3.1
Quality3.1
Difficulty47%
Would Retake105
Reviews47%
Would Retake
105
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
29
4
19
3
28
2
17
1
12
What Students Say
“Took him for a summer preparatory chemistry class”
CHEM111 - 2.0 rating“DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS”
CH101 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
85%
Textbook Required
78%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.18 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEMISTRY107
5.0
(1)CHEM001
5.0
(1)CHEMISTRY100
4.0
(1)CH100Q
4.0
(2)CHE100Q
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEM100Q
5.0
CHM111
5.0
111
4.0
CHEM001
4.0
CHEM111
4.0
Reviews (105)
I thought professor Banks was a really good professor. He is a happy person, and very enthusiastic about chemistry. Be careful, even though he has 200+ people in his class, he will still call on people to asnwer questions. His tests are pretty easy.
Banks is very excited about chemistry..but likes to put people on the spot with the microphone. Tests are pretty easy but class is boring unless he does an experiment...
I LOVED Dr. Banks. He's so friendly and especially FUNNY. A very nice and understanding person. GOOD REFERENCE!!!
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He is a really nice person. He does like to put people on the spot, but it isn't that bad. Sometimes the class can be boring, but he tells corny jokes to make it bearable. Really a good person. Like this class alot.
Banks was my THIRD prof for Chem 107. He was wonderful, His lessons were enjoyable and he was helpful beyond the call of duty. He worked with me often and gave me every resource at his disposal until I finally "got it". Superb man and teacher.
ummm, I think his class is kinda hard, he's also confusing, and personally i think its hard to stay focus in his class.. however, at the end he does replace the lowest test grade with the final grade.. and the questions on the final were pretty much exactly from the previous exams, only different numbers and such...
loves what he does
Extremely boring and half the stuff he says in lecture is not on the test. He tries to be funny, but it gets old quick. I learned a whole lot more during break-out sessions when the TA teaches. Although, this class is probably better than regular chemistry if you're not interested in it.
Nice person, boring lectures. It's best to print out the Powerpoints and follow along as he goes thru them and take notes in the margins. Tests are somewhat tricky, study guides can be a bit vague. Will help you if you see him one on one.
Dr. Banks is a very funny man. Tells frequent corny jokes. Class is easy and there is not too much work. He emphasizes honesty on the assignments. Overall a great professor.
Dr. B is very enthusiastic about chemistry. He's pretty funny but he runs through problems pretty fast. Sometimes he will only give us 30 sec's on a problem that takes at least 2 minutes. It's pretty frustrating when you really want to try it on your own. Also he sometimes will miss people wanting to ask questions because he didn't see their hand.
I hated chemistry prior to this class, but he helped me through it during his office hrs. I got an A plus- so I ended up liking it and learning.
BORING class. It's ridiculously long and he's not funny at all even though he tries extremely hard to be. He goes off on tangents about nothing relevant in the class alot
A great professor. His lectures are informative and interactive (no clicker questions). He explains things to you in plain English and if you don't understand something, he will help you out. No WebAssign, but you have OWL assignments that are like WebAssign but better. He designs his tests so that they're like the OWL questions. Have him for chem!
I tried to go to class every day, but his pointless ramblings were unbearable. The test are fair and the assignments are limited; however, he offers no assistance to students. The only way I made it through the class was by teaching myself. Save yourself, do not take this class with Banks.
Dr. Banks is awesome! If you don't understand something during class and don't want to raise your hand to ask, go to him during his office hours. He'll love to help! Also, print powerpoints before class and write on the sides. The practice questions from every chapter aren't really that helpful. Make sure you pay attention, though!
I came to class, did the clicker question, and left early every day and managed an A. just do the study guide and memorize definitions and you should be fine. dont buy the textbook i never opened mine. you cant use your computer but you can bring other work to do and he'd never notice.
Great chem professor! You can tell he's really enthusiastic about chemistry and that helps you pay attention in class. His homework is through OWL which is like webassign but much better! You can submit your homework as many times as you want, and if you get a problem wrong, OWL gives you step by step problem solving help!
absolutely loved him! very helpful...print out powerpoints and study the study guide and you should be fine! never used book. easy a. (:
For something as difficult as chemistry, Dr. Banks makes it easy and fun to learn! Laugh at his jokes, read the power points, and attend/take notes during class and you will easily get an A!
