2.7
Quality3.0
Difficulty32%
Would Retake88
Reviews32%
Would Retake
88
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
17
3
10
2
13
1
31
What Students Say
“I would never recommend anyone to take this class”
POLS155 - 1.0 rating“Many of the test and quiz questions are impossibly specific”
POL355 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
27%
Textbook Required
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.26 avg changeRatings by Course
428
5.0
(1)POLISCI428
5.0
(1)INTERNATIONALO
5.0
(1)ETHNICSINPOLI
5.0
(1)POLS156
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POLS428
5.0
INTRELPROSE
4.0
POLS156
4.0
POL522F
4.0
POLS426
3.7
Reviews (88)
Very poor teacher! He only teaches part time at CSUN and regularly at SMC. He just reads from his lecture notes which are already posted on his internet site. Tries to be funny and engage the class in discussion but fails every week. He is condescending.
Boring. Opinionated. Very liberal. Should not be teaching
GREAT TEACHER. VERY ORGANIZED, LISTENED TO HIS STUDENTS, ENCOURAGED THEIR OPINIONS AND WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO BRING INTERESTING MATERIAL TO CLASS AND HELP STUDENTS WITH PAPERS AND MATERIAL.
He has to learn how to communicate with students, accept the opinion of the students and above all to follow the syllabus
The class is straightforward. All the answers to the tests are on the study guide. The only thing I would say is Buckley is cut and dry in his presentation, yet wonders why the class doesn't participate. WE UNDERSTAND!
Brilliant, insightful, opinionated, fluent, engaging, high workload, fair grader, reasonable. An earlier comment that he "just reads from his web notes" is inaccurate: those notes require guidance and elaboration, which he provides.
I get the impression that he has a problem with keeping track of grades correctly. On more than one occasion he made a mistake in the display of just my grade. I also feel he is taking personal feelings into account, as some students seem to have done well yet still got a lower grade than me!
Easy, just read text, show up for occasional lecture. If you outline important sub divisions of chapters you'll do fine, bs your essays. make sure to turn in your paper. I barely ever went to class, tooke every exam and wrote the paper and got an A-.
He was a pretty cool prof. Other than the reading, no hw. Since I'm not good at pols it was hard for me, but his lecture was interesting somewhat. You really gotta read for his class unless you know all the stuff already...he never let the class go early. Overall pretty good.
makes michael moore look like a conservative. very biased. tests were ok, u have to read the study guide book to pass, he used 70% same exact questions on tests! if u miss class u r screwed cuz he will put questions on test u only know if u were in class. he is pretty boring. again, READ STUDYGUIDE!
He is a very interesting and intellectual teacher. I enjoyed his class very much. Read the required readings and come to class and you will pass the class.
This class was really interesting and informative as long as I could ignore the liberal/atheistic remarks of the prof. Dr. Buckley is a great professor who's lectures are well planned out. His website has tons of info on it, including lecture notes. Test are half essay half m.c., read the book and go to lecture and its easy. Highly recommended!
I dont think you need to show up to lectures in his class.I did not ,still ended up with an A.He is very well prepared and is very passionate when he is teaching you about civil rights and liberties.He is a liberal and proud of it and does not hide it,nor does he hold it aganst you if you are not. Great teacher, easy class.I recommend him sincerely
Go to class if you want an A. You can still get a B or C if you don't. DO THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS; most of them are on the actual exams!
No Comments
Awful class Awful Prof! EWWWWWWW
Buckley is a great professor. I enjoyed his class and his assigned readings. I thought his class was very interesting especially his open discussion debates. I recommend.
Excellent Professor-Well organized-very knowledgeable, best teacher I had in a long time:)
Great Class. Evening class, but he keeps you awake, he is very interesting, know his subject. Do the readings, and you'll be allright.
great teacher. Come to class, take notes, and you'll do great.
No Comments
good teacher good guy. has had life experience.
Good Teacher. Shows movies. Grades easy. 3 test based on questions at the end of each chapter. No surprises and realistic expectations.
all I gotta say is, what you think of him at the begining of the class and what you think of him at the end is totally different (sorta of in a good way)
I loved Buckley!! He was so nice and helpful and who wouldn't love that southern accent! I learned a lot from his lectures and I only wish he would be full time at CSUN. His syllabus is straight forward and he's very mellow and down to earth - no overpowering ego here.
this professor is really cool. the calss is pretty easy as long as you do the readings. if you dont, the tests may be a little challenging, but if u understand the material, you'll do ok. attendence is advised to get the essay question and study it. he is really cool and grades pretty easy. if you can, get in his class.
He is an ok prof but very biased politically which makes it hard to know what is fact and what is his opinion. Although I agree with most of his liberal sentiments they have no place coming from a teacher.
