Neil Polans - Northern Illinois University

Professor: Neil Polans

Department: TBD

College: Northern Illinois University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Pay attention to all of his details during lecture. That is what he tests you on. The book is not very useful as he uses his own notes that you need to copy at the beginning of the semester. Without them, you will be lost. Good luck!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Polans is a great teacher, and you can learn a lot if you want. No tests, just bi-weekly quizes, with extra credit on each. Not hard at all to do well if you somewhat try. Lab sucks because its long and always on your mind, but its not actually very difficult.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lab Sucks the big one. Dr. Polans is helpful, and his quizzes are a bit tricky, but there is EC on every one of them. take your time, and good luck in lab, because it blows.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really nice guy, always willing to help out, and excited to have people at his office hours. His quizzes are pretty hard, very detailed oriented, but if you pay attention and review the study guides he hands out before hand you will be fine. He also gives 12-13 questions, with 2-3 of them being EC. Lab is pretty bad, but get Annie, she is great.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOS103
• 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:

He is well intentioned and knowledgeable on the subject. The book could be useful, but often his tests cover obscure facts he mentions in class once. He also plays games on his tests instead of testing the facts. He jumps all over the place and uses old data in alot of his slides. But, He gives lots of EC, so you can get an A. BIG HINT:go to class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• 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:

Incredibly nice and very helpful professor.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Polans is one of the best teachers at this college. He is very clear and knows how to teach concepts very well. I liked having the 6 quizzes instead of tests, it keeps the information for being overwhelming. *THE LAB IS THE WORST CLASS EVER* I would quit college and life if I had to take it again. Get in Annie's lab section though for sure!

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Horrible, thats what i say, his tests all have extra credit yes, but he tests on things which he is not very clear on. His tests are meant to trick you and he even admits he misses some of the questions! I would recomend taking this class with someone else. His TA Anni is very helpful and makes the lab somewhat bearable, if possible getin herlab

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher--his class is very organized, you'll know exactly what to expect the entire semester. your grade is based on 7 quizzes--they're detail oriented and can be hard, but EC offered on all of them. I recommend focusing all your energy on taking good/detailed notes from his lectures,supplement w/ book--also, lab seems BAD but becomes routine

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOS208
• 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:

he knows his stuff--explains everything in super extreme detail, graphs/pictures etc. for every concept, but it makes for pretty comprehensive understanding-he's very helpful if you are confused-6 shorter "quizzes" instead of 3-4 exams-kind of hard, but there are 78 pts offered on each one, and a 72 is an A...overall good teacher, didnt use book

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class helped me tremendously in understanding Biology. He's a very good lecturer, and is helpful outside of class. The quizzes are somewhat tough, but not if you're careful. Plus he offers extra credit on every quiz. I have a lot of respect for him.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

great guy, funny, amazing teacher, and knows how to convey the material. you couldn't ask for a better teacher... p.s. the lab is terrible!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Excellent teacher- best I have had at NIU. Very clear on his expectations, his notes etc. Tests can be slighlty tricky, but not beyond a thinking mind... Well paced. Full of interesting kind of humor - not laughable outside the class, but deadly funny during lecture. Very helpful outside the class, too. Highly recommend!

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 4
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308GENETICS
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Very good teacher - he was very organized and clear. He provided excellent study outlines for the quizzes and the final exam, letting you know exactly what you will have to demonstrate understanding of. He is pretty tough but it's worth it because you will learn a lot from him.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Excellent teacher! Makes the material interesting and easy to learn. Also throws in some nuggets of humor to make things fun. USED THE WORD CAHOOTS!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GENETICSBIO308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

not bad of a class. good teaching style, helpful, and makes the class challenging yet enough not to kill us.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOS308
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Very organized and clear. If you expect to have the professor write the notes so you can copy them, go back to grade school! The class is paced slowly so the student can get all the important material down. All material on quizes is emphasized in lecture. Quite possible to get 100% in lecture.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO208209
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

drones on in a monotone voice, puttin you to sleep; too much material in too much detail on the "quizzes" every other week; not good notes - copy 200 pages of overheads instead of bindin them in a book; alot of which you dont use; as a bio major his class was terrible

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

While he is boring, he clearly exhibits mastery of the material and is there to teach. A little dedication from the student goes a long way. If you are not there to learn, go work at Mcdonald's