Banks is a decent teacher. I was just really mad that he required the usual Chemistry book as well as a $42 Lab Manual that contains like 30 sheets of paper. The kicker is that the manual was created by Banks and his wife; just a little profiteering. You didn't need the manual as they let you turn in the labs on sheets of notebook paper.
Does not explain things all that well and is very unclear about what will be on the exams in his lectures. Loves to hear himself talk and the corny jokes got old after 48687 of them. He does NOT prepare you for the 'Mastering Chemistry' assignments online. He's a nice guy and I'll give him that.
This felt like a political science class disguised as a chemistry class. All we talked about was the environment with one class including a half hour speech on voting. Not chemistry! Then when the tests came, we had no idea what we were doing- no surprise, we had to learn it on our own!
SUPER EASY. SHOWED UP TWICE for class (except test dates). Managed an A without going to class. Just read your text book and you'll do fine. Tests are multiple choice and you sometimes have to show the math you used to get an answer (which is fair since it is chemistry). Attendance isn't mandatory. :)
He spends more time talking about his personal life than he does chemistry. His "notes" were not very helpful nor were his lectures. In his class you have to be willing to go learn the information on your own.
If you are not strong in chemistry and are not willing to learn the stuff on your own, do not take this class. His lectures are horrible and his powerpoints are worse. I am currently in the class and I would rate my overall satisfaction as a 2 out of 5. I am getting a A so far.
Nice guy who tells corny jokes, but attending lecture is an absolute waste. He goes on tangents about history/other useless info not on the test, and you wind up even more confused than when you walked in. I started teaching myself from the book before going to class, cause it's the only way you'll understand anything.
I find myself drawing pictures in my notebook instead of listening to lectures. He goes off topic and begins rambling on about his personal life constantly. His powerpoints are useless and I have begun to ask my friends to teach me the subject instead.
Adorable old man
I enjoyed coming to this class. The lectures were interesting, and Banks is very affable, and passionate about his work. My complaint, however, is that a SIGNIFICANT portion of material on the tests was never even MENTIONED in class. Unless you already have a good chemistry background, I would recommend a different course for your science credit.
I like Dr. Banks. He's very organized with posting grades online and handing things back. I don't really enjoy chemistry but I'm pretty good at it so it wasn't very hard. I have his CH 100 class though. GO TO OFFICE HOURS! If you don't understand something in class, he WILL explain better if you see him during those hours. Get help before tests
Nice man, tells corny jokes, he is helpful if you need him, but the class is hard, but if you study you will do fine
Easily the most enthusiastic teacher I have ever had. Great guy and gets test grades posted quickly. That being said, I haven't found his lectures particularly helpful. To complete the homework assignments and study I use my textbook and the internet and NOT his lecture notes.
Dr. Banks, although nice, is an awful professor. His lectures are unorganized, and he often rambles during class. To actually learn the material and do well on tests, you HAVE to teach yourself from the examples in the book. After having CH 101, I learned many of the things he did teach were wrong. He's unhelpful and very confusing.
Probably the most enthusiastic teacher you will ever see, really nice guy. However I thought his tests were really hard and there was often material on them we didn't go over in class.
I didn't learn much from the lectures and I felt like the exams were much harder than any of the hw problems. As a person he is very nice, and is very willing to help during office hours. As a professor I didn't feel like he was all that effective teaching the course concepts. He assumed too much background knowledge from the students.
Dr. Banks Chem 201. My 4 grades on the exams, 66%, 65% 44% 73%(final). I got a B- in the course after ceasing to attend lecture after the second test. Do the OWL homework, plus bonuses. There are no curves cus the way he compiles grades is in itself a curve. Just get max points on HWK and do alright on tests should get no lower than a B.
People take him because he is much more reasonable than Warren. OWL is an excellent HW system in which you can study the whole steps and solutions to solving problems and you get 27% of grade based on OWL alone (many extra credits). His finals have 41 questions but >30 of them are from his previous three mid-terms,so anyway you can't say he is hard
Likes to make jokes and relieve any tension. Very quirky. I thought he was a nice professor, very approachable, and always willing to help. Sometimes we didn't understand what he was explaining, though. I went to his office hours a few times. Thought he taught me better one-on-one rather than in our 30-ish people lecture class (summer class).
He is really nice and makes lame jokes all of the time. I laughed at them because at least he was trying to make class fun for everybody. He is very helpful and easy to talk to.