Excellent professor who is very knowledgeable on the subject matter. Really does teach you new things in a very thought provoking manner. 3 midterms, research paper and final. Highly recommended!
Excellent professor! He is very knowledgeable and sharp. His coverage of events go beyond the books and are very welcome. Be sure you can support any statements when asked to respond. He's very fair with his 2 essay exams and he will make you work hard on your final. A very rewarding class!
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!! He is bias, rude, unreasonable and tears all aspects of self creativity. He shines discrimination and hatred to those who question his teachings and political views. You've been warned...
I just don't have anything nice to say about this professor. As the previous reviewer said. He's extremely biased, rude and not helpful. Opposing opinions are usually trashed, and I'm on the left by the way. He's not one I would ever recommend anyone taking.
This professor is very hard to understand. When trying to talk with him or e-mail he doesn't answer properly just rudly. This class is very hard and I don't recommend this course with him. He is very bias, not very helpful, and only cares about his views and teachings. If you choose to take this class GOOD LUCK!!!!!
I don't recommend him. The class is supposed to be a simple preview to international politics and diplomatic history. Even if you think this field of study is supposed to be complicated, well it really isn't. The only cool thing about him is his humor.
Easy class, keep up on reading and take careful notes. He is a decent lecturer unless if one is completely clueless about history. The stuff the other commenters are talking about like his bias aren't that bad unless if you make an issue of ethics/morals. If that's the case, simply disagree and move onto something more objective!
Overall I really enjoyed his class, he is a good professor. His tests are straight forward, just at times complicated. He knows the material and wants everyone to succeed, just ask questions!!!
If you like challenging views, don't take him because he loves his point of view too much. But aside from that he knows the material and has a cool sense of Oklahoma sense of humor.Ask him about his lucky jeans, unless ofcourse he mentions it on the first day of class.
I loved this guy. His lectures have almost absolutely nothing to do with anything, but they were sometimes interesting. He was very open to comments and discussion. He's funny and he knows what he's talking about. Definitely need the book.
Probably the most unpleasant and condescending teacher I have ever had. His ego is so big that his lectures end up in nonsense and fatally leaves no room for a dynamic of learning. On the top of that, he thinks his "jokes" are funny. Avoid if you can.
its mostly a lecture class, but everything he provides to you is online: slide shows, notes, quizzes, midterms, even finals. He gets off topic a lot, and a lot of the things he talks about has nothing to do with the class. Also, he never finishes a slide show when he goes through it for further clarity.
Don't recommend this professor, doesn't really teach and basically everything is learned by yourself through the book. your grade will be based on a timed quiz that you will get every Saturday, a midterm, and the final.. not much of a "professor"!
Very easy class; however there is no teaching that goes on in this class. Everything is online which makes no sense because I did not sign up for an online class. He does not help you if you are having technical difficulties like he claims he does. I emailed him about my technical difficulties and he said he did not see the email on time.
One of the worst professors I have ever had! Makes very rude comments during class that he thinks are funny. Goes off topic too much and never acutally teaches. Please avoid if you can.
There's a quiz every saturday each 15 minutes, sometimes you may have 2-3 to do in 1 day. There's three essays (you have to hand it in), and 1 midterm and a final which are online. The tests are timed to an hour each. Also there's a free 1 point quiz that is just for attendance, it's an easy 12 points. U need to read both books.
You do not need to go to class except for finding out when stuff is due and he gives helpful hints for the essays. you are only tested from the book. there is extra credit offered if you watch his movies. He is a very interesting guy and I really liked the class so I went.
All quiz and tests are ONLINE. Easy to find answers, didn't need book. Midterm and Final ONLINE. Attendance is important. Reads off of power points, tries to get everyone engaged in debatable topic. Sweet guy, definitely opinionated but will listen to opposing opinions. Definitely suggest him.
test are online and you could find the answer in google :)))) so take him
Weekly quizzes are online on Saturdays, so I missed a few which was unfortunate. Midterm and final are distributed and submitted online. Very knowledgeable but PowerPoint lectures are bland. Says he grades on participation but doesn't take role.
WORST PROFESSOR EVERRR!! So disorganized and unclear about assignments. Weekly quizzes on Saturdays only (like people dont have work or lives of their own). He could of at least opened them from Fri-Sun but no. He did offer an extra credit opportunity so that was nice of him. But still not a good lecturer. just regurgitates material frm his slides.
