Don't even need to show up to class just read his slides and you'll be fine

LOVE HIM! Best ECON prof out there. Super easy exams and makes the concepts so easy to understand and is super friendly. You can book your exams the day that works for you and you can get a 4% extra bonus with Tophat if you answer the in class questions correctly. You would be lucky to have him!!

Great professor!! Love his class! Econ 101 is not too hard and his exams are easy as well. You can also get 4% bonus for top hat questions. GPA booster. Take his class and you will never regret.

He puts a lot of effort into his course and basically gives marks for attending class and doing weekly homework. The midterms and final are slightly harder than what you would expect from just answering your homework questions but still an easy course.

Possibly the easiest prof to take for the elective required for eng, as attendance is not mandatory and his tests are quite manageable given you reading his lecture powerpoints and practice exams. Would definitely take again.

You have to put in the effort if you want A range. Reading the ppts aren't gonna do it. They are much simpler than questions on the midterm/ final. TEXTBOOK q's are great as they apply the knowledge to different scenarios just like his exams. If you don't attend all the lectures , textbook is a saviour.

I really enjoyed Gainers lectures. Altogether a pretty good prof and lecturer. Class material is pretty easy and straight forward. If you do the reading and all the homework you will for sure get a pretty good grade. Oh he can be a little boring but if you are actively taking notes and take the 50 min class it goes by pretty fast.

Dr. Gainer is generally a great prof and he always posts his notes on eclass so you don't even have to go to the lectures if you have something else to do. His exams are easy and he's kind of humorous.

Alex is awesome! Besides being pretty hot he's one of the best econ profs I've had. Instead of either reading straight from the powerpoint slides, or writing notes faster than you can process, he has some notes typed out and takes the time to fully explain what's going on. Also he has a chance to get a bonus 4% just for attempting questions.

Gainer is great, I had some issues and couldn't attend class past the first midterm, but I still ended up with a B. When I could go to class he was interesting and funny, and he shows real care for his students.

Gainer is a legend! Not did his beautiful face brighten up my mornings, but he recorded his lectures for our class which made studying for the midterms/ final much easier! Also handy if you miss a class. He gives the chance for bonus marks using tophat, and overall is one of my fav profs EVER! If you have the opportunity to be in his class TAKE IT!

Voice is kind of monotone but he is a chill dude. Good idea to review his recorded lectures before the exams. Know every graph and the factors that shift it. MyEconLab assignments were kind of a pain, but you can find some extra practice for the questions under the study guide section. Exams are fine, the written might have one or two bs questions.

Daddy Gainer has an uncanny resemblance to Jamie Dornan ( Christian Grey from the 50 shades trilogy). Amazing prof with interesting and profound examples in his lectures. Id advise not to miss his classes but even then you can do his top hat questions from home. In fact, just read his PowerPoint slides to get an easy A. Exams are relatively easy!

It's a pretty easy course to begin with but he makes it even easier. I didn't buy the textbook, and sometimes used class time to do other homework, but still did great on the tests. Slides are easy to understand and contain all the course relevant info, so missing a class isn't the end of the world as long as you look over them later.

his face is a work of art. does questions in class for extra marks. 2 noncumulative midterms which are very fair, homework is mad easy. he makes me wanna take more econ classes

Gainer is a really really good prof. He tries his best to make sure everyone succeed. Posts his lectures online but there's an attendance bonus if you go to class and answer tophats. Midterms are easy if you do the homework and read the textbook and the practice midterms. Super nice guy, definitely recommend

Very nice professor, will record the class by video and submit to eclass and answer your question nicely.

AWESOME PROF AND AWESOME CLASS. Honestly pretty interesting course, and insanely easy. Gainer makes it great by using videos, questions, and discussions to keep things moving. Tests are multiple choice and very clear. ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND.

Favorite prof. Don't bother buying the textbook, his lectures and notes are sufficient to do well in the class. In class examples are usually trick questions to get you to think about the concepts in a more critical manner. so don't be discouraged if you get them wrong, they are for bonus marks anyways. Exams are incredibly heavy weighted.

Solid prof that's easy to understand and takes his time explaining concepts. Enjoys teaching and it shows through his lectures. Course material can be dry but he does his best to make things interesting and can be pretty funny. Easier exams than other profs (but letter grades are adjusted to account for the high average). Solid choice overall

Best thing is he video records every lecture. Very useful for review and if you get sick, no need to show up for class and you wont miss a thing. Textbook is not used. Review his lecture notes is more than enough. Super easy exams. Very much like the practice questions and previous exams.

Econ 102 with Gainer has been pretty good so far. His exams are fair and test only on lecture material and what's in the PowerPoints, but are slightly more difficult than the practice exams. Haven't had the final yet. Has homework and PackBack (participation), and up to 7% bonus marks available (high curve). Explains stuff well, would take again.

He's an awesome prof! He gives out quite a lot of bonus marks! He also had these group midterms where you could choose to do the midterm with other people or alone. His notes are concise and don't blabber on about things you don't need to know. His assignments are on flipitecon which is much easier than aplia. Definitely take him!

