Robert Ratzlaff - Old Dominion University

Professor: Robert Ratzlaff

Department: TBD

College: Old Dominion University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: 423W
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Video lectures of slides w/ many words but no retainable info. Ratzlaff talks about extremely arbitrary things he feels the need to note but aren't relevant. EXTREMELY hard exams, 40 questions in 50 minutes & almost entirely select-all-that-apply (6-7 answer options). VERY nit-picky in his writing requirements - had a list of words we couldn't use.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: 302BIOL
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Honestly was a terrible class. Not worth the effort. He does minimal on his power points and expects everyone to know everything on his slides. Not worth the gpa drop, and is way to much for the credit hours of this course.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: BIOL302
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Ratzlafs powerpoints are painfully unorganized and extremely boring. He does not make the class easier in any way for his students by only grading off exams and giving no outside help (homework, practice problems). We are basically teaching ourselves this semester and he wants a 95% for an A?? Ridiculous

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ratzlaff grades solely on three tests. Test questions are from information lectured on in class. His lectures seem scattered and unorganized at times. If you don't retain information by lecturing DON'T TAKE THE CLASS. He's brilliant but has a hard time teaching the basic courses. This is a 200 level biology criteria, it shouldn't this hard.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This professor is one that teaches at a higher level than his students are prepared for. Textbook is "required" but not entirely necessary. Your grade only consists of exams, plus a curve (determined at the end of the semester). Attendance taken randomly. His sample exams super useful - study them.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: 293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Read the chapters and study the test bank he gives out.. like 300 questions, no answer key, but really helps. Got a 100 on the last test. Only three tests make up your grade so there's not much cushion. If you miss more than 3 lectures, you don't get the curve. Not sure what to expect for the curve

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst teacher I've had. You MUST read the book or else you won't pass the tests. Hes goes on tangents all the time, and hardly explains anything you're tested on. Come to the last 5 min of every class so youre "present". You don't even have to pass the tests. He cares only if you made the roll sporadically given throughout the semester.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: BIOL409
• 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:

I took his BIOL 409 class as a junior without taking Cell bio or Genetics. I felt like I was way over my head. His tests are literally the same as Grad students and you have to CHOOSE the answers a-f. I DID pass his class as in I never missed class and studied my ass off! Take caution but you will learn a lot.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Ratzlaff isn't like most ODU professors in that he will spoon feed you and hold your hand for you to get an A. His class is difficult if you don't attend lecture and read the book. He has an awesome sense of humor and explains things clearly.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• 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:

Dr. Ratzlaff, although he does seem to be a little abrasive at times, was actually a very good teacher. He does expect people to read the book and to actually study the material. He always was willing to answer questions, and was definitely not the hardest teacher at ODU. It is an upper level biology class- expect to study if you want an A.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: BIO293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Ratzlaff may have been a good teacher at one point in his career but he is skating by on tenure now. I did very well but that was because I read the book. READ THE BOOK people and you won't get a D. ODU is ridiculously easy so I understand why this class is a shock to most. He loves random tangents that are a waste of my time and money.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was the hardest class I've taken so far at ODU but Dr Ratzlaff does everything he can to make the class understandable. Many students love to be spoon fed so dont believe in everything u read until you take it. The only thing here is that u need to study, if u dont then b ready to fail. Oh yeah, he is pretty hot!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• 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:

Please, I beg of you, DO NOT TAKE HIM! He is by far the worst professor in history. He does not go by his words when he promises things. Gives you the crappiest information that relates to nothing on the exam, so you'd fail every single one of them. Class consists of 3 tests total and the average of that is your final grade, nothing else.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Only take if you want your GPA to go down. I didn't listen to the feedbacks below since I'm a good student (3.75 GPA prior to this class) and I paid the price.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor I have had at ODU. Had a 4.0gpa--he killed it with a C in his class. Class average was always in the 50s or 60s. Says if you show up to class he'll curve your grade at the end--total b.s. didn't curve anyone's grades.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: BIOL293
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

he is quite possibly one of the worst professors of my life. Don't believe his "soft curve" lies about attendance: he only gave about 5 percentage points. He goes off on tangents about stuff that doesn't pertain to the material and his tests are ridiculous. Save yourself, take it with someone else.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: BIOL509
• 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 was horrible. Class was boring. He is very excited about the material, but is very poor at relating it. Teaches from PowerPoints that he doesn't look at at before class. He doesn't even know what some of the stuff is. Syllabus was very unclear.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: BIOL409
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very difficult class. Test questions sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. Interesting at times, but not as helpful as I had hoped. Not really worth it. Ratzlaff is enthusiastic and seems to mean well but isn't always clear and makes tests harder than they need to be.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: BIO250
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Do not take this class in the summer. He is more interested in his research..he just reads his slides..and his tests are greek..take someone else for this class if you can

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: BIOL416
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

His teaching method is terrible in my opinion. Only teaches with powerpoint slides, which are somewhat vague. Sometimes he diverts to other topics instead of throughly completing the current one. He takes too long to post grades. I would not advise taking this professor, although I received a B- in the class.