He's a really good prof..the courses was interesting and fun

Alex is a really good guy. He got better at his job as the course continued. He could not make the course any easier than it was, and the info any clearer. He had no issues going over the material in many different ways if someone spoke up about not understanding. Easy A+ if you take care and try.

Awesome teacher, makes the material easy and fun. Almost impossible not to get an A in the course.

Explains well, knows his stuff, cares about students, tests are more than fair. What every professor should be like.

I kind of felt bad for Mills, he is a science guy teaching a prerequisite class to non-science majors who didn't care at all. His lectures are pretty good, he loves "Simpsons" references. There are 4 exams, study and you should pass. The labs are a bit dull but he puts everything on Moodle. And he's a cute silver fox.

Amazing

Prof. Mills was an amazing prof. Yes his class at times may seem dull but it is obvious that he has a passion for his field. I'm not much of a science fan and needed a good NATS course for G.Ed. Exams are all multiple choice and there are 4 and short! Anyone need a easy A (providing you attend all labs and go to lectures) This is def a bird course!

Great prof! Classes are interesting, tests are fairly easy and makes sure concepts are explained thoroughly

Had Prof Mills last year and he is very helpful and his tests were easy as long as you review. He always provided the best possible assistance to ensure that students did well on the tests and assignments. He is verrrry helpful! Great Prof and cant wait to take another course with him

An actual teacher. Clear with many different approaches to understand content. Good sense of humour.

Best prof I've had at York so far.. Scratch that, best TEACHER I've had at York.

A good guy, over all. If anything, I think he tried a bit too hard to appease his students. However, there is something about his particular brand of niceness that I just don't believe. Even so, the course is an easy A+ if you attend.

Was a great teacher. Very helpful, and made it easy to understand the terminology. Overall the best teacher I've had at York!

Great professor! Loves what he teaches and is extremely helpful. I really enjoyed this class. Textbook not necessary AT ALL. It's a nice coffee table book, but his lectures and your notes are all you need

Amazing prof ever! love him

Very informative, clear, and helpful! Responds to e-mails very quickly. I learned so much!

An amazing prof! Very funny, enthusiastic and engaging. Always willing to answer questions and address any concerned. He was the very first class and prof I saw on my first day at York and I'm glad he was. Although his course was early in the morning, it's worth going to. However, if you choose not to, it's all on Moodle anyway! Best Prof!

Don't even think twice about taking his course!! He is an AMAZING professor I'm actually taking the time to write this review because he is clear, hilarious, cares about what he teaches and very approachable. MOST AMAZING PROF! easy A+ is you listen to him. so enthusiastic never gets boring.

Very tough course. This is the first time I have taken a course with Dr. Mills. I thought Dr. Mills would give us fair tests since he's very kind and knowledgeable, but it seams like no matter how much you study, you will do poorly on the test. This course might be my first B+, avoid at any cost. I will be dropping this course.

He is the good guy Greg of biology professors at York. Very reasonable. Very approachable. Very clear. Don't listen to the last comment. Just go to class and pay attention. He literally outlines whats on the tests for you. Great class and great prof!

AMAZING PROFESSOR!!!

Outstanding professor! Hard to find professors like him especially in the biology department. I have taken 3 biology courses with him (this year and in 2011-pop eco and current topics) and Professor Mills was incredible in all 3. You must work hard though!

Dr. Mills is the best prof at York in the Biology department! He is so nice, helpful and genuinely wants everyone to do well. I would definitely recommend taking his classes. (I have taken BIOL 3200, 3100 and conservation bio with him and all were great!)

Took evolution with him. Amazing proff. very approachable, very nice, polite, understanding, funny, explains everything clearly, his tests weren't all that easy. you had to know the topic very thoroughly. I can confidently say that He Is by Far the Best Biology Proff at York !

VERY nice guy. But he's very subjective on the tests as they are all short answer. His kindness won't make up for your possible bad grades. If you have a passion for this course you'll probably do well but if you're just taking the course because you think "its easy" don't bother taking it.

This prof is amazing! His expectations are clear and his lectures are great. His marking scheme is fair and assignments are very do-able. Definitely recommend him for a first year nats course!

Amazing professor. I was so worried about having to take a science course, but he made it accessible and actually interesting. He is a true teacher, not just an academic. He explains everything thoroughly and if you attend lectures and follow the instructions on the assignment you will do well. He is by far the best prof. I have had!

i took a few courses with him and got straight A's. didn't use any textbooks and was super.

