2.6
Quality3.2
Difficulty39%
Would Retake106
Reviews39%
Would Retake
106
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
18
3
22
2
24
1
29
What Students Say
“He makes very easy concepts look difficult and it's very hard to take useful notes in the class because a his handwriting is just terrible and b the balckboard looks kind of like his scratch paper”
CALC233 - 2.0 rating“Hes very bad at explaining and lowkey roasts you if you dont understand or get a wrong question”
MATH127 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
2%
Textbook Required
5%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH132
3.7
(3)MATH131
3.3
(3)CALC233
3.1
(7)CALC131
3.0
(4)MATH233
3.0
(4)Difficulty by Course
Math114
4.3
MATH233
4.0
CALC233
3.9
233
3.5
CALC131
3.5
Reviews (106)
He'll do a lot to make sure you're successful. Frequently emails to update students on course happenings. Friendly, sympathetic. Unlike some other faculty within the dept., Havens will go out of his way to make sure you understand the material.
Andrew Havens was very clear and very precise in his instruction. Office hours were extremely helpful and he was overall an excellent instructor.
This guy is one of the best math teachers in the department - and he's still a grad student. His classes make the material simple and his explanations are straightforward. He takes a great interest in the success of those he teaches, and is an overall great guy to know. Absolutely take his class if it's not full.
The worst thing is that his grading system. Exams only weigh 75% of the final grade and has 5% of class particification. Another bad thing is that the homework has two parts, webassign and written assignment. Written assignments are too much and difficult, and he only tells you the due date of written assignments once.
The exams for this class aren't too bad, neither is the WebAssign homework. But lord jesus almighty his Written Assignments are the hardest homework assignments I've ever done in my entire life. Havens is a really really kind, really passionate and helpful teacher. That said, his teaching is far, far too complicated and his homework is too much.
I feel like his teaching style is to make everything way more complicated than it needs to be. He makes very easy concepts look difficult and it's very hard to take useful notes in the class because a his handwriting is just terrible and b the balckboard looks kind of like his scratch paper... He doesn't write down things orderly.
Always comes prepared for the class. Has a loud and clear voice. Really enthusiastic about math and explains things clearly. Always stays after class to answer questions. Remembers every student's name and wants everyone to succeed. Quizzes are difficult, but even attempts give you lots of credit. Also, plenty of extra credit questions. Recommend.
I liked him. He likes to be elaborate like a pedantic mathematician, but this was done to help students understand the raw meaning behind all of the proofs more than anything. He hands out a quiz every week that is usually a take home quiz, and they count for 10% of the grade cumulatively. They are hard but prepare you for the exams very well.
I had no idea what was going on from the lectures (very theory-heavy) but the tests were child's play compared to the much harder quizzes. Khan Academy and/or office hours is your friend. Andrew is a cinnamon roll who really loves math and if you participate in class he'll like you a lot.
Math 233 is one of the hardest classes I have ever taken, and the only two things that helped me pass were Andrew Havens and a study group I formed with some other students. This man cares and he is so knowledgeable, and he grades mercifully with lots of curves because it's such a hard class. Do not take 233 with any other professor.
Calculus 3 itself is not a hard class, it may get challenging towards the end but it is not a struggle. However, he made the class nearly impossible. He would give out these extremely hard take home quizzes with only 2 days to do them. He also lectures at god speed for the entire 55 minutes even if half of what he's teaching is never used again.
He really expresses his enthusiasm about Mathematics when teaching. I consider math as one of my skills, but I don't know, I could not grasp what was being taught most of the times, maybe its just a nature of the course. I learned more from WebAssign than his class. He really wants to help his students understand and offers extra credit.
Andrew is a caring professor. The class is hard and the practice exams are nothing like the actual exam. Quizzes are hard but it's worth it. He is accessible outside the class and would help you out with your problems in math and class. Would like if the course chair made better practice exams and gave the solutions.
Andrew is easily one of the most enthusiastic professors I have encountered in my first semester. While his lectures go at a very fast pace, and it can become engaging sometimes, it was not uncommon to fall behind and eventually space out. He does give several examples and is always happy to answer questions. He never gets sidetracked.