Notes on Moodle so you dont actually have 2 go 2 class. It doesnt even help. He just repeats whats on the slides in his montone voice. Also gnaws on a cigar during class which was weird. 1 hw assignment & 1 take home midterm & final which are kind of hard. Form study groups to help with midterm+final. Boring-est class ever. Proceed at own risk! RUN
This is not an easy A. He will penalize u 4 every absence which means u have 2 sit through his discussions which have absolutely NOTHING 2 do w/ the quizzes. The quizzes u can ONLY take on Sat. from 6a-10p (he wont reschedule 4 ANY reason), they aren't that easy, u have to REALLY search 4 the answers. On top of it all he is not a nice person. AVOID
Ok look- he's a nice enough guy, just not really helpful at all. I went to class most of the time, his lectures are pretty unrelated to the book but the quizzes are on the text so you'll have to teach yourself. Definitely ask for clarification on the research paper, it's a pretty vague prompt. Might be different because of the election- I'd avoid
Lectures have absolutely nothing to do with the exams., offers no extra credit and expects you to not need any since the class in "open book." Take this class at your own risk.
This was the worst and most inconvenient online class I ever took. This professor is lazy and doesn't seem to have any interest in teaching. If you take an online class for flexibility, find a different section. You have to be online on the days he specifies (every Saturday and some Sundays).
One of the WORST professors I've at CSUN. He does not know how to teach whatsoever. He talks about everything but political science. His class isn't online one but all quizzes, midterm and final are online. Yet students are expected to come to class for his so called "lectures". Takes points off quiz grades for missing class avoid this professor!
This is a very tedious class. The writing prompts are mostly unrelated to the pricey textbooks. The quizzes must be taken on Saturdays which was unnerving when you work every weekend. The quiz and exam questions are either taken straight from the internet or extremely specific bits from the text. Overall, the worst experience I've had at CSUN.
This professor is one of by far, the worst professors at CSUN. I would not recommend taking his courses. There are weekly quizes and two tests. However, the tests and quizes DO NOT correlate with any of his lectures whatsoever. Very unprofessional "professor" and discourages students from learning. Never would I recommend this professor to anyone.
I feel ripped off and discouraged from taking anymore online classes from CSUN after this experience. Many of the test and quiz questions are impossibly specific. The writing assignments are harshly graded and usually irrelevant to the Rest of the course. When I emailed Prof Buckley the first week of class he replied with a nasty attitude. Avoid!
Very Apathetic prof., Quiz/exam questions are utterly specific. Essay grading varies depending on his opinion/mood. Can be extremely rude through email. Get ready to read 50-60 pg & write 500 words essays weekly. BOOKS ARE A MUST. Overall, very hard class with moody grading. AVOID if you're a bad writer/not a polisci major.
He is rude through email. Most of the grade comes from the discussion essays you write every week. He grades them very harshly. I never got an A when it came to discussions. As long as you do all the work you should pass.
you dont need the books, we had online quizzes every saturday from 6 am-10 pm, no homework, no tests in class, but attendance is mandatory, but in class all he did was talk about his opinions so it was such a waste of time. Theres one midterm online and a final, all timed. If you talk in class he'll like you, most people stay quiet so def talk
expects you to read 60-100 pages/week of small text from a book that is so difficult to understand/comprehend, and expects you to know the material by having 15 minutes to answer 10 questions from each chapter. it is open book but to know the answers you have to have read the material at least 3-4x to know exactly where the answer is.
I would never recommend anyone to take this class. Worse professor ever!!!! He dropped grades half way during the semester since he was imputing them wrong on canvas. On the syllabus he claims attendance is mandatory and you're getting participation points, but in reality you aren't. Books aren' used and you literally don't learn anything.
This might be the worst professor I've ever taken. He is extremely unprofessional and does not know how to teach. He dropped everyones grades half way through the semester because he was inputting grades into canvas wrong. He doesnt compromise with students and the lectures and reading do not help you pass the weekly quizzes.
The online 355 course with Professor Buckley was a disorganized mess. The writing prompts have more to do with his personal worldview than they do the textbook. He messed up all the grades. Replied to a basic, professionally written email with a condescending and bitter attitude discouraging any further communication. I like Pol Sci & hated this.
He is a nice professor, if you talk to him he will help you. His lectures are a little bit confusing but you will adapt. The test are mostly based on his lectures but you most read the book to understand everything. 3 test with multiple choice and one essay.
One of the worst professors I've had by far. Monotone voice, doesn't really lecture well. He tries to be funny but he isn't. Rude when students approach for questions, would not recommend anyone taking his course.
3 Exams multiple choice and essay, 4 page term paper, Final exam. More like a 2.5, there are some okay moments. Slides are kinda useless and don't really help. Just read the book, you could answer the exam essays with that information but he likes it when you regurgitate the points he says in the lectures. Multiple choice comes from the book.
