2.3
Quality4.1
Difficulty15%
Would Retake86
Reviews15%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
9
4
16
3
10
2
17
1
34
What Students Say
“Professor is so hard to follow”
FIN463 - 2.0 rating“Takes roll and requires attendance, yet teaches very little during class time”
FIN311 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
8%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.03 avg changeRatings by Course
FIN316
4.5
(2)EC580
4.0
(1)BA316
4.0
(1)FIN318
3.5
(2)BA315
3.1
(17)Difficulty by Course
EC580
5.0
FIN318
5.0
ECONMANY
5.0
FIN615
5.0
FIN462562
4.8
Reviews (86)
This teacher is very rude to his students. He runs a very strict classroom and is difficult to understand. I would not recommend taking a class taught by this professor if there are other options.
prof. was extremely unclear interms of content and in terms of speaking the english language. while the class was an basic econ course he taught at a much high level which made it extremely difficult to pass any tests. powerpoints were up to 95 slides, in addition to reading the textbook, and additional notes. i do not recommend this prof
Good Teacher, If you are able to do work without someone holding your hand. Business students are such whiners.
Professor was extremely helpful to students with questions and interested in the topics he was teaching. Required you to keep up with his lessons outside of class, and if you did, it was easy to get an A. The only people who struggled were those who weren't doing any work or paying attention in class. Highly recommend.
Ali Emami is by far the worst teacher I have ever had. There is absolutely no organization of content, clear requirements, expectations or concepts. Most of the class time is spent watching Ali patronize students while he tirelessly derives complex economic theories which do nothing to help our understanding. Avoid him at all costs.
It is very hard to understand him and he doesn't really teach to the book. He doesnt spend much time on each topic and doesn't explain what he is doing in class.
I thought he was great, fair, every interested in me and the topic at hand. Only complaint would be it's difficult to get his attention for a question during class
I had a hard time in this class because there is a lot of reading. If you take this class with Emami, be sure to go to office hours at least once a week. Do this before you turn in online homeworks, and he will help you a lot. Do the readings. Make time to study. What he teaches is really important. Take it in summer or with easy classes.
Avoid this professor at all costs, he is terrible. he is hard to understand, it is unclear what he expects out of his students, and there seems to be no organization to his lectures. I WILL NEVER take another class with him
Emami is a good professor if you are a good student. I don't like office hours, but he will answer every question you have, ensuring that you know how to do what needs to be done. If you go before homework is due, you will be golden. He enjoys telling stories, so all info doesn't always get covered in class. GO TO OFFICE HOURS AND YOU WILL BE FINE!
SO hard to learn anything from this guy. his teaching is not very clear, and frankly I learned more from the book than i did in class. He doesnt understand when you ask him questions and his book that he requires for the class is confusing and overly wordy.
He's very hard to follow during lectures. He'll zip back and forth through slides randomly,rant at students for being stupid if they don't get it. And he puts stuff on the tests that was barely covered expecting us to just know. He's nice and tells good jokes but I would avoid him unless you have talent for finance.
I LOVED Ali Emami. Yes, he is very hard and sometimes is unclear about the processes that he is explaining. However, he is SO nice and if you are a good student and show that you are dedicated to work hard and try your best, you WILL get a good grade in this class. He just wants to test peoples strength sometimes. He is great and has a sense of hum
I really enjoyed his class. He is a good teacher and funny. The coursework is difficult but he is very personable and easy to approach.
I was skeptical at first BUT i grew to really enjoy this professor. He is very helpful if you approach him during office hours. Class time is enjoyable because he has a sense of humor. I recommend that if you are struggling in his class, that you go to office hours. He alays strives to make sure you understand. A+
Can be demanding but is very helpful when you go to his office hours
Demanding class, but good guy. May seem a bit gruff at first because of his accent...but he's a very friendly guy. On that note, his accent isn't that bad...you're an idiot if you can't understand him.
I had one of the worst experiences ever from this professor. I had an A going into the final and expected the final to be much like the other tests and half the material was on news items that had happened the last few days. The test average was a 58% and since the final was worth half our grade all of our grades suffered.
Professor Emami teaches difficult material. At first I thought he was cold and harsh. But after attending office hours I discovered he was willing to put as much effort into helping me as I was into finding help. I recommend him if you are a hardworking student because he will reward a good work ethic.
Ali is a funny guy. Always cracking funny jokes to TRY and keep the class interested. The material is SO dry and SO boring. Beware, the maroon colored book for this class is essential to the class, because the other books offered doesnt have chapters what were tested over. The class has WAY too much homework, and HARD quizzesweekly. Office hrs!!!!
Don't know.