Gainer is the best prof to take for Econ 102. Tests only on lecture material (which is pretty easy itself) and has plenty of chances to get bonus marks in the class. Also has group midterms so you can see where you went wrong and learn the material more effectively. Explains everything in depth, enjoyed his night class. Would definitely take again.

Gainer is a fantastic prof for econ 102. The tests come straight from the lecture material, and you have the opportunity for between 5-10 percent bonus material on a not curved course! The constant tech problems that follow this course do leave something to be desired. Don't bother to buy the textbook for 102, it's not used.

If you reach the average, then you're fine. The good thing is he provides video records, and you can use to review. There are bonus through in class question, and it's helpful.

"Alexander Gainer is the best economics professor at the UofA" - Abraham Lincoln.

Professor Gainer was guest lecturer in a globalization class I took. I spent the next 2 months trying to get a spot in his class. I ended up getting in 2 weeks late but I cant say enough about how understanding and welcoming he is! Econ can be very intimidating for other social science disciplines to enter but he eliminated any fears immediately.

Explains concepts really well and an easy marker. The only drawback is the packback questions (as part of the homework you have to ask 1 question and respond to 2 questions every week).

This prof really cares about his students. He gave a survey and asked for student feedback and made real changes based off of the feedback halfway through the course. Lectures are well done and he leaves easy opportunities for bonus marks. Took microeconomics 101 and would for sure recommend - he made the course easy. Know graphs for tests.

One of my favourite teachers. His lectures and his book is very straightforward and directly addresses important principles for this class. Very friendly as well. He even asked us for feedback and actually changed some aspects of the class in regards to what the students said. Definitely would recommend this professor.

One of the best professors Ive had at U of A so far. He really sets you up to succeed and wants everyone to do well, he also listens to student feedback. You have the chance to get extra credit just by participating in classes. Assignments are relatively easy, exams are fair, and lectures are interesting. Everything is very straightforward.

Participation is up to you - you could definitely get away with reading the textbook and not going, but going to class gets you an easy 6% bonus from in class activities. Textbook is incredible - homework is integrated and material is very clear, really great system. Course was pretty straightforward and intuition mostly.

Overall Gainer is a pretty solid instructor. His classes have tons of participatory marks that count as extra credit for your grade. Every week we had textbook readings, homework, and a student question/response assignment. His lectures could be quite boring at times, but overall his course is well taught, and there are no surprises on exams.

I really enjoyed 299 with Gainer, would go far as to say it was one of the best classes I have completed so far. His notes and practice exams are quite easy to understand and only tests questions that have been already covered.

Very good prof. If you show up to class, you get like 6% bonus marks. Homework every week or every other week. Fair, not too difficult. Keeps lectures interesting. Midterms and finals are not bad if you understand the basic concepts.

Really good prof, i will say if you take notes and practice them, its really to get A

Prof Gainer is one of the best prof I ever met. He did a very good job of keeping the class interesting. The homework is very easy and not heavy as long as you can read. Tests are at a reasonable difficulty. Should be easy to get a B or better grade if properly reviewed and prepared for them!!!

Damn!!! Really good prof and trying to make class funny. Absolutely will take his other course if he can teach more!

Attending class not mandatory. Do all the textbook readings and you'll do fine. Midterms a little more difficult than expected but final was easy. Bonus marks for participation in class.

Really easy homework every week. If you showed up to class, you had a chance for a lot of bonus marks which was really helpful. Group midterms helped balance the weight of the regular individual midterm. Final worth 45%

Professor Gainer is an upstanding guy who is knowledgeable in his subject. His lectures are interesting and it's clear he cares about the success of his students. He experiments a lot with online resources, which you either love or you hate. Overall, good prof.

He was a great prof, made us laugh and is very clear. Bonus marks, group midterms, Packback discussion board questions and weekly easy homework all help boost your mark :) He also records his lectures which is helpful for review. Exams can be tricky, so to get an A you should read the textbook.

Absolute king. His tests can be hard, but he gives marks for participation and easy homework. He is always looking to help and cares about his student. Econ has never been my favourite subject but he made it pretty fun.

Good pro, give students lecture videos and notes. Very interesting lectures. But he doesnt give too much practice questions for exams though, while his exams are a bit harder than other professors.

Really enjoyed Gainers class. Very nice and good guy overall. 10/10 would take again

I took his class online and it was really well done. All asynchronous videos with imbedded questions and at the end of each chapter he gave his dog treats which was adorable.

Hes a really great teacher and give so many opportunities for extra marks, like homework thats embedded into the textbook he wrote (super straightforward). Would 100% recommend. Super smart and knows what hes talking about. Only issue is this topic is material heavy so reading on top of doing video lessons is mandatory

I'm learning during COVID and I came into ECON 101 fully expecting to fail, but so far the online textbook he made makes sense and the videos he posts reinforces what you read. Very easy to get a high mark in his class, as long as you don't slack around. Yes there are two subscriptions you buy, but NOT mandatory.

No lectures mandatory, only textbook work and practise questions. Very clear textbook using good videos to explain concepts as well as having good pre-recorded lectures. Bad thing is this thing called Kritik which really sucks. His textbook is a bit pricey but worth it in my opinion.