Andrew is nice, but he overcomplicates the lectures a lot and doesn't use examples but he explains the theorem in a confusing way. I just skipped his lecture all together and using YouTube to learn. He was super helpful one on one and would explain problems in an easy way. If he taught lectures the way he did in office hours it'd be so much better.
Really cared about what he was teaching and had lots of time available out side of class. Going to his office hours was great, he was extremely helpful and made sure you understood everything. He doesn't do tons of examples compared to other teachers but he devotes a lot of time to explaining the proofs and context. I want to take calc 3 with him
Andrew is really helpful. You'll need to pay attention to the class a lot.
It is the second semester of online classes, and rather than actually lecturing or even at the very least having pre recorded lectures, he has us use Youtube videos to teach ourselves! Granted, he was involved in the making of the videos (somehow, he never went into detail) this man couldn't be bothered to hold a zoom class and do his job.
I was hoping for better. With the semester being online Andrew gave us youtube videos to follow for our lectures. The videos don't go in depth about the concepts. There are 2 mini quizzes a week that consist of 3 questions and we don't even have practice from some in the videos or on the homework. We are graded for questions that we have 0 practice
It's a shame I have him online. I assume he's fine face to face. He knows concepts well, as demonstrated in office hours/email. All lectures are prerecorded from a while ago, and it's not even him talking in them. I don't understand why he doesn't teach concepts himself because it seems like he likes to teach. I don't get it! But he's a nice person
Taking this class online was a mistake. Maybe not entirely his fault im learning nothing but the youtube lectures are awful and I cant listen to this womans voice for more than 30 seconds. The homework website is the worst thing i've ever used. If there were live lectures I may actually learn something.
The class is hard and the lectures suck because they're all prerecorded from a year ago... but the professor isn't all that bad. He's happy to meet outside of office hours. and he responds to emails quickly. that being said, i wish he'd put a bit more thought into online class. his face to face reviews are fine, so i guess he's just bad at online
Literally didnt teach anything outside of our first class and office hours. The flexibility is nice but you pretty much have to teach yourself everything.
Professor Havens and Calden were incredibly understanding of student's predicaments during the pandemic, which I thoroughly appreciated. They lowered the amount of homework we got on a daily basis and gave us more attempts on online quizzes after hearing feedback from students. Overall, very accessible and helpful TAs. Great math class choice.
Havens was mediocre from what I saw. The few times we spoke he seemed nice enough, but he seemed to do minimal effort when it came to the class. The lectures were pre-recorded by someone else. Our 2/week quizzes were easy if you remembered to do them, but if you forgot, good luck. With 2/week it was easy to forget a few. Homework was easy.
Professor Havens was really kind and available, but the lectures were prerecorded by another professor. She organized how the class would work, and Professor Havens mainly oversaw a couple of the class sections. You can really take this class with any of the 127 profs; it'll be the same. They gave back a lot of points at the end and no final exam.
As said in previous reviews to mine, this year with classes being held remotely, the lectures were pre-recorded YouTube videos by the department head. Professor Havens is quick to respond to emails, and easy to reach. He is very helpful during office hours, and I would say a good professor. However, the way this class was set up was a bit odd.
He was not a bad professor. He used lecture videos from the course chair which while great they werent his so I dont feel he gets any credit for that. Then all extra help was done by TAs outside of the first week I never heard from him outside of emails. Then he graded on discussion post which was weird for a math class. Was unimpressed overall
Prof A was very nice. Superfast with replying to e-mails, very accessible outside of class. I took this class online due to COVID, and there were no lectures so had to teach myself.
Hes very bad at explaining and lowkey roasts you if you dont understand or get a wrong question. He doesnt give many assignments though and since his lectures arent good, you have to watch videos on your own to understand. Hes very quick at responding to emails though.
I took math 127 with him, not 131. He goes very fast and seems to rush. He never finishes his lectures so he tells us to go watch videos instead. Two small quizzes per week gets very annoying.