Honestly, worst professor/teacher ive ever had, including high school. he is too focused on getting the class to laugh at his weird personality than actually teaching the class. you will have to teach yourself and his never clear enough to know exactly what you need to know. you will have to read the entire textbook word for word to learn.
Such a sweet man! Honestly the only science class I've ever enjoyed going to. If you aren't very interested in science, but need to take one to fill a GEP requirement, his class is definitely the one to take.
He will keep you awake in class with his sense of humor and he is a very fun guy to have a one on one relationship with in office hours.
Dr. Banks is a very sweet man but he is extremely boring. His lectures don't really connect to the tests very well but he will help you if you need! If you use his office hours and read the book you will do fine.
Banks is fair to his students. Although his lectures aren't particularly useful, the homework helps fill the gaps between what is in the notes and on the test. He communicates well what he expects you to know for each test. Overall, not a bad professor.
Didn't particularly enjoy this class. I don't feel like the lectures were very helpful for the class. I learned more off of doing the homework online.
Dr Banks is a nice guy, but his lectures are extremely boring. It was hard for me to stay awake. His class is not that hard as long as you study. He provided my class with a list of things to know before every exam, which was helpful. As long as you know how to do most of the stuff on the list, then you'll pass his exams.
Dr. Banks is a really nice guy, but not the greatest teacher. I definitely found the text book more helpful that his lecture slides. Wouldn't recommend him.
This first time I took this course I had prof. Warren and had to drop it. Prof. Banks is a friendly and very enthusiastic teacher. If asked he will go back over a problem and answers any questions. He uses OWL for HW which is more helpful than webassign. Even though I hate chemistry, I did listen to his lectures and understood the material.
Probably the most enthusiastic teacher I've had at NCSU. Banks is hilarious - but that's only if you stick around for the lectures (which aren't necessary). OWL is a much better learning tool than WebAssign or his lectures - and it counts for a good chunk of your grade. Study OWL and older tests - you'll easily get a B or higher.
Enthusiastic guy. One of those types that's so intelligent, sometimes misses the mark with communicating concepts. Homework easy, tests medium-hard, just make sure you study & READ THE BOOK (I didn't read as much as I should've). Book+homework+khan academy/online videos=success. Lectures are boring sometimes b/c he utilizes every minute of class.
So Banks makes a lot of jokes that aren't funny and can get off topic a bit more than he should. He's a sweet guy and he tries to be as helpful as he can BUT isn't the best at conveying information, especially is you've never see it before. The book and online videos are your best bet. Take a different section if possible, but this one is livable.
He adds humor to his lectures to keep everyone at least a little bit alive. He goes WAY too fast through the powerpoints so you don't have enough time to write everything down. Nice guy, but tests are hard.
Dr. Banks is an outstanding professor. The course is not overly easy, as in show up and make the grade. However, if you attend class, and do the readings and hw, you will be fine. Make use of office hours if you need help. Dr. Banks is overly helpful and accessible and wants students to grasp concepts and succeed.
Really nice, loves to joke around during class and make fun experiments for everyone to enjoy. When going through notes he isn't always clear and his tests are a little jarring if you aren't ready for them. Go to his office hours-they help SO MUCH and you get to know him better. He's a really great guy. PS: you will use the textbook a LOT.
Very helpful professor! He tells corny jokes to lighten the class up. He loves chemistry and teaching. You'll have to study hard for his tests- you will not do well unless you study. His tests are straight off his powerpoints. You could get by without buying the book easily.
Banks is a really good teacher, the in-class example and homework really prepare you well for his tests, which are easy if you study hard. I definitely recommend him to anyone who plans on taking CH 201.
Bank's class could be shortened to 50 minutes and have the same amount accomplished. The lectures go on and on but he is a nice guy and very approachable. His tests are somewhat difficult usually with an average right around 70.
Banks is a great story teller but not so much a lecturer. He is entertaining and a good guy but not the best professor. Lectures are confusing and you leanr more from the textbook than him.
His notes are not very clear and there are very few examples which makes the homework kind of difficult especially when you lose credit for wrong answers.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Dr. Banks isn't a bad guy, but his notes follow absolutely no logical flow of information and his tests are unpredictable and frustrating. He goes off on annoying tangents and takes no time to actually go through examples of problems. I do NOT recommend him as a Chemistry 101 professor.