Prof. Gainer is a really good person and teacher. The course is very easy if you try to understand the material well. There is weekly homework due on Tophat(paid for by students) and group assignments on Kritik(paid for by students) as well as questions within the pre-recorded lectures on eclass. Very fair exams and posts his notes on eclass too.

One of the best profs I've had. Took this course as a third year out of interest and I'm registered to take 102 with him now too. Genuinely cares about his students and its super easy to get help and not fall behind. If you're reading this TAKE HIS CLASS!

For everyone else complaining about having to purchase the homework software (its pretty cheap lol) remember that the UofA HAS to provide a free option and can't force you to pay more than tuition... If you put in the work you normally should put into a class you'll do fine. He makes the material interesting as well

I truly like gainer and he think he genuinely cares about the well-being of his students, which is not very common especially right now. I know many people aren't happy about having to pay for stuff that is "outside" the class, but one of the things we pay for is the textbook which also includes our questions and quizzes we do, so it's necessary.

My class was online and asynchronous, but that being said there was no shortage of resources. His textbook was probably the best one I have used so far, as it's actually applicable. He gives video lectures as well for further explanation. Tests are weighed quite heavily. We had a group project due every week, easy money but beware of that.

He is great! He made his own textbook that allows you to only focus on and read the things that will be tested. He also makes videos to explain everything and his dog appears at the end of every chapter which is just adorable. He has a lot of help sessions that you can go too as well

Alex Gainer is a pretty great prof. He wrote the textbook himself - it was the most concise textbook I've read, which is great for a student always short on time. Lectures are helpful with lots of examples. Exam was harder than anticipated, lots of group projects. Not a great response when a group member didn't participate, but otherwise great guy!

He explained everything really well and made it easy to understand.

such a good professor. took econ101 online and everything was so organized and easy to follow, he wrote his own textbook which is very easy to read. he had videos for every chspter, then just read the textbook and answer like 10 short questions each week! super simple. his dog is also in all his videos which is so cute.

The textbook for this class was amazing, it clearly explained concepts and had built in practice questions that ensured understanding. Professor Gainer really cared about his students and also had a very cute dog that was featured in his lecture videos. The exam questions were very similar to the practice. Would definitely recommend this class.

Best prof ever! He knows his sh*t and knows how to teach it. It's also a pretty simple course which helps lol

Pretty good prof. Wrote the textbook himself which Is easy to follow but at the same times mans making bank off of it. The 4 group assignments were dumb bcuz first years were try hard markers for no reason (coming from a 2nd year). Would recommend this class.

He is really understanding and easy going , good explanations at Econ! Everyone did pretty good :) hes a great guy !

He was much better than other professors I had online. His whole class was asynchronous, lots of easy ways to get marks through video and textbook questions, as well midterm and final were pretty easy and straightforward.

Very easy to understand. answered all of my questions in a timely manner.

Overall a great teacher and person that genuinely cares about his students. He gives lots of opportunities to boost your mark and gives lots of material to help you out.

The best prof ive yet to encounter! The most clear, precise, and easy to understand lectures and information delivery.

Overall fantastic person with a very nice dog.

Gainer is a great professor! His lectures are engaging and very well structures. He provides incredible notes in his lectures and has a great positive attitude which makes learning fun. He wrote his textbook in his own words which makes it really easy to understand what he expects you to know. Group projects really boosted my grade. Hard to reach.

Alex is really awesome and super accommodating. He makes you read the textbook and do questions, but those are just for brief assignments that are easy As with multiple attempts. He tests purely off of the practice questions in his textbook, and he is always available to lend a hand. I would LOVE to take him again for ECON 101!

Gainer is my absolute favourite professor! He made me love economics and he was by far the most organized prof to have teaching online classes. Absolutely love the dude and was a great class.

Professor Gainer did an awesome job with the transition to an online course! He gave plenty of examples to help students understand the concepts. There questions on the test were very similar to the ones given in the homework. A solid choice for an intro economics course.

Great prof, smooth transition to online learning.

A pretty solid prof. Lectures were good and the assigned questions for each chapter were very similar to the midterm and final. Only problem is having such a heavy weighted final (50%) but I suppose that is to be expected.

His class was asynchronous so you could watch the lectures on your own time. There are group projects you have to do which are worth 10% of your grade but arent too bad if you have great team members. His exams are very similar to his practice questions so if you do those youll do great. Overall a great professor and interesting class.

Gainers class wasnt super difficult, but it was a lot of self learning. If something doesnt make sense in the textbook, he uploads lecture videos which can smooth things over most of the time. Only annoying thing is he made us buy and use Kritik. Exams were very similar to practice exams which was nice. Decent professor overall.

Textbook reading was in the one he wrote, it has practice questions some are for marks and some are not. In his recorded lecture videos, questions embedded that are for marks. The bad thing is this thing called Kritik which really sucks (be prepared to work with assigned groups, some will not do the work and get the mark). No point in emailing him.

Overall, nice guy and not too difficult, but it's a lot of self-teaching. Makes us buy a textbook (that he wrote), pay for a membership to TopHat, and pay for a membership to Kritik. Asynchronous class, TAs are helpful but good luck trying to get in touch with him.