Awesome prof, he explained everything clearly in a simple form. Midterms and final are based on courses PPT. So, definitely go to the lectures, and u should be able to end up with a good mark.

He is a really nice guy and he knows how to teach. He delivers everything you are looking from a course. His midterms are detailed but they strictly follow his lectures notes. know everything on his slides by heart to get an A. Overall the grading is fair, and classes are intersting

nice prof. boring class. teaches off PPs, and posted all of them online. they are fairly short, mostly pictures. he goes into more detail in lectures. some information that may help on assignments he only talks about in class. i skipped half the lectures and did assignments the day before. EZ A if you attend. Animal Migration; TRUE BIRD COURSE!!!!!

Interesting guy, who may be an awsome NATS prof, but is terrible for bio1001. He never uses the text. Forget about taking notes because everything he says is verbatum from the slides, which are confusing to study from. His tests are brutal, even if you have prepared well for them. If you got an A in 1000, dont expact the same with Mills in 1001.

Awesome prof, he taught everything straight from the PPT slides but in a simple way. learned a lot by attending all his lectures. you will definitely enjoy the course, if you loves animal.

Amazing prof, amazing lectures, and useful lecture slides.

Amazing professor, attend all lectures, make extra notes for the PPT slides he provides and you're good to go. Also, VERY approachable.

Tests are 99% if not 100% from slides. Make sure you understand everything, or memorized. Some questions could literally be on a sentence from slides. You should come to every lecture, he gave us so many hints. Overall my favourite professor, very helpful,interesting, nice and caring

Dr. Mills is the best possible biology prof you can get for 1001. Kind, helpful, and super easy tests. Make sure you study his lecture slides and the things he emphasizes in lecture.

Mills is a fantastic professor. I've taken three classes with him so far, one of them a field course, and he's been great in all of them. I can't speak for 1001, but can note that in upper year classes, he places special emphasis on the scientific articles he references. Study those just as much as the lecture material, and you'll be fine.

Greta prof. Memorize lectures and read the textbook over once and you should be good. Test are more than fair.

Dr. Mills is a very nice guy. His lectures are very clear and his does a good job of going through details so that they are easily understood. I would recommend taking use of his office hours if you puzzled with any concepts. He is extremely approachable and is always willing to help. His tests are a combination of memorization and application.

He is very good at explaining the material so students understand, after all he did write many textbooks for high school students. He is very passionate about what he does and is very willing to help students when they have questions, although that is not very often because the course is not very difficult, and on top of that he's a great prof

He's great

He was my favorite professor this year, great lecturer! His test were not hard and were based solely on his powerpoint presentations. I would definitely recommend attending the lectures. The exam was very tough, but there are opportunities to bring marks up because of the wighting and stuff. Also, I think the ratings for hotness are outdated.

the exam was difficult but the midterms were based exclusively on his powerpoints. i wondered many times whether buying the textbook was worth it.

The final exam was tough and you also had to remember specific examples from his power points to do well on the midterms.

The midterms are easy. However, the final exam was moderately hard, so don't be too over confident going into the exam. Remember to memorize the details. Mills is a great prof, he is very passionate about his teaching and he makes every effort to make us understand.

Dr. Mills was an awesome professor who would go out of his way to make sure students clearly understood all parts of the course with clarification slides, a Q & A class before the tests and exam, and fair quizzes and tests too! The exam was tough though and you NEED to understand the CONCEPTS not just memorize necessarily.

Dr. Mills was a very sweet guy and makes the concepts he teaches are clear and understandable. The course content is not extremely difficult and he likes going through helpful examples. He hints at the important content that will be tested during his lectures, so pay attention to those! Overall, it was an interesting course and not too stressful.

His test are all based off lecture materials and sides, make sure you memorize the examples he gives you and memorize the slide. Don't buy the textbook, he barely uses it.. One of the few prof that actually teaches and explains the material, and make the class interesting and he indicated all the important stuff on the midterm in class.

Hands down amazing professor. He has interesting lectures, and prepares you will for the midterms! The exam was the hardest part of the entire course, but I would take any other class with him again!

Very easy. Thorough. Presentable. Distinctive character.

Mills is one of my all time favourite profs at york (I also took 4245 with him). He really cares about teaching and wants students to do well, but you need to work hard for it. He expects very detailed answers on tests, lots of memorization! He is a great teacher and is always available for extra help. Highly recommend any class he teaches :)

Best biology prof. Genuinely cares about his students.

