and confusing. Testing and grading are unclear and you will only be graded on tests. DO NOT TAKE FROM HIM!!!! The sad part, Gard didn't seem to care.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Goes into unnecessary amount of detail. The slides were sometimes hard to understand. Use the previous semester's exams that he posts to know what to expect and actually print out a blank copy and do them yourself. This class is purely based on how much information u can retain. He offers minimal resources besides the slides and the unhelpful text

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIO2010
• 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:

Gard grades only on 4 tests and each is harder than the last. There are no assignments so your grade depends entirely on these tests. He shares lecture slides and tests you on them yet the tests are nothing like the slides. He is unclear in his directions and does not give feedback on anything. Office hours I attended were useless.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Writing exam answers in my own words was not helpful you have to memorize the words he uses in his lecture slides or answer keys. Dont purchase the book! Just go to his lecture and use lecture notes. Write with an erasable pen for exams becuase TA's will misgrade you! This class was my lowest grade in my 3 years of college! It made me hate biology!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2020
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dave is a great professor who knows a lot about Cell Biology, but he likes to go into detail that I don't think I will need. There is no assigned homework for the class, but I suggest you do the after lecture assignments. Previous year exams are the best way to study for upcoming exams, so make sure you do them, even if you do nothing else.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really hope the people writing negative reviews about how hard it is are not taking the MCAT. Material was reasonable, clearly presented, and unbelievably interesting. Albeit Gard is a strange cat, he definitely knows his stuff. The question sets are kinda long, but if you do them there won't be anything you don't recognize on the exams.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. A massive waste of time. Gard is rude and his lectures are absolutely painful. He reads directly off of his unorganized slides. His grading is ridiculous. Even if the entire class gets in the 90's (knows the material) less than 1/5 of them get an A- or A, others B/C. Memorize everything or you will not get a good grade.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2020
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor that I have had so far. Prof Gard complained that the first exam average was too high and couldn't care less about his students. The midterms assess your ability to acquire past exams and memorize them, rather than fairly test your knowledge on the subject, as the questions are so tough and otherwise unpredictable. Avoid.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

worst professor! period.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIO2310
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hmm how to properly explain Professor Gard. He is a driven intelligent man that loves biology. Though he has endless libraries of knowledge on biology he should not be teaching cell Bio. We are all student learning the subject not doctorates of biology. Tests were written as if we all had PHDs and could explain the deepest details of cell bio! Run!

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dave is an excellent professor- one of my favorites at the U. He essentially hands you a good grade. All you have to do is work to get it. Tests are straight forward and he grades them fairly. He's always available for students and loves to answer questions. If you're serious about biology you'll love his class.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Arguably one of the worst professors at this university. He does not test on what he teaches. Four exams that determine your entire grade with a terrible curve (5% get A's every semester no matter how the class performs). Boring lecturer and never tells you what you need to know for the exams. Past exams are your only hope for this class.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Possibly the worst professor that I have ever had in my career as a student and I don't say this lightly. Lectures are dry and tough to follow, pop quizzes are useless in your overall grade, and he teaches as though you should already know what he is talking about. If you value your time and GPA I would recommend not taking his class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIOL2020
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Gard is an engaging lecturer who presents material extremely well, welcomes questions, and provides good feedback; he doesn't always do the best job of communicating what he wants you to emphasize in your studying for his exams, though -- really, it's safest to just memorize it all.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIO2020
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Gard is very boring, but attend lectures for easy pop quizzes (group effort). The entire class is based on 4 exams. Look at previous practice problems and old exams (he takes a LOT of questions and similar ideas off of these). DON'T waste time reading the textbook, just memorize the slides.