Havens is really knowledgeable about calculus but he breaks down complicated concepts so that they are easily understandable. Lectures are non-mandatory. Lots of resources on moodle (videos, notes, etc.) that make it easy to succeed. As long as you complete the work (which isn't super time-consuming) and use the resources given, you will do well.
He doesn't record his lectures and goes pretty fast. He links videos from another teacher and honestly I learned more from her than from him. He's super nice and helps if you need it, but theres a lot of mini quizzes and chapter quizzes every few weeks.
No exams in this class, but homework heavy. We went over 5 textbook chapters, and there was a 10 question, online quiz at the end of each one. Other than that, there are two 3-question quizzes per week and about 20-25 homework questions. Lectures are optional, and he posts videos/notes online after them. Good for people that have trouble with math!
Havens is clearly a new professor. All of the work for this class is done online, as well as videos teaching the material, which he will recommend, from another umass professor. I went to class for the first few weeks but then never again, you can opt to never show up and watch videos if you want, even the tests are online. Also no final.
Andrew is a great guy, he is very accommodating and genuinely cares for his students. the class is hard, but if you do the homework and quizzes you can do well.
Really good professor
Easy-ish class, lots of homework but it's not difficult, you're actually given the solution to each problem on the 4 out of 5th attempt. No exams or final exams, just weekly mini-quizzes (3 questions) and then an occasional end of chapter quiz (10 questions), of which there were 5 total. Overall an easy class, take it with Havens if you can.
I hated going to his lectures because he would explain the easiest things and then brush over the things that were new. Def would recommend just watching the videos he posts at 2x speed. Weekly homework and quizzes that are basically your entire grade so don't forget to do them. Occasional chapter tests but no final
He goes really fast in the lectures so if you are not familiar with calculus it could be confusing. Instead of class, just watch the yt videos he posts from another umass prof because those are more helpful.
I hated his lectures and had to teach the material to myself. Luckily it wasn't too hard to teach to myself but it definitely made the class annoying. He's a nice guy but his style of teaching did not work for my way of learning. The tests and hw were all online and that's the only reason I got a good grade.
education majors must take this class with this professor, but be aware. He is a math expert so he lectures about math, but less about how to teach it. He doesn't really teach but just expects students to understand based on worksheets. tests are confusing, but he is willing to work with students if they show effort and care. Go to office hours!
Probably easier if you've taken calculus before. He and the TAs walk around helping/explaining things one on one during the in-class work. Homework, quizzes, and tests are all online. I don't use Chegg but they're very Cheggable. No mandatory final exam. SI review sessions for every test, and office hours every week.
I don't enjoy Dr. Haven's teaching style in lectures but was easily able to get by using the Youtube links he provides for every unit (which are great.) There are two, 3-point quizzes twice a week, and 2, 5-10 question homework assignments due on Sunday night, which can be tricky. I appreciate that he gives options for different learning styles.
All quizzes and exams are online but lectures did not directly correlate with homework and quiz questions and you definitely have to watch the additional videos he posts to completely understand the material.
Not the best but also not the worst. Lectures were boring (bc of material not professor) but were kind of helpful. Could get away with not going to them. Easy to get a good grade if you keep up with homeworks and moodle quizzes.
Good professor. Understood most of the material but there was kind of a lot of homework with mini quizzes twice a week and homework sets due also twice a week. Sometimes he randomly called on kids during the lectures but other than that not bad.
Havens often over-complicates concepts taught in class, so I suggest using the videos he posts instead of attending lectures. All homework, quizzes, and tests were online, and for the bi-weekly quizzes, we had two attempts. As long as you keep up with the assignments, you are guaranteed to pass.
To do well in Professor Havens' class you should attend and participate in as many lectures as you can. There 2 quizzes a week based off the lesson in the previous lecture as well as chapter quizzes about once or twice a month. There is also weekly homework on the weeks lectures. The best part was the optional final which can't hurt your grade.
Professor Havens is definitely a smart person who cares about their students but would often overcomplicate concepts. As someone who took Calc 2 in high school and chose to retake it and I regretted it. I wish I went straight into Calc 3. Although I will say Havens was very forgiving with deadlines for homework and always accessible through emails.