Amazing prof. He genuinely cares about his students and tries to make sure everyone understands and nobody is left behind. He made 8:30am lectures something to look forward to. The tests were very easy (90's on both) but the exam was a bit more difficult. Lecture material is important for exams. Easily my favourite prof and I hope I have him again!

He gives great lectures but you honestly don't need to listen. When the exam comes, just read the slides and you'll pass with an easy A. You have to go to class to get points for clicker questions. He usually asks them at the beginning, which is annoying if you're late for class often.

He is one of the best profs out there. He is such a respectable and kind man. His lectures are very clear and interesting. If you memorize the lectures you can defiantly finish with an A+. Even though I found the topic of evolution boring I was still very interested in going to class for the quality of the lectures. Take it with him no hesitation.

Best professor ever. Very thoughtful towards his students and always goes into depth with the material. I actually looked forward to going to that class every week haha

This professor is legit the best Biology professor I've ever had. He really cares about his students and the stuff that he puts on the test are really stuffs that we've learned throughout the course. I didn't opened my textbook once but I attended every single lectures and the slides+learning outcomes are more than enough, very clear and concise.

I love Professor Mills! He really seemed to care about every student in class and did his best to try to accommodate. His tests varied in terms of difficulty. I would definitely take another class with him again! He explained every concept thoroughly, and would revisit concepts if they didn't sit well with students. Take his class!!

A GREAT lecturer. Very knowledgeable, articulate and clear about learning goals. Accessible outside class. Takes the time and effort to answer questions in person and over email consistently. Tests are fair. LISTEN to his lectures. Would recommend his lectures over the textbook (but it doesn't hurt to read the relevant text). STUDY for the exam.

Overall, Professor Mills is an excellent lecturer and is very knowledgeable. The textbook is mainly used to understand content and his exams are purely based on lecture content. Some of the content in his lectures are not in the textbook and are on his exams so make sure to attend class!

Professor Mills is an amazing professor overall. He cares about his students and is accessible outside class. Class attendance is very important as you're tested on mostly material thought. If you study slides, ask questions and pay attention in class, you will do well.

He is honestly an amazing professor! He uses pictures and graphs from the textbook and inserts them into his slide so we don't have to buy/read the textbook. His tests are completely based on material he discusses in class (a lot of the material wasn't on the slides so attendance was important). He made the class super fun and he is very caring.

AMAZING PROF! Clear lecturer, v. accessible outside class, caring abt students, v. pleasant personality, v. knowledgeable abt topics. If u complete in class quizzes for participation, review learning outcomes for exams & do ur labs, should get an A. His slides are really good & recording his lectures helped me a lot. If u need bio take it with him!

Amazing Biology Prof! Knows a lot about his field and explains the lecture content very clearly. Can't recommend him enough. I've always struggled with evolution and honestly, never found it interesting, but he made me really interested in the field. TAKE BIOL 1001 WITH HIM (SECTION N)!

AMAZING professor. If all professors were as caring as him the world would be a better place. His lectures are phenomenal and he always answers questions and makes everything clear. Definitely not an easy course but he makes learning worth it. He's always there to help and genuinely a very caring person. take a class with him!

He's an amazing lecturer. He is very kind and explains concepts very clearly. I've never understood and had a passion for evolution. But somehow, he has made the material grow on me and made me appreciate it. Ended the class with a B+, but if you enjoy evolution, BE SURE TO TAKE IT WITH HIM! You won't regret it.

Prof Mills is amazing, really cares for his students. He is very approachable outside class. Exams are based on whatever is on the lecture slides and what he says during class. Attendance is not mandatory but useful towards the clicker points. I would definitely take his class again.

He is honestly the best prof Ive had at york. He is super nice and caring. You dont even have to read the text book cause he includes everything in his lectures and even summarizes important textbook material and posts in on moodle. DO TAKE.

-Good Prof, easy course

Go to his section before its full

Best professor I've ever had. Go to his lectures and you will not only learn, but will have a great time. He truly cares for his students and wants them to succeed.

Prof. Mills is the best teacher I have ever had. Always has extensive office hours, gets the class engaged, takes the extra effort to know people's names. I'll be keeping my eye out for other courses he teaches through out my time at York University.

It was a pleasure being a part of Professor Mills' class. He definitely goes the extra mile to help you understand concepts. His testing is usually based off of his lectures, so it's important to go to class. His lectures are fun and you can definitely tell that he cares about his students' success.

best bio prof out there, love that he records his lectures

Best bio prof. He is so caring for his students and always wants us to succeed. Taking notes of his lectures are good enough for you receive an A on the midterms and exam as he gets the point across really well.