Incredible prof. Despite the class being asynchronous, I felt like I knew him better than all my other profs. The online textbook that he wrote was incredibly well written with lots of opportunities to practice the material and the prerecorded lectures were very helpful. There was lots of homework but it was easy as long as you read the chapters

He is a really good prof who values feedback and clearly is trying to help his students learn. His textbook is very helpful and it is totally worth buying. If you do the work you will do great in this class!

Did this class online, you have to buy his textbook and Kritik for the group assignments (random assignment for groups...). Overall, was a good teacher, obviously knows what he is teaching. Lots of reading but was manageable and did not take as much time as my other classes did. GPA booster if you put in the work to study and understand.

Gainer wasn't the best prof in my opinion but he wasn't mediocre either. His lectures were okay but I had to learn and understand concepts by going through his textbook and asking friends. The only negative thing was Kritik groups where it was obviously implemented for money. Wasn't a group since I did all the work. Gets a 4 since it was easy.

I took ECON101 in Fall 2020 with Alexander Gainer. His entire course was asynchronous. Overall he was a great prof. Textbook is mandatory but will ensure you with a good grade. He posts practise finals and midterms which accurately represent the difficulty of the actual exams. He provides all tools to ensure a good grade. Definitely recommend him.

Although he makes you buy his textbook, it actually does help with learning the material easier. Professor Gainer is a funny and caring prof who does his best to make sure everyone gets the material. I'm honestly a little sad I didn't get to take his class in person.

When Gainer said "Welcome to the best Economics class" when I took his ECON 101 class last Fall 2020, he is not kidding. We had to pay for a textbook, which was worth it because it contains lots of examples and it keeps you engaged. Office hours are great too. Always do the things that he put incentives on because that will surely boost your mark.

Such a straight forward class and he made sure it felt that way. Taking it online, you literally just need to do the work (that didn't require a lot out of your day) and when it came around to the test, they were so easy to conrphend, nothing difficult. Glad he had lots of tutors on hand in case you had troubles and couldn't get a hold of him.

He has been my favourite professor so far. Great class, and he has his own online textbook that is very cheap, and less boring and shorter than all other econ textbooks. He had little bonus marks here and there which really helped towards my final grade. I will be taking more of his classes in the future, could not recommend him more.

I didn't particularly like the group participation part of the class. I liked his textbook though. I think instead of the group participation, maybe just practice questions or small quizzes throughout the month to test understanding. Helpful forum too and lots of feedback given. Great class overall.

Nah, I'm good. He's just genuinely a nice guy who seems to try his best to make sure that his students have a good time as well as absorb the information given.

Alexander Gainer is constantly experimenting with new teaching technology. Sometimes that makes his class a bit much, but you really understand that he actually cares that you are learning. Easy to understand syllabus, easy to follow instructions. Great instructor.

Alex is a great teacher, he is to the point with his explanations and gives really good examples. His lectures are never confusing and in perfect order. He is passionate about economics and made me love learning about it as well! The only reason I would say that you don't have to attend all the lectures is because his textbook explains all concepts

Literally one of the best professors I have ever had so far. His textbook and lectures are very informative. The practice tests that he gave out were also very useful. The bonus marks he gave out really helped me improve my mark in the end.

Overall, he is a great professor, explains everything to the point, and is super polite to students.

Gainer is the best prof I've had in any economics course. Anyone taking the courses he teaches should really try to get into his class. A lot better if you are somewhat extroverted and ready to do presentations, speaking, etc. Overall, great at teaching the info, awesome grade distribution, and the exams were very fair.

Great professor who very clearly cares about you and wants you to succeed in his class. His ECON101 course will keep you busy, but none of the work felt repetitive or unnecessary. Every assigned reading/practice was worth doing and only helped you understand the content in even more depth. I felt as though the quizzes and exams were very fair.

Great prof - found his lectures to be engaging. His practice midterm was pretty similar to the real thing in terms of difficulty. Wayyy too many assignments for a 100 level class. All assignments are peer marked and I found everyone was salty and harsh near the end. A group assignment, individual assignment and 2 quizzes a week and marking.

Alex was overall a very good prof, he cares about his students and is a very good teacher. He also takes into account your feedback which I think is valuable. The workload wasent terrible, but alot more assignments then I was prepared for, get ready to used kiritk!

Alex was a very good professor as he had a really good interactive teaching method through his online textbook that had questions embedded in them as you went along. He really helps simplify economics and wanted his students to do well in the class.

There were lots of small projects in this class but generally pretty easy. He makes his lectures interesting by asking questions and then going over them. Lots of good resources outside of class (including videos with his pup)

He's a nice prof that wants to see his students do well, but oof. There's many mini assignments with kiritk, that is graded by a bunch of first year students. I'm a third year student who doesn't know ANYTHING about econ so, how are bunch of first year students suitable to grade anything??!

Gainer is an amazing prof, he genuinely is interested and knows the material he teaches. Everyone complains about his "heavy assignments" when in reality its small assignments that don't take much time and are easy A's. His textbook is mandatory, but it's good and is interactive. He also had a flipped classroom style which was great!