Havens is great, but you really don't have to go to lecture ever. Attendance is never taken, and there are videos posted on Moodle covering each chapter in depth. You definitely do have to either go to lecture or watch the videos, though, or the online HW and quizzes will be very difficult. There are no in person tests, though.
TAKE THIS. I didn't go to any lectures, he says himself you don't have to come if you don't want to lol. Optional final too. Hw once a week, two mini quizzes (3 questions each and you get 2 attempts). All exams online and quizzes. It's basically an easy "online course" you don't even have to go to class. He is awesome and lectures are recorded.
Havens is a very caring, considerate professor. He genuinely wants all of his students to understand the material and does a fair job conveying the info in lecture. He sometimes overcomplicates things in lecture, but posts lots of supplemental material online. Very understanding, does a great job accommodating student needs. Great communication.
I don't have any complaints for this class. Lecture attendance wasnt mandatory but I would recommend attending lectures if you struggle with calc. The material wasn't very difficult. Everything was online and open book. There were no exams just chapter quizzes. 2 mini-quizzes each week (3 questions) and he allowed us to take them twice. Nice guy.
Attendance is not mandatory and as long as you watch the lectures, you will understand the material. There are many TA office hours and Havens is very accessible through email. Not to mention he is flexible with deadlines. All the assignments are online so if you put effort into the class, you are sure to pass.
Honestly, good professor for Math 127. If you go to class and pay attention, easy to get an A. He explains the material well, and although there is a good amount of homework, the homework helps you learn, so I recommend doing it. Exams are all online, and if you study, you can do well. He will sometimes be a little rude to some students, but idc.
This professor does not actually TEACH. They expect you to complete worksheets at a record speed and cannot really clarify any expectations or fully answer questions. Coming to class was honestly a waste of my time, except if I did not go I would miss out on receiving another worksheet!!! Terrible experience. No exams, but extensive portfolios.
This class is overall not too bad, chapter tests every few weeks and 10 question homework's that give 5 tries each to get right. There is a mini 3 question quiz on each lesson. The lectures are boring but not mandatory. Havens is nice but can be rude.
This professor was almost impossible to reach by email as I was never able to receive a response. As an elementary education class, I feel they were almost overqualified for this as they moved through concepts quickly and expected students to understand them. No tests, but there are portfolios that are difficult and the instructions are not clear.
You literally do not need to class if you took AP Calc AB/BC. Lectures are nice and explain theories well, but if you took calc you will be bored out of your mind. Havens is good at his job though, and grading was very clear. It's incredibly easy to do well in this class. If you're good at math save your time and do not go to lecture.
Havens was a good professor. The lectures taught you all of the concepts and there are lots of outside resources to help you if needed. All of the work is done online. There are 2 mini quizzes each week (2 attempts), 5 10 question chapter quizzes, and no final exam. Super easy to get an A in this class.
You need to take 127 with Havens. No midterm/final! Grading is weekly HW online (it's on Wiley Plus) and two mini quizzes a week which are out of 3 points (be aware 2/3 is like a C- so...) There are 5 chapter quizzes which are 10 pts. At the end of the smst he had another chapter quiz that eliminated your lowest quiz score. Everything was online!!
No in person tests, grade breakdown: Mini Quizzes (x2 a week)(online) 25%, HW 25%, Tests 50% (10% each). Lectures were almost completely useless for me, just did the HW and used that knowledge to do the Mini Quizzes. Only need a 90% or above for an A, pretty easy math. HW did take me a while sometimes but you get 5 attempts on each question.
easy class, boring lectures
Ok lecturer, sometimes spent too much time on concepts over example. Sometimes quiz/test questions were unfair but most were similar to the examples in class or homework.
Note: this is for MATH 370 (junior year writing), as this class was not listed in the options. Professor waits until last minute to assign work. The first month of the class had next to nothing to do, assignment-wise. Meanwhile, most of the work was given in the last 3-4 weeks of the session.
overcomplicates everything
Literally the worst at explaining math. Stopped going to lectures because he would just confuse me with random tangents. SO BAD!!! Also, half the stuff on his quizzes was never brought up in the lecture and he refuses to help you.