Best prof ever! Clearly loves teaching and wants to help his students. Would 100% recommend. If you go to class, take notes and put in effort an A is definitely achievable.

Alexander Mills is genuine, caring, and really wants you to do well. So inspirational! Favourite biology professor by far

Best professor ever! When we initially went online in March he was so understanding about the circumstances! He really cares about his students, and can teach very well/ is straightforward with the material.

He's kind, understanding and explains concepts well. If you took grade 11 and 12 bio, you can get an easy A in NATS1660.

Dr. Mills is by far the best prof. He's so nice, I don't think I've ever seen him be rude or get mad, he takes the time to answer people's questions and if he doesn't have time during class, he copies the chatbox on zoom to respond later. Super friendly & explains the material really well and you can tell he likes what he teaches.

Amazing prof, really cares about the subject and gets you invested.

Professor Mills by far the best biology professor I have ever had, he teaches enthusiastically and always answers your questions. He wants his students to understand the material and does not want to give a lot of homework and activities at the same time. Definitely would like to take another class with him.

He's absolutely amazing. SO respectful, kind and caring and I would love the opportunity to take the course with him again. And while all sections tried to make this course easier for students, Dr. Mills by far made it even easier! Seriously is an amazing professor.

Best professor in the past 3 years in York! He cares about students, gives feedbacks and very fast responds all the time, and even offers extended deadlines over the weekends. Class materials are not really hard as long as you listen to the lectures and have gone over the provided powerpoints. You will not regret attending his class!

An extremely patient and genuine guy. He does his best to make the class enjoyable and will stay after class to make sure everyone understands the material. Assessments were fair and reasonable, and grading was especially fair during the pandemic.

From the very beginning Prof Mills tried to make this course easy and fair for students. Even though I had his class at 8:30am, I did not find myself falling asleep to him, as he had a good pace & kept things interesting. He was very knowledgable and cared about his students. I don't think I will have a class with him again and it makes me so sad!!

one of the easiest A's i've ever gotten. since the course was online he made the tests open book and the labs are easy as long as you pay attention to the lectures. overall he's a great guy and genuinely cares about his students. his lectures are also based off the textbook so you don't even have to buy it. I would definitely take him again

Had for a Field Bio Course in the summer, was one of the best profs I've ever had! Very engaging with our little class and was very knowledgeable :) Wish I could take more classes with him, definitely was a very considerate marker and his quizzes and assignments were very fair. I expect his non-field courses to be equally interesting and engaging.

He was the best prof I have ever had at York and in my life. He made me want to switch majors to biology. He is passionate about what he teaches and so resourceful and highly educated. For the first time in my life I'm sad that a course has ended. Def recommend.

Prof. Mills is probably my favourite prof at York. His tests are extremely straightforward, and all the material you're tested on can be found in the textbook or taught in lecture. 10/10

I took BIOL 4520 without a very limited knowledge of birds and I left with a lot of knowledge and a new interest! Prof Alex is really passionate and knowledgeable about birds and you can learn a lot from him. He's very caring towards his students and is always willing to help out. His tests are application based which may be difficult for some.

Professor Mills is a fantastic instructor who really cares about student success. The course material is manageable if you stay engaged, attend lectures, and utilize resources like the provided textbook and Unstuckstudy for study prep. Overall, a great class that I'd happily take again.

So grateful to have has some a nice caring professor my first year of university. Did everything to help me succeed.

Professor Mills was amazing!! His lectures are clear and easy to understand, you can tell he has a huge passion for what he teaches and will take the time a care to make sure everyone understands the material. I also love the monthly tests he chooses to do over exams. A very enjoyable class and a fun and engaging prof!!

I took BIOL 4245 & 4070 with Professor Mills this term. These courses are by far the best courses I have ever taken. His teaching style allows for learning from mistakes and constant improvement through the advice he gives on tests and assignments. His use of examples that are applied to every concept taught has expanded my knowledge of nature.

I took a field course with Alex in the summer of 2023 & it was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot from the hands-on experience and there was a very supportive learning environment from both Alex & my other classmates. He had great lectures & great feedback. He got to know you on a personal level & always wanted to see you succeed in his class.

Birds with Professor Mills is very straightforward. He is great with questions both during/after lectures and points out important details you should focus on. The lab portion is very fair as well. Midterm and the final were both extremely well-written and rewarding for anyone who attends lectures regularly.