Ali is a nice guy and pretty funny! However, he is a terrible teacher. He spends way too much time deriving theories/formulas and not teaching what is actually being tested. Tests are very hard! His teaching methods are very hard to follow - scattered. The class was much harder than it needed to be.
At first I thought Emami was very condescending and rude, now I love him! He's a really funny guy and I've learned tons in this class. There is ALOT of work, but he does these things to make you read the book and understand the material. As for people who complain about the work and or tests being hard and the material being dry, IT'S ECONOMICS!!
DO NOT TAKE BA 318 with Ali! I just came out of the final and seriously this guy feeds off you throwing you stupid "GOTCHA" questions. What he lectures on and his study guides/materials did nothing to prepare us for the obscure and poorly written questions on the final. Seriously, this guy shouldn't be teaching in our prestigious business school.
He will reward you if you come to class, go to office hours, show interest, and generally make an effort. If you don't, you will struggle and likely fail. He's a good teacher that recognizes students that try.
Ali's a great guy. He's clearly passionate about the material and has real world experience. He will meet with you whenever to give you any additional help and is easy to get a hold of. It's not an easy A class but it's definitely manageable. He's a good professor and has tons of interesting stories. Worth taking a class from.
Good class as long as you show up, he does take attendance. Tests are off what he posts on blackboard. No surprises in any of his midterms, everything is out of his book. Go to his office hours and you will pass with a descent grade.
Has an accent. Expects a lot from you. Quizzes and tests are multiple choice. Funny guy.
Do yourself a huge favor and do not take a class from this professor. His teaching is nothing short of a nightmare!
Emami comes across as rude and scowling but once you get to know him you'll realize he is one of the few who really cares and expects a lot from his students. Class is TOUGH but you'll learn so much from him. DO NOT get behind on the work. Very demanding class but worth it.
I really liked Professor Emami. The class was tough but no harder than any other upper division class. Do the homework and you'll pass the test. Lecture was fast paced but you can tell Emami is enthusiastic about the topic.
Unique person. Sometimes hard to understand. His examples are kinda weird at times. Heavy textbook use. About a chapter or two a week. Many project with 3-4 tests in the year. Class can be slow at times.
Ali is a genius. Sometimes he doesn't relate the material well to the class but by the end of the term I was convinced that was because he was just too intelligent for his own good sometimes. Extremely helpful in office hours and wants students to do well even though he may come off as rude sometimes.
This guy is great! If you want a class where attendance is mandatory but otherwise useless he's the man for it. Also, be prepared to read the entire book and study your ass off only to be completely blindsided on the exams with unrelated material!
So much to do in the class. We had 4 exams, 2 projects, weekly report due + small project related to the report every week, and 5 homeworks (online quizzes)! It was a lot!
Pretty strict, not very approachable.
Bad teaching skills. Messed up lecture with no clear outline. The lecture notes suck.
Professor Emami was the reason I switched to business. I got an A+ in his class because I did what he fairly required. He curves his tests and is a fair grader. If you go to class and do the work, you will do well. He makes himself available to you if you need to see him both in office hours and at his business downtown. One of my favorite teachers
Ali is one of the greatest professors I've ever had. He cares so much about his students and his community. He brings in real world relatable and current examples to keep students engaged and learning. I would hands down take another class from him. However, the group project sucked.
His English may not be the best or most fluent but he knows how to get across to you. He has some of the most hilarious jokes I've ever encountered from any teacher. Great sense of humor. He knows his stuff! Once you attend all his classes and do all the practice homework he gives you, you are ensured of getting a high grade. Best professor ever!
I greatly enjoyed Ali as an instructor, and have subsequently spoken with him and used him as a resource for recommendations and references. He has a great sense of humor and will keep you entertained during lecture (if you pay enough attention). I wouldn't say his course was particularly difficult, it's a matter of being diligent.
one of the average of the midterm was pretty low so he decided to cut half of te points u lost! In other words, i was curved about 12& but the average after curve was still barely 73 % which i have no idea why. If you take notes and study what he mentioned important. there is no way you would get unsatisfied grade.
The guidelines for class were extremely unclear. Lectures were confusing and out of the order in regards to the syllabus, which left students confused in the readings. Tests were graded harshly and weren't on the material he said they would be on. The midterm median before the curve was a 48% ...
Professor is so hard to follow. He grades exams harshly, and test us on some materials that were not covered. He wants you to read everything in the book so if something in the exam was not covered in the class, you supposed to know it. There are four exams which is a lot to do is his class. Do not recommend take with him at all.