This guy's lectures cover nothing that will be used on the quizzes or exams. When you go to get help he makes fun of your mistakes. I just want to know what I got wrong, I don't need you laughing in my face because I screwed up. This guy clearly does not want to be teaching.
He often laughed at students for answering incorrectly, creating an uncomfortable environment. While homework and quizzes were conducted online (two per week), the final exams were in person. Don't recommend raising your hand in class because even if you get it right, he will undermine it and make it sound wrong. Overcomplicates everything.
Just the worst. Hate this guys class. He clearly hates teaching a low level class so he rushes through everything and gets frustrated with the class when they don't what to do.
Okay professor. Sometimes moves a bit too fast and just expects everyone to know exactly what he is talking about. When someone asks for clarification or gets a question wrong, he lowkey makes fun of them. Easy to get a solid grade though because there are so many hw assignments and mini quizzes (all online) that aren't too hard.
Literally everything we do for assignments (homework, quizzes, chapter tests) are online. Going to his lectures doesn't really help. He goes very fast and doesn't spend enough time on a topic for you to actually learn it. If you have taken calc before, I would say you will be okay cause everything is review.
Goes fast during lectures; all the homework and quizzes are online and very note-based. Homework rarely resembled what we did in class that day. As other students have mentioned, he's not interested in teaching people who aren't ALREADY good at math. Not motivational, kinda mean. His way or the highway, and he's just not a nice guy.
Havens must see this class as a waste of time because all he does is speed through topics. You'll learn more through the textbook and just working through stuff on your own. I tried asking him questions in lectures occasionally and he was not helpful and just confused me more. Just don't take him
2 easy mini quizzes a week (3 questions)- homework was harder than quizzes/ tests. Lectures were long/unnecessary. Lots of time spent in class waiting for people to be done with example problems. Stopped showing up to lectures because everything could be done at home. Easy class- homework really assists in understanding the topics.
Every lecture I went to made me more confused on topics I already knew. Ended up no longer attending class, and reading the textbook and watching a video. I'd finish the homework and mini quiz all within a class time, I wouldn't take this if I were you. He doesn't answer questions and hates when people try and learn.
This class was a waste of my time. I learned better when I taught myself. CLASS MADE ME MORE CONFUSED. How can that be? Havens is not a good teacher of math. He overcomplicated everything and most of class is honestly spent sitting around doing nothing. I wish I saved my money and took this online.....
Came into the class with a 5 on AP Calc BC, only took this class for the GPA boost. Attended three lectures and learned how much of a waste of time doing anything he said to do was. Luckily already knew how to do everything in the class and got my GPA boost while doing my best to save the rest of his students through my tutoring, good luck.
nah j dont do it
Just don't take this if you don't have to especially not with this tool
Nice and wants to help students, responds timely to emails though teaches in a way that's hard to understand.
The lectures made me more confused on topics I already knew and often overcomplicated most topics. He's clearly passionate about math and tries to help if you ask, but he isn't a great teacher. Wouldn't recomment. Lots of HW. The class average for the final exam was
The lectures were very confusing and he often overcomplicated topics that could have been simplified. He goes through the lectures pretty quickly and often spends a lot of time waiting for students to finish example problems, leaving him rushing at the end of the lectures. Would not recommend.
He overcomplicates almost every topic you learn. Had calc in high school and learned the same stuff in this class but he made it seem much harder. Lots of homework and mini quizzes. Gives too less time to explaining and too much to solving examples in class.
not terrible class at all. if youve taken ap calc before you're pretty much good to go. studied for final like three days before it and did fine. all quizzes and chapter tests are online and final is in person.
He goes kinda fast, but if you've taken calc before it's a breeze. Plus no mid term exams which was nice.
I wasn't a fan of Haven's teaching style. He over-explained a lot of things which left me feeling confused about topics I already felt comfortable with. He could also be kind of rude sometimes. All the quizzes and tests are online and open note and the hw is reasonable.
Really bad professor. He clearly hates teaching a big lecture and will complain about it in class. The guy does not understand the concept of a time limit because he always goes over but complains when you start packing up. He also has no idea how to use canvas.
