Richard White - Portland State University

Professor: Richard White

Department: TBD

College: Portland State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: USP317
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

All of the work for this class is writing assignments, and yet all of the writing prompts are super vague. Despite this, Dr. White grades harshly if he feels you misinterpreted his prompt. I also feel that I didn't learn anything useful or practical about international community development.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: USP317U
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. White is a very knowledgable professor but he does not give clear instruction for assignments. In this class, we had a 750-word essay due every week with very vague instruction. The essays we were assigned were not clear. This course is a part of the university studies aspect of a PSU degree but the prof does not seem to understand that.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: USP300U
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He assigns a lot of material to get through. I know I have difficulty getting through it all and usually do not. I appreciate he does not do a midterm or final test. Two page essay is required each week.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: USP300U
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

The major thing that I appreciated about Dr. White is that he makes it clear that he respects students. He truly is invested in student success, and he won't ever expect unreasonable work from you. The one thing I will say is that he takes attendance, but there is no clear point penalty for missing class, which is slightly perplexing.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: 300U
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor White is extremely knowledgeable and approachable. However, the course lacked A LOT of structure, and really was unclear as what the learning objectives were. Lots of stories. No exams, entire grade was based on weekly assignments and excessive busy work groups. Expect to read. Really hard to slack and pull a good grade.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: UNST220A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Professor White's lectures are filled with wonderful stories that are very well connected to the current class topic. Expect to read. You can get a way with a little bit of slacking but not too much.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: UNST220A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

knowledgeable and easy to talk to. However, the class lacks structure, the assignments are vague and I found it VERY difficult to understand just what was expected, be prepared for a bombarded with complicated assignments, weekly. information given is outdated and sometimes wrong, almost like he doesn't care.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: USP350U
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

The extent of his track record of community development is letting homeless people live in his house with his wife 20 years ago and taking an annual trip to Nicaragua when he doesn't even speak the language. Does he understand the concepts of community development YES, does he practice what he preaches, NO. Easy grader, easy class, poor example.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: 300U
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

You have to do the work.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: 300U
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Long lectures filled with stories about his life. Dude clearly cares a lot about Community Development, not so much about teaching. He assigns the entire book as reading, and won't ever ask about it or give you a test so it's basically optional.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: 300U
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He was totally checked out of class. He spent class time telling us he doesn't care about teaching anymore because he wants to 'go through the motions then retire.' we didn't even cover half of the intended material. Don't take this course with him if you are looking to gain any knowledge in the subject matter. He will talk forever about Nicaragua.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: UNST220
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Dr. White is probably one of my favorite professors I've had at Portland State. He knows a lot of what he talking about, but sometimes he has a hard time explaining it. I didn't do anyof the reading just skimmed through and have done more than alright in his class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: UNST220
• 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:

He's a nice guy, and has some good personal experiences to share but that's all. Overall, I had a bad experience with him. He arrived to class at the last second and was NEVER prepared. It was obvious that he was making up the lecture as he went along. When he can't recall what he's lecturing on, he'll use his stories to distract the class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: USP350
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. White is certainly a nice guy but he spends class time telling stories and exposing his political opinions. The guest speakers are hit and miss when it comes to usefulness and the meetings that are assigned are hard to attend if you have a life outside of being a student. Take him if you have free time and enjoy random rantings.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: USP303
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I love Dr. White. He is a wealth of knowledge and will help anyone try to approach a challenge in a creative way. Fun stories and a passion for community development. My problem is the lack of clarity in projects. Sometimes he added one, sometimes he'd take one out - our syllabus became obsolete! But attend class, read, listen & you'll be fine.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: USP350
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

LOVE Professor White. His lectures keep you interested and he engages students with class discussions in small groups and then as a class. Has speakers visit - adds variety to lessons. Weekly reflections about visiting speakers, three public meeting visits on our own time and a final paper. Show up!! It's well worth it! Highly recommend Dr. White!

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: USP303
• 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:

I've taken USP303 and 326 with Prof. White. I think his lectures are extremely engaging! Yes, he tells a lot of stories of personal experience but I think they help to connect real world experiences with the lessons of the course(s). Do your reading and show up for class. Everything else falls into place pretty easily. Standard papers - No tests!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: USP350U
• 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:

I had no interest of this subject going in but ended up enjoying the class very much. White is fun to listen to. Assignments are clear and hands on. Really felt connected to community from the experience. No exams, three papers and a final paper. reflections online and attendance counted. I will take Dr White again

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: UNST220
• 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:

extremely boring. has no exams. doesn't even bother grading the weekly reflections. grading seemed harsh. i wouldn't recommend him in any way. only talks about his personal experiences in class rather than the course material. but seems a nice guy.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: USP426
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Go to class, its once a week and missing them will hurt your grade. While sometimes his in class conversations go astray he knows what he's talking about. Use words from the text in your papers, he wants to see you know what you are talking about. The group project is tedious but its pretty much exactly what we did all term in large scale.