I honestly hated ECON 101 the curriculum itself, but Gainer was such a good professor that I would debate going on to 102. He really cared about how everyone did in the class and gave lots of opportunity to better your mark through video or group projects. Although group projects could be a pain if you're assigned a group that doesn't work together

Gainer taught an excellent class and he specifically designed the textbook so it was great. As long as you pay attention to what is due and follow along with the textbook you do not even have to attend class. There is however, lots of homework between individual projects, group projects and weekly questions. Overall great guy and class though!

He is a good lecturer and does useful questions in class. I appreciate how he integrates tech into the class BUT I found the amount of deadlines per week to be tedious. That being said its an easy 50% of your grade to bag if you put in the work anyways Kritik please sponsor this guy

I personally really liked Gainer because his lectures are really detailed and explained concepts well, however I wished that he would explain how to do the math problems better. IMO kritik wasnt as bad as others say and its honestly a grade booster cause people generally mark you easy even if you have the worst submission of all time

He's a good prof. I do agree with the excess amount of assignments that we did, however, I personally found kritik quite nice as it was a good way to learn the topics. His quizzes, in addition to midterm and final are easy. If you put an effort into it, its an easy A.

Put in the effort and you can succeed. Helpful and easy going

His lectures were great, and tests directly represented the course content. If you don't mind (super easy) group work, his class is awesome and easy to do well in.

Dr. Gainer is a great choice for an economics course. It is a bit annoying that he makes you buy his own textbook and a few other third-party resources, but in his defence, they are all super useful. There is a decent amount of weekly homework, but it really isn't too hard. Enjoyable lectures and an overall great guy!

I appreciate that he taught in a way that was up to date with the learning needs of today's world. He had many assignments- readings, group/individual projects, and quizzes each week that definitely did help me learn by application. Great way to bump your mark with these. Exams are much more difficult than what we do in class.

Dr. Gainer was a pretty good professor. Attendance really isn't necessary for this class because all you have to do is read the textbook. If you want to put in the extra work, he has videos handy for each section of each chapter. The only annoying thing is that we had to pay for his TopHat textbook and Kritik as opposed to Mesbah's class.

Alex is a very charming professor, he is always happy to answer your questions. Lectures are very organized. Lots of practice questions and the final/midterm are very similar to those questions. Textbooks and homework are interesting. He is a real gem.

I'm total garbage when it comes to numbers/charts/data, but Alex is so brilliantly organized and really lays a foundation for you to do well and actually understand economics. Very generous with his students, lots of relevant activities to boost your grade rather than depend on exams. He's definitely set a gold standard of good teaching for me.

Professor Gainer is my all-time favorite professor after four years at the U of A. I only had him for Econ 282, but I must say that this class has been the most important for understanding the economy in general and how to behave as a consumer & saver based on news. I cannot recommend him enough.

He really listens to student feedback and changes things to better fit with the class.

Honestly, this class is easily a grade booster. The way Prof Gainer ran the class was so smooth, there are lots of portions to gain percents from other than the midterm and final which are easy average boosters. Besides the midterms and finals were pretty easy if you study what he tells you. Also veryyyyy nice prof, super considerate and caring.

You have to buy his textbook and a platform for projects which sucks. Your mark consists of many categories which is good as the midterm/final are not worth much; however this makes the class load heavy. Lectures are just a repeat of textbook thus skippable. He does have plenty of resources for extra help and so is a pretty decent prof.

This man is beautiful. Honestly, I don't understand the hate. I never really studied that hard and binged on the lecture videos and class notes. The content was very logical and it felt like it was entertaining the way he presented it.

we call him father gainer because he has been a father to us. his class was very easy and midterm and final was very fair. i would take the class again even though i have to pay $100 for his textbook and membership, thats just how great it is.

Dr. Gainer is obviously very intelligent and knows his subject. The textbook was very clear and easy to understand, but absolutely mandatory to read. My only complaints are that the midterm has a very low time limit, there are about 1-3 assignments per week, and that you are required to pay for both the Kritik service and Gainer's textbook.

the only downside of gainer is price of the textbook ($100) and you also have to buy Kritik ($10) but other than that he is a really good prof and i think its worth the money i have to spend on his class

Some may say lots of work because of small assignments every week but 100% worth it. Better than having the final and midterm worth more. The project and peer review portion is a free 35% of the class if you put some effort. Easy tests compared to Professor Wong for sure; worth less, less Q, less concepts etc. Effort = easy MINIMUM B+. Lazy = Hard.

Lectures very informative & short ~ divided into 4/5 parts by sub-ideas. Smaller parts allow focus for a shorter duration & to have breaks in between. There're weekly Quizzes, Hwks &Group Activities, hence need to allocate a bit of time for that ~ 4 hours. Keep up w/Lectures, do your own homework/practice &you'll do fine on the midterms & final.

The labs and homework were all on the textbook site which was great compared to 101 where you have to buy a hundred extra subscriptions. The class was interesting and he did a good job teaching it. The midterm and final were beyond fair, just attend the lectures and do the assignments and you'll do fine.

Don't get scared off. The work you need to do in his class is super simple and actually forces you to remember things. The tradeoff is that you can cushion a good portion of your grade with some effort. It's very doable, especially during a lighter semester. Open book quizzes, awesome notes... The only real ridiculous thing is how handsome he is.

