2.4
Quality3.9
Difficulty25%
Would Retake83
Reviews25%
Would Retake
83
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
83 total ratings5
4
4
14
3
19
2
23
1
23
What Students Say
“You have to teach yourself the entire semester”
CHEM1011 - 1.0 rating“buy the book, use the power point slides, and DO the homework”
CHEM1113 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
66%
Textbook Required
15%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.56 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEMI
4.0
(1)FT2403
4.0
(1)FT1073
3.3
(4)C1113
3.0
(1)CHEM1301
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEMISTRY
4.7
CHEM1103
4.2
CHEM1123
4.1
C1113
4.0
CHEMCHEM
4.0
Reviews (82)
Nice old man... however, he has trouble teaching chemistry so that non-science majors can understand it. He does not slow down even if the entire class doesnt understand, so stay on your toes. This class, both the lecture and lab with Riggs is hard.
he's a nice guy BUT his test are not! you have to be good in math/ and use all your critical thinking on his test.......
Very Fair. He has a very monotone voice, but as long as you read your book you should be fine. He cares about his students and really wants everybody to succeed. AMAZING guy!!!
Please dont even try to take his class he just teaches to have money he doesnt care about if you learn something. His class is really confusing and and what he teach in class in his exam is way different, Riggs is that kind of teacher that he doesnt care how you do in the class. the average of the class was approx. 40%. take Britt he is the BEST!
These comments make him seem way worse than he actually he is. If you were a good chemistry student in high school and you understand basic algebra, you will do good in his class. He will always give a curve on the exams in order to make the class average 70. Just do the homework and ask him for help when you need it.
He is a nice guy. I am still taking the class and im doing horrible. i do not understand where this guy gets his tests from AT ALL!! can anyone help?!!
I'm surprised at the comments here. Dr. Riggs is a brilliant guy who knows his stuff forward and backward. Yes, you MUST come to class and you MUST pay attention and take notes, but if you do, you'll do well. I made an A, easy. He's got a dry sense of humor, but I appreciate that! I say Dr. Riggs gets two thumbs up.
well. . .His class is do-able I got an A. He gives homework and quizzes that make up a large part of the grade and if you do them, you will get 100s. His tests are from lecture AND the book. Even though the class is doable, you MUST do well becasue he will not bump your grade even the littlest bit. He is not the WORST teacher here, just fyi.
He is a great guy! I loved his class he really got to know me and actually picked on me a lot and it kept things interesting. His tests are hard but he does curve and the quizzes and homework help. For my class he said we would not score lower in the class than we did on the final, and replaced your lowest test with your final. I got a B its doable
One thing that I admire with this professor is that he have a big heart and flexible. He is very approachable and helpful. But despite of his kindness GRADES are still not free. It feels great to learn from a teacher who really mean it when they say what they are doing is preparing you for your future.
Dr. Riggs is a nice guy. His class has a lot of long calculations, but if you enjoy algebra and can organize formulas well, this class should be fun and challenging. He does curve the tests. Good luck!
I took him for textile science and it was alot of work but I did learn a few things. There were a couple quizzes,a field trip and a semester project. I would suggest making flashcards and get ready to read ALOT!the tests are fill in the blank but he does provide a word bank.He's really nice but kinda boring and speaks in monotone.
He is a bit scatterbrained but very nice. The tests have nothing to do with your homework or what you go over in class so you're going to need to do a lot of outside studying on random websites or in other books if you want a good grade. Some students got good grades by spending hours in SLRC to understand the material, so that's another option.
Dr. Riggs is extremely nice and very helpful. He sincerely wants you to succeed. His only flaw, however, is the same for most science teachers: he knows the material so well that he has forgotten how to dumb it down