Dr. Banks is very enthusiastic about the subject, but spends more time explaining where formulas and theories come from, rather than just telling the class and doing practice problems. As someone who only has to take one Chemistry, I wish he would have spent more time on the big picture, rather than specific details which weren't even on the test
Okay, his lectures suck. He uses powerpoint lectures and the slides are very choppy and confusing. They don't really flow very well, which is exactly how it feels in lecture when you're listening to him. The lectures don't help you for the tests really. A lot of outside learning, youtube was my best friend. He goes off on tangents a lot.
His lectures are very dull and he goes off topic often. This is troublesome because to get good grades on the tests you must teach yourself the material. His SI sessions are very helpful however and he is a genuinely good guy.
Dr. Banks is a great professor. I admit, to begin with I didn't really enjoy his class as he tends to be pretty verbose and cracks lame jokes. As the semester progressed, I really got a sense of how much he cares about his students. Go to his office hours - he really helps!
He is so hard. I hadn't taken chemistry for three years before I had him, but he expected us to know way more than most of us did. If you have taken AP Chem, then you'd be fine, but if not I'd suggest you take someone else. I worked really hard in this class and am super thankful for the curve.
Overall, not a bad professor. His class is pretty straightforward. The grading is simple, there are 3 tests and a final, online homework (he doesn't use webassign which really helps, trust me), and recitation. His tests are fair and he gives you a list of what you need to study. A little disorganized but otherwise a pretty decent preofessor.
Overall he is a decent teacher. He teaches off of power points which for me isn't as helpful. He posts his power points online, so you can go and look at them if you don't go to class or to study before a test. Has 3 tests and a final with 15 sapling learning homework assignments.
Alton banks wasn't awful, but the notes and tests didn't always correlate. If you try really hard you can definitely get a B, but don't expect it to be handed to you.
3 tests and a final, lab component, and 8 homework assignments. You need to show up so you can answer questions for participation points. He has a lot of built in extra creditcurves. It's very straightforward, just study for the tests. He makes terrible jokes.
he posts PPTs of lectures in advance and for lectures he just reads them. They can be pretty difficult to follow at times. Definitely read the book if you get lost! It is super helpful and go to his office hours. Beware of the 3rd test! Also HW problems are easier than test questions so use the book for extra practice. Overall Banks was ok...
I took his class. his summer and I was worried because I had taken chemistry 101 before, lets just say I was not ready for it yet. He is extremely good about going into detail, by break it down in understandable terms, then builds back up to the appropriate scientific vocabulary. He was also very good at making class fun a learning environment
I practically taught myself this class.
Banks is a nice guy who makes extremely corny jokes and cares about his students. That being said, I learned nothing from his lectures. He reads off of a powerpoint for over an hour and at the end of class I'm sitting there wondering what just happened. It requires extensive studying and teaching yourself to pass if you've never taken Chem before.
He reads off of a powerpoint all class and goes off on irrelevant tangents and makes bad jokes. Doesn't really do much explaining when it comes to example problems and kind of flys through the lectures. Youll have better luck teaching yourself. Tests are okay, but dont necessarily correlate with the lectures.
This guy is absolutely a mess. His lectures are unorganized and he skips around so fast you have no time to take notes. He goes over practice problems in class but he doesn't do them clearly at all. In some instances he will just write the answer and proceed with his lecture. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
Dr. Banks is a very nice guy and makes the corniest jokes the whole duration of the class. The lectures are hard to follow because he likes to go off on tangents and give history lessons so you do do quite a bit of teaching to yourself. I found the sapling learning hws to be very helpful though! Only take this class if you have to.
Gets to know you and makes chem fun
Gets to know you and gets very happy when he makes the class laugh
I liked Dr. Banks at first, but as the semester went on I think he got a little disrespectful towards some students when answering questions. He has responded the same to me over email when inquiring things. Overall, he loves chemistry and his job but is confusing. He gets very off topic and tells irrelevant stories; it gets annoying.
Banks is a good teacher but he rambles a lot. His rambling often makes it hard to get to the key concepts. Also a very harsh grader- even though I got a 90% in the class, he uses total points so I got a B overall. You have to really work to get an A in this class. Don't buy the textbook- I never touched it.
This was the hardest class I have ever taken. As an intro to chemistry class I thought it would have been easier but it was not! Lectures are very long and he easily gets off track and doesn't spend time on the important parts of the lecture. I went to his office hours many times and my grade only got worse! Do not take this class!!!!!!!