Takes roll and requires attendance, yet teaches very little during class time. Expects students to do tons of reading, yet he's very unclear about which concepts are important and what will be on the test. The required course packet is a cluttered, unorganized mess.
I took finance with Ali and was initially intimidated by his attitude (and the idea I would be doing a lot of math for this course) but quickly realized that his teaching style is straight-forward and his expectations are even more so. Do the online homework, show up for lectures, and bring a good note sheet to each exam and you'll pass!
AVOID THIS PROFESSOR LIKE THE PLAGUE
Love Emami!!
Very boring lecturer. The stock simulation you do is pretty interesting but he does not make the outlines clear even when directly asked. If you ask a question about an assignment he will refer you to the syllabus. Expensive textbook and he made you buy his lecturer packet.
worst professor I've had his lecture is lack of organized and hard to follow don't take with him unless you like to teach yourself
Very dry, boring class sessions with blackboard notes that are often times hard to follow. Graded heavily on two tests, good news is he lets you bring a cheat sheet. Still not an easy class and he makes an uninteresting topic as uninteresting as possible. Try to avoid taking this class with Ali.
Professor was unorganized, did not know what chapter we were on each morning, was late almost every day, did not teach chapters that were on exams, would stare at us and ask the same question over and over in a condescending tone. The average score for the midterm was a 58% and the professor spent half of the following lecture chewing us out.
If u want someone to hold ur hand and walk u through a class, he is not ur guy. This is an upper division Finance class that is applicable to the real world. The material is tough but interesting. He knows what is talking about and pushes you to work hard. I learned so much from him. If ur finance concentration, take . If not, I wouldn't (its hard
Great professor! Breaks down key concepts and ideas to a very simple level. You need to be proactive and read all the material. When the effort and work is put in, you'll see good results.
This was easily the hardest class I've taken in college. Ali is a terrible teacher, as in he is extremely confusing in lecture & often moves forward without flushing out topics. The course material is also challenging for both Derivatives & International Finance. Avoid taking his class if you can.
Ali was disrespectful, a bad communicator, unclear in what he wanted us to do, and almost impossible to get ahold of over canvas or email. He taught us essentially nothing, and the average test score was well below 50%. If you have to take this, for the homework USE QUIZLETS!! They have all the answers, search the problem, do command+F to find them
This class was horrible, 85% of grade is mid term and final. Also on the test even multiple choice questions you have to show work. The class averages were Fs and Ds on tests. Only passed cause of the curve, would not recommend. Nice guy, bad teacher.
Unequivocally the worst professor I've ever had. Has zero regard for what's on the syllabus. Comes unprepared for lectures. Two weeks left in term, and has yet to grade any assignments.
Nice professor!
The one positive is he's approachable. He IGNORES the syllabus with days notice, the driest lecturer I ever had, ignores own office hours, unclear in instructions, didn't grade anything for 6 weeks, non-responsive to emails, condescending by saying you should know something already. Material alone is hard. One of if not the worst professor I had.
One of the worst Professors I've ever had. His lectures are basically worthless, he's rude and short with students, and his syllabus is outdated and confusing, along with the instructions to assignments/quizzes. An extremely misleading Professor.
Very rude and overall disorganized professor. Was genuinely afraid to be cold-called during class as he is very condescending and has no issue in making you feel stupid in front of everyone. Went on a rant about a story in the Bible for a good 20 minutes during one lecture which had ZERO relevance to the material, what is that about!
So here's the deal. Emami is a nice guy that cares about his students but his accent, age, and trouble adapting to an online format make learning in his courses very difficult. He is the type of prof to get upset if you don't have the answer he is looking for. He gets irritated that nobody talks but it makes sense given how cold and aggro he can be
Worst professor ever. 50% of your grade is the midterm, the other 50 is the final. You have homework, but it isn't graded. He can't even speak clearly enough to teach, and he makes no effort. He disrespects his students regularly. His lectures make you more confused. You will have to teach yourself without any proper materials. Avoid at all costs.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS! Possibly the worst professor I have ever had. He clearly knows a lot about the subject but is not good at teaching it to others. He expects you to know the material on day one and makes you feel dumb for asking any type of questions. The final was worth 60% of your grade.
Really bad Professor. Doesn't know his own syllabus, is VERY unclear and doesn't teach the course work well. Worst Professor I've had so far. Boring lectures. Fights students, STAY AWAY if you aren't scrappy.
WORST TEACHER IVE EVER HAD! picks on kids and makes up pop quizzes and makes us prove our math through zoom. Terrible. Should not be employed let alone by a university. Bum!
Worst Prof I have ever had by a mile. He would take large sections of class to take almost an hour to take roll out loud in a hundred person lecture class over zoom and was woefully unprepared to teach the course and interact with anything technological. Doesn't even know his own syllabus or due dates which makes it hard.