The class itself is easy, all online HW and quizzes and One In-Person Final. However, this guy manages to make this class hard. He can not explain something simply to save his life. He also is rude to students and often tries to go over-time in class. He tries to teach a 250+ person lecture like there is 10 students in the class. Not good.
I am a big fan of Dr. Havens. Havens would provide pretty clear rubrics for work, and would grade fairly. I recommend Havens for anyone looking to takewriting in mathematics. Note - this review is for MATH 370, not 127 - RMP doesn't have a 370 option.
I wasn't a fan of the way course was taught. Going to lectures wasn't helpful and confused me on topics I already knew. Overcomplicates things. Posts lecture and completed notes online. 2 attempts on mini quizzes (3 MC questions). Some questions in mini quizzes are messed up and don't have a right answer so you have to guess.
This professor is over complicating the easiest concepts, like dude, his slides only got words, no numbers, which is wild. He doesn't explain any concept, and at the end of the day i have to learn it myself on kahn academy. I've also taken calc ab in high school, and hes making it way more complicated it was compared to high school.
This professor might be one of the worst I have had. It is hard material, but he makes it way harder. I learn a lot more from the awesome TA's. Just don't take this class, waste of time.
Number 1 Opp
Prof Havens was fine. I rarely went to class since I took AP calculus in high school and did fine. He's not the best at explaining, you kinda have to learn on your own and reach out to TA's. Otherwise he's nice & understanding if you're sick. I emailed him when I forgot about the mini quizzes, said I was sick, and he reopened them for me.
It's really not as bad as people say it is!
Very unclear on explaining material. You have to review the slides after every class because he just zooms through the material without really explaining a lot. You should attend class though, it slightly helps. If you don't have prior Calculus experience, this will be very confusing.
This professor seems like a very nice person who tries their best to teach but the material just does not come across. I previously had taken calc and ended up having to help a lot of my friends who had no prior experience understand the material because a lot of it is just skipped over or way over complicated. The lectures confused me a lot.
Havens was okay, but not great. Lectures can be confusing, with more focus on graphical interpretations and theoretics than the actual math. I had taken calc in highschool, and was one of the only people who kew what was going on. Nice professor, but seems to explain topics to meet their own needs, not those of students. Nice person though!
If you enjoy life to any sort of degree, do not take 127 with this professor. Besides the fact that he explains arbitrarily easy concepts using graduate material, making them far more complicated than need be, he just genuinely sucks at actually making sure his students understand the material. I suggest going to a different professor's lecture.
His lectures truly overcomplicate every concept taught. The slides are incoherent and make the simple info so much more complex. The SI Sessions proved very helpful because he actually went through problems and detailed how he got to the solution. The literal only two grades that matter are the final and midterm, so good luck!
The guys a nice guy. The class stinks though. I took calc in high school and it is nothing like this class. Class was a lot oh homework which can give you good practice if you actually do it yourself. Class is hard though. Lectures are always confusing and he over complicates everything, so its very easy to get lost
Hated this class. He overcomplicated topics that couldve been explained more simply. He is also lowkey rude to students. If you didnt take calc in high school DO NOT TAKE IT WITH HAVENS. Now I have to retake it because I bombed the midterm, and there was no coming back from it. If you didn't hear me clearly the first time, do not take this class.
Epitome of evil.average grade on both exams were in the 59-65 range, and instead of offering help or extra credit for struggling students, his advice for them was to drop the class, it's pretty apparent he takes pride in students struggling. If you have taken calc before, i'd advise you to stay out of lecture and learn the material on your own.
messed up on assigning homework and i asked him what happened and why I was given a 0 in an email and sent me back the most passive aggressive email ever. makes fun of students who are clearly just struggling in the class and tells students to quit rather than helping them. waste of time going to class too.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
2%
Textbook Required
5%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.05 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH132
3.7
(3)MATH131
3.3
(3)CALC233
3.1
(7)CALC131
3.0
(4)MATH233
3.0
(4)Difficulty by Course
Math114
4.3
MATH233
4.0
CALC233
3.9
233
3.5
CALC131
3.5