Hardest class I have ever taken. Will not cut you any slack. Gets off topic a lot during lectures. Get a tutor. I must say he is very passionate about chemistry.
I loved Dr. Banks he is such a sweet heart. He really loves his students and loves to teach. The tests are tough but some are very similar to his tests on Koofers! Definitely worth looking at. He was a great teacher and I would definitely take one of his courses again. The tests can be difficult if you do not have a firm understanding on the topic.
Overall a good professor, really takes his time in going over math equations to make sure everyone understands the processes. Also, makes a lot of mistakes on exams so if you think the answer choices are wrong, always go approach him with your concern; he's very receiving of these types of problems and will fix them and/or give points back.
He provided us the opportunity to have a study group with him right before all exams. He would answer any question that was on the study guide and made sure you understood it before you left. It was a great class and Dr. Banks is a great teacher. I would def. take his class again and recommend it to anyone looking to learn.
I found that Professor Banks went through material very quickly and taught some topics in a confusing way that wasn't very clear/difficult. Stopped making exams all multiple choice and makes the majority free response (Spring '16) which is much more difficult.
This professor is not the best, he explains something then catches an attitude if you ask him to re explain, take someone else for Chem.
For an Introduction to Chem this class is very difficult to understand at times. The lectures are often confusing filled with unamusing jokes, and rambles about the history of science. Professor Banks is not the most generous professor, even after attempts to seek help he's not very kind. His rude remarks and attitudes have left me upset and lost.
annoying; long winded; unorganized
Dr. Banks had a couple of examples in his lecture classes. I wish there was more practice problems in lecture though. He has great lectures and tells stories that may first seem like they don't relate to the material but you'll remember them when you see the exams. Do talk to him outside of class. He is definitely great for letter of recommendations!
He rambles on about the history of chemistry and presents topics in very confusing ways. There are simple topics that he makes confusing. He is also very rude, I approached him one time and I had to bite my tongue because of how disrespectful he was.
Dr. Banks is the most enthusiastic teacher I've ever had. It's clear he genuinely cares about what he's teaching us. I had him for an 8:30 and I never fell asleep during his class the entire semester.
This is my favorite class. In a department full of awful chem professors, Dr. Banks is a true gift. His tests are very fair, as long as you go to class and do the homework you'll be fine. If chem isn't your thing and you struggle with concepts, I would suggest getting a tutor to help you get through so you don't get behind.
Professor Banks is a very nice professor, and really loves teaching chem! I enjoyed going to his class, and homework was very minimal. Since this class was my least demanding, it really got pushed to the side but to no fault of Professor Banks.
I had Dr. Banks for Chem 201 and he was great! I don't consider myself good at chem, but he helped me a lot and I ended up doing well in the class. If you struggle with chem at all, would recommend! He's not easy, but it's doable. He has a lot of office hours and is very helpful!
Hardest class ever taken, extremely difficult for a Prep. class. I took great notes, went to all lectures and didn't manage to get a good grade. Knows material well but I don't think he can explain and teach it as welll..
This is not an easy prep course. You will have to study frequently... the lectures are note heavy and there is no review period for the final.
Dr. Banks was one of my favorite professors this past semester. He's readily available to help you learn any way he can, but he lectures a lot. Although he's very enthusiastic when he teaches, I still fell asleep several times in his 8:30 class. The tests can be rough if you don't review all the material but he always gives out test study guides.
Dr. Banks is good at his job and care that you understand what is going on. He makes a good effort to make sure that his teaching is effective.
This class actually killed me a little. You're probably better off just taking CH101. It did nothing to prepare me and just hurt my GPA. He seems like a sweet guy, but not the best teacher. Half the time he just straight up would not give us the equation for how to do something.
Took him for a summer preparatory chemistry class. He treats his class like therapy - I failed the first exam by studying the textbook. Nothing will prepare you for the exams, especially since hes so vague about everything. Final was pathetic - I dont know how the man grades, but I ended up with a 76 on that. Do not miss the Sapling homework.
THE RUDEST TEACHER EVER. DO NOT TAKE HIM AT ANY COSTS!!!!!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
85%
Textbook Required
78%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.18 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEMISTRY107
5.0
(1)CHEM001
5.0
(1)CHEMISTRY100
4.0
(1)CH100Q
4.0
(2)CHE100Q
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEM100Q
5.0
CHM111
5.0
111
4.0
CHEM001
4.0
CHEM111
4.0