This class was hard because it was only graded on three tests, a final, and a term paper. The tests consisted of multiple choice and a short essay. Professor Buckley is kind and wants to help his students succeed. However, his lectures are very dry.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER his class consisted of 3 exams which were timed so that didn't help and a final term paper . His lectures were basically him reading word for word what he wrote on his power point, anyone can do that. Everyone on rate my professor had negative things to say about him, but he was my only option, I regret taking him.
Never take him!!!!! If you have another option skip him!This class gave me so much anxiety because I basically had to teach myself. He goes off topic during lecture and his power points don't help at all. The in class exam was extremely difficult when the class asked for help for the exam he would say just read to book. Get ready to teach yourself.
He is a classic Political Science Professor, he cares and tries. I had him for a senior seminar class and he is super smart and helpful. He is direct, its best to see him more as an advisor than teacher. He cares a lot and is passionate about his craft. All you have to do is care enough to put in real effort. Talk to him.
Cubans ;) and talking communism
Lectures not required to attend--good thing too cuz its nonsense. Hes outwardly nice, but truly shows little care to student. Save your time in the mornings and just do a LOT of reading/research in the book to ACE the tests and papers. Trust me, I've done well and can give less a crap what comes out of his mouth. More self study.
Great professor, very knowledgeable and passionate. Pushes students to participate in discussions during class. If you do not like reading this class isn't for you. Tests are essay questions and can be tricky because he doesn't give a rubric so you don't exactly know what he's looking for, but keep up with the reading and you should be fine.
Dr. Buckley has been a great professor. His lectures are always interesting and he has lots of open discussion. He listens to everyone and is respectful, for sure. He encourages healthy debate and makes you feel heard. If you follow his slides, it's very helpful, and tests can be tough, but stay on top of reading and you're good!
I hated this class at first only bc he wastes a LOT of time talking about irrelevant topics to the exams/papers. Grateful that attendance was not mandatory. Only midterm+final (open book), & 2 papers--books have everything you need. Guess I'm glad I took this class online now and with a teacher that doesn't care much abt pariticpation.
Dr. Buckley overall is a great professor if you enjoy reading & politics. He does care about his student and is passionate about the subject but you need good time management and comprehensive skills. The reading is heavy and you will constantly be reminded that you're an "honors student". Graded on 3 exams & 1 paper that's very open-ended.
Do not TAKE THIS PROFESSOR. Its hell! 4 books total! He expects you to improve but doesnt give you any feedback at all. When you say something that doesnt meet his expectations he just ignores you. grades with NO RUBRIC. He changed our essay grades like 3X and left comments that we didnt do this/that but we DID them and followed his syllabus.
Avoid taking his classes if you care about getting A's. The class consists of 2 essays, 1 midterm exam, and a final exam. I attended every class and the lectures have nothing to do with those 4 assignments. He does not provide a rubric for the essays or give feedback. Not a consistent or accurate grader. Don't buy the book, it's free online.
Two papers, and two exams. No other grades in the class. With that being said, I stopped doing the readings and paying attention to the lectures and still did well. Lectures often drift off onto tangents based on current events and what the class wants to talk about. Election happened during this semester so we spent a lot of time discussing that.
I have not even finished this class yet and feel I need warn people. AVOID HIM! His essay guidelines make no sense so you are bound to mess up somewhere. He is terrible with communication. My class and I turned in our first paper and we are all convinced we will not pass. He also has no clue how to work tech which makes online with him terrible
Had a medical issue and asked for a short extension on one of the essays and the professor told me he wouldn't penalize me for it being late but he would penalize me for not submitting it before the deadline. What am i supposed to do with that? Hes completely uncaring for the students, he responds with snark to everyone else aswell
He is the worst professor Ive ever seen. No runic for grading, the essay was basic on one sentence and no explanation or communication since its fully online. What a terrible experience!
Worst professor you could possibly have. All the quizzes are based on the books and not his lectures. 10 minutes for 10 questions and refused to change it despite almost everyone telling him it's not enough time. He did not care if we were anxious, stressed, or worried.
Great Professor ! Interesting lectures
Amazing Professor! Attendance not mandatory but his lectures are interesting. I like his sense of humor. Loyal with quizzes and allows you to retake it.
good good good
POLS 429 8am class. Alan Buckley smoked a Cuban cigar every morning on zoom while giving lectures. He was very rude, condescending to students and would belittle you if you didn't participate. This is a do-it-yourself kind of class not one to be handheld. 3 quizzes worth 50 pts each, 2 papers worth 200 pts each and 1 final exam worth 100 pts.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
27%
Textbook Required
45%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.26 avg changeRatings by Course
428
5.0
(1)POLISCI428
5.0
(1)INTERNATIONALO
5.0
(1)ETHNICSINPOLI
5.0
(1)POLS156
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
POLS428
5.0
INTRELPROSE
4.0
POLS156
4.0
POL522F
4.0
POLS426
3.7