Lectures very informative & short ~ divided into 4/5 parts by sub-ideas. Smaller parts allow focus for a shorter duration & to have breaks in between. There're weekly Quizzes, Hwks &Group Activities, hence need to allocate a bit of time for that ~ 4 hours. Keep up w/Lectures, do your own homework/practice &you'll do fine on the midterms & final.

Alex Gainer is a very good prof. I loved his lectures and would highly recommend him. He does make you buy his textbook and there are lots of group projects and individual projects that were due weekly. I didn't mind this as it can help boost your mark if you did badly on the midterm. Overall 8.5/10 prof and would highly recommend.

Best Prof I have ever had!

very lazy, but easy marker. Lots of work outside of class, including making your own videos for peers to mark twice a month. Have to pay for his textbook and his kritik class, so that was annoying. Classes are boring but go because there's participation marks. Had him Monday,wednesday,friday, Monday classes teach yourself from home.

Damn, my guy's catching some heat on here. He provides you with all the resources to do well. I got away with not watching the lecture videos and attended the lectures instead, but when I needed help, they helped a lot. He tries to help you make friends with the group projects, and it actually works- that's how I met one of my best friends.

Cons- makes you pay for his textbook Pros- Literally every other aspect of his class. Lectures are engaging, he is great at answering questions.

Let's first address the elephant in the room: you're going to have to pay an extra $125 for educational tools. Bar that, there isn't anything bad to say about Gainer. His textbook is great, I even stopped watching his lectures by chapter 3 and just read the textbook. Kritik will be very annoying at first but you'll eventually get the hang of it.

A lot of people are complaining about buying the textbook, but there are a lot of practice questions in the textbook that were very helpful imo. The quizzes you do on the textbook program has questions which were similar to what was on midterms too. The kritik videos were annoying but it wasn't too bad. 30% for the final, compared to other profs.

People complaining about Kritik assignments are probably complaining because they didn't do well on them. Would 100% rather do that than a second midterm. He also drops your two lowest marks on Kritik. He replies to emails really fast, and he gives a lot of resources to help you succeed. He does charge for Kritik/textbook but it's worth it.

Super easy to do good in 102 with him. Really straight forward and simple notes, super regular hw schedule, records his lectures, great guy. Uses a lot of real world current events to show you how macro econ is a super useful. You do need the textbook but so many other classes require textbooks as well, so nothing significant about this.

i change my mind. at first i had a bad review calling this guy the Worst but I take it back becasue my parents are rich so 100 dollar textbook is whatever especially when the quizzes are pretty easy and kritik is free marks way better than a second midterm. You wont regret taking him

I loved this class with Gainer. His textbook is easy to understand and aligns perfectly with quizzes and exams. The Kritik videos are annoying but are easy grade boosters. In class you do questions so it prepares you for the quizzes each week. Highly recommend!

He is the best will surely take him again

Awesome guy. 282 was particularly a breeze with him. For those who had him for 101/102, in 282 there's no textbook required, no other payments to make. Exams are fair and exactly like the practice exams. Great notes, records his lectures. You have to make Kritik videos here too, but they're much easier than the 101/102 ones. Truly the GOAT.

Chill class, lots of repetition so many opportunities to learn. First reading, than online lecture, finally in-person lecture. Its just spaced practice, I don't understand the hate for peer evaluations either, its an effective learning tool. Overall the class was an easy A, microecon is a standardized subject and it was taught well.

As much as I didn't really like the content overall, Professor Gainer made it interesting and a great introduction to economics. The Kritik assignments were a bit annoying but if you put in a decent effort, you will easily get 90+ on the Kritik and Top Hat assignments (which make up 50% of the grade combined). Definitely would recommend.

Gainer is a beast. I just had him in ECON 101 and he made it very enjoyable. The homework is 50% of your grade so even if you screw up the 20% midterm and the 30% final, you'll still do very well in the course. The exams are fairly difficult, however, but he is generous and gives everyone an extra 5% boost if the average was low. Amazing professor.

He's definitely a great professor. As an international student, even if my English sucks, he always likes to help me and finally I got A+ in the end. He's nice, kind and friendly. He even once introduced his family in his class. I love him!!!!!

His textbook is awesome and completely worth $90. It has countless practice questions that were extremely similar to the final. Our grade is comprised of 25% quizzes that are open book and online, 20% easy projects, 5% participation, and the rest midterm/final. The lectures are engaging but repetitive so it's not a big deal to miss a lecture.

Hands down best prof ever. Added 5% to midterm grade. Videos seemed annoying in beginning but help even out grade really well, plus really help with course understanding and ngl kinda fun to do once you're done with your own video. Textbook is definitely worth the money, its very concise and easy to understand. Sweet prof, easy course

Great prof. Marking & the rubric is clear. Decent amount of work/reading but I put in around 4 hours max every week to receive an A. Very accessible during the weekdays and lotta tutorial time. Attendance isn't mandatory cuz there're lecture recordings for every class and concept-explaining videos for every chapter. Cost is around $120.