Worst prof I've ever encountered. He was unable to transition to the online format and seems like he would've incompetent in person as well. Frequently joined Zoom meetings with a poor connection and lashed out at students who couldn't understand his choppy audio. Only lectures with his poor handwritte notes which may as well be Sanskrit characters
Horrible teacher. Cant explain at all. You can study for the tests a week in advance and still fail.
Horrible teacher. Explains things in the most complicated ways then roasts students if they do not immediately understand when he asks for help. Because of this no one volunteers so he proceeds to say our entire class will fail in the real world. Class is 50% final 50% midterm and there is no curve, because "If no one gets an A its your fault"
Probably the worst professor I've taken a course with at the UO. The midterm and final both 50% of your final grade. Doesn't speak clearly, mumbles for most of the lecture and expects you to memorize everything he says. Doesn't curve and I quote, "I don't care if I don't give out A's, its not my problem its yours"
Professor Emami is really harsh and isn't a very good communicator. Get's easily frustrated when students don't understand what's going on, and doesn't do a great job of reading the room when students are confused. Not to mention he makes his classes 50% midterm 50% final which is really brutal and doesn't leave any room for mess ups.
Ali emami will make you buy a packet, just for his slides to be the packet. He will also just read directly from the slides without deviation. He refused to answer a question in a clear manner, his most frequent response being "Well it depends" without elaborating further. I am about to pass OChem while failing this class because of ali.
If you're looking to take FIN 283, save yourself the money and headache by just downloading the textbook "Fundamentals of Investing" by Smart, Gitman, and Joehnk for free on a book/pdf website. Anything I learned in this class I taught myself by reading the book. Ali is hard to understand and very aggressive when challenged.
In all honesty the class wasn't that bad, contrary to the ratings. Most of the grade is the midterm and final, but as long as you take good notes and read the textbook you'll be fine. He asks if there are any questions after showing examples, and explains things thoroughly. The lectures do tend to drag sometimes, but overall Ali is a pretty good.
90% of this course is graded by exams (30% for two midterms and 30% final) Each question on these quizzes is worth 1% of your final grade leaving no room for error especially when the questions are worded poorly. Ali is a funny and nice guy in a dry humor kind of way but this course was not enjoyable and I would avoid him if I needed BA318.
Professor Ali Emami can be hard headed, challenging, and spiteful. I found out very quickly that he does not like it when students stand up to him regardless of the reason or if he is in the wrong. Sometimes he's approachable, sometimes he's not. He knows the material but his lectures are hard to follow.
I feel like this class was a tale of two halves. Every up to Quiz 1, which was in week 6 of the class, was explained very well and thoroughly. After that, everything got much harder, he didn't go into much detail with things. Not open for support outside of class or helping you to succeed. Your grade isn't known until the end of the term.
One of the worst professors ever. Doesn't have an idea of your grade until the end of the class. Classes also felt different every time, where he would sometimes explain things well, while explaining things poorly at other times.
This is essentially a self taught course as you won't be able to understand lectures through a mumbled accent, and absolutely zero organization when "reading" through lecture slides. Possibly the worst class I've taken at the UO. Study for hours just to fail tests worth your whole grade. 3 tests 30% each.
While Emami was kind and attempted to explain things when you had a question, it was often difficult to understand him and there was lots of material he never taught on the tests that were worth 90% of your grade. He also made us take the first test twice and changed the way it was graded last minute. No one was able to finish the final in 2 hours.
Brutal class, highly recommend avoiding and finding a different class.
He gives the most boring lectures ever. Granted that finance is not the most exciting topic, but he talks so quietly, so slow, mumbles, and has an accent. All of these combined make it very hard to understand him and follow along, let alone be interested. Avoid taking him if possible.
His lectures are a drag and it can be very hard to hear him and understand what he is saying and writing. He takes attendance every day but they are free points in a very test-heavy course. With that being said, if you study the tests are manageable.
This professor simply shouldn't be teaching. It's not like he's a bad guy or doesn't know his stuff. Personally, the quality of this class just felt like I was being scammed. I can't recall a single thing from lecture or one thing he said that stuck with me. Don't get me started on the exam prep (Nothing). A self taught class that I wish I missed.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
8%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.03 avg changeRatings by Course
FIN316
4.5
(2)EC580
4.0
(1)BA316
4.0
(1)FIN318
3.5
(2)BA315
3.1
(17)Difficulty by Course
EC580
5.0
FIN318
5.0
ECONMANY
5.0
FIN615
5.0
FIN462562
4.8