The class is mostly done online. Online textbook. Midterm and final you can book yourself. Video assignments are quite annoying, but it helps keep you on top of your concepts. Great prof, would take again

Gainer is a very nice prof and course work was relatively easy. Exams can be quite confusing but if you take time to fully understand the material you should do just fine.

He was one of the best profs I had this semester. I would highly recommend his class for any students looking to take Econ 101. He was very clear and his assignments were straightforward and as long as you put the work in you should do good.

His online textbook is the best ever! Very well written, and I love the built-in questions (they're basically freebie marks). He also puts up additional practice questions in his lectures and explains them, which was super helpful. Instead of a mid-term, you have 5 projects, and they are peer graded. (pros and cons to that) good class overall!

The lectures are a repeat of the assigned textbook and lecture videos, but they are a good review of the material (although dry at times). I found his textbook to be well-written and very helpful. Easy to get a good grade as long as you do the assignments, go to class, read the textbook. Kritik is not as bad as it first appears.

Gainer is an incredible professor. I know he makes you buy his textbook at the beginning of the semester but it is well worth it. The online format he offered for the course in Fall 22 worked very well, and I encourage anyone to take Econ 101 with Gainer. Also make sure you understand the chapter questions very well for the exams.

Great prof for an easy good grade. Very easy and organized class that I genuinely liked doing. Only thing is that he makes the course work so easy that the exams are WAY harder but since the grading is nice they don't effect the marks too much.

Best prof I've ever had. Lectures and his textbook are interesting and really easy to understand and assignments/quizzes were grade boosters.

Gainer is amazing prof, you do have to buy his online textbook 100$, but worth it because he makes the class super straight forward and most assignments are done through it. Lectures are optional he posts everything and can do it own your own time, exams are harder than the course work.

Gainer is an amazing prof, but you do have to buy his online textbook for $100 and his online video platform. The class is straightforward and as long as you do the work, you will do well. The midterm was not hard but the final was hard. Overall, still a great prof.

Easy but inconvenient Wasn't hard content (if you use outside supplementary sources when needed), the kritik videos are tedious to make. Class is completely based on a textbook he wrote (which you'll have to pay for -- full price, no sharing either). Gets hard to understand what he's talking about post midterm 1, due to poor wording

Gainer's lectures are very good and his textbook is top notch. The part of this class which will be hit or miss for people is the assignments. There are group projects every week and video assignments every other week. These are extremely easy but somewhat tedious. You also have to grade other students work which is a bit of a chore.

Amazing prof! I switched my major to econ because of him!!

Great professor, I only studied 2 days before exam on this course and got 82% which is within B gap, but he is willing curve my grades up to B+.

mr. gainer has a textbook pyramid scheme where he scams vulnerable students to purchase a 110 dollar textbook. times that number the the # of students in his class. he sits there, eating an avocado toast, boasting about how clean his skin. andrew wong is also guilty of the pyramid scheme. for an economic class, theyre making bank off of you guys !

Just study enough and make sure to ace your other assignments as the tests are hard and you will do good i got a B+ by acing the quizes and kritik videos ans getting avergae on my midterms

Midterm was a little cray cray but luckily he curved the results so I got a better mark. Had to buy his textbook and pay for other resources (TopHat) for his class. Informative tho.

Alex Gainer was a good prof. Everyone complains about having to buy his textbook and the website we use in class (Top Hat) but have to buy textbooks for other classes anyways. Quizzes were easy. Kritik assignments were decently easy. Midterm was harder but Gainer scaled our grades so everyone got a better grade. One of my easiest classes.

Gainer is a good prof. If you find this class difficult or think his teaching is difficult to understand you shouldn't be in university. One of my easiest classes. You have to buy his textbook and an account for a website that is used in class, but you have to buy textbooks in other classes anyways and his is cheaper. Overall, would recommend.

Prof Gainer made the content very easy to understand, and exams were based on his materials. Lots of extra resources to solidify understanding, but lots of homework outside of class (pretty unnecessary). It kind of sucks that you have to buy his textbook, but let's you know what to expect on exams. Overall, a good class for first-year.

Anybody who complains about him being a bad teacher or having hard tests are just lazy. Assignments and open book quizzes (50% of final grade) are so easy to get a 90%+ with 2-3 hours of work per week. The final and the one midterm you can easily get 80%+ with 5 hours of studying the day before. Attending lectures does help but honestly not needed.

The format of the class was different where you wouldn't have to go to class one day of the week but instead would be watching online lectures, and I think this was effective. The kritik videos as much as they might be no fun they're honestly there as a grade booster. Overall I'd recommend him.

He is organised and he has modules and a condensed easy to read textbook which makes everything easier it understand. I had him online asychonous, the kritik and top hat quizzes are 50% so ace those and you will have less pressure for the midterm and finbal and for the exams STUDY the practice ones he gioves they are very similar.

Gainer is definitely a good professor. Not great, but good. Buying a textbook he wrote that was full of grammatical errors was definitely frustrating, and the Kritik videos were tedious and annoying. However, he's very accessible outside of class, and his office hours are so worth attending because he explains very clearly. He is very helpful.

Great teacher

definitely the best prof I've had, his class was very straightforward and easy if you put in the work. He taught the class in an interactive kind of way, lectures are all posted online, and attendance isnt mandatory, but I found that going was helpful. Theres a mandatory textbook which costs around $100 but I would say its worth it.

The teacher teaches quite well and is easy to understand, but the tests are very difficult - the average of my class for Fall 2023 is 2.7

I took the online version of ECON 101 and it was pretty chill up until post-midterm. The only thing I didn't like was that 25% of our grade came from peer-grading activities but other than that Dr. Gainer is a proper bloke!

class was easy and laid back. lots to do such as the weekly top hat quizzes plus the kritik videos every other week, but they weren't difficult and are easy grade boosters, plus it helped my understanding. don't need to go to lectures but in class questions are helpful as he explains things. DO LOTS OF PRACTICE QUESTIONS for exams

He gave so much homework, it hard to keep up at the start, but you get used to it. He's a pretty good guy but spending $100 just for a textbook to access quizzes was kind of annoying. He is probably way better than the other econ profs though! I've had friends who watch Gainers econ videos even though they are in other lectures.

I really liked his class structure, learnt a lot.

My economics professor is great overall and genuinely wants students to succeed. He's passionate about the subject, making it engaging, though the course is challenging. Assignments can be heavy, and exams sometimes differ from practice materials. However, he's approachable, supportive, and dedicated.

Assignments are weighted equally with exams. The textbook integrates really well with the course material and you can almost learn the entire course from the textbook. Lots of office hours. The Kritik videos are easy marks. Course is offered in blended format but you can do it all online. Gainer does a great job of teaching this first year course.

you basically teach yourself this entire course, and you have to pay for tophat and kritik to complete assignments which is annoying. exams were straightforward, and weighed equally to the assignments which boosted grades. ngl this class was a lot of work for being online.

There was a lot of reading and self-teaching, but that's to be expected with any online course. The assignments were fairly easy and the exams properly reflect what you've learned.

Gainer was an unbelievable professor for Econ 101. His class is very opening towards first year students and his class structure is amazing. His online videos are a great counterpart with his in person lectures. This definitely makes it easy to review and learn a lecture if you missed one. Only criticism are the Kritik videos but they are worth it

Really good prof, always their for you if u wanna talk or have any questions. Really easy class though I would say modul 6-9 were harder than the other ones. Another critism is that youre forced to buy his textbook for 100 dollars and its just to do the quizzes but other than that Gainer was a really nice and approachable prof.

Amazing prof. You don't even need to go to his lectures because everything is readily available online. Very easy to do well in his class. The textbook he wrote is pricey but well worth it. Very passionate about the subject as well.

Easily my favorite class first semester of University. Being someone who struggles with exams the grade distribution in this class saved me. The online kritik videos actually were so helpful to understand the concepts and do well on exams. I will say the final is tricky but just study hard!

The only downside is the textbook and the Kritik platform. The videos may feel overwhelming at first but become manageable. Grades are well distributed across videos, exams, and weekly quizzes, which allow online searches. His lectures are engaging and make the material enjoyable to learn.

He was a great professor. Very easygoing class, with lots of homework though but not difficult to get good grades on the quizzes and Kritik assignments. The only downside was the amount of money you had to pay for the textbook and Kritik

Gainer is the man! Great Prof with lots of examples and keeps the class engaging. Easy class overall but the only downside is you have to buy his $100 textbook. Overall, Gainer is the best in the Econ Department.

I feel like there can be some people who do not like gainers way of delivering the course but there is no doubt that it is effective. If you are like me and don't like lectures this is the perfect class, you can study at your own pace and the book and practice exams are more than enough to get an A in this class

Very kind and approachable professor. You will need to get Top Hat and a textbook that costs around $100. That said, he explains concepts very clearly and maintains a good pace throughout the course. Since the course is asynchronous, it gives you the flexibility to work at your own pace, but your success really depends on how srsly you take it.

Professor Gainer is the GOAT. Take him if you absolutely can. He literally deserves a rating higher than 5. The only downside is that you have to buy his textbook on Tophat, a part from that, everything is just perfect.

A prof that lets you know how many hours you need to study per week straight from the get-go and awards you accordingly

He's a really good professor. The only downside is that you have to buy his textbook on Top hat to access quizzes which account for 10% of the total final grade.

Alex is great! I found the structure of his course to be simple and easy to follow. Yes, he wrote the required textbook which weirded me out a little, but aside from that he seems like a great guy. His office hours were accessible and he outsourced some of the lecture component to his prerecorded lessons which opened up class to be more interactive

He is the GOAT

everyone complains about having to pay for the textbook since he wrote it but in reality I found it pretty helpful. there isn't useless info in it really, and there are a bunch of practice questions too. the prof in general is super nice and understanding, he gave us 5 free marks once he saw how low the mid term results were. overall great prof.

Class was very easy, textbook is really useful. People who complain about this class are really lazy.

Alex does well to teach a course online. if your worried about taking Econ online take it with him. he does well to make his own notes and content that teach you well.

This man wrote the greatest textbook to grace this earth. Genuinely haven't seen a textbook made better. Projects were easy as well.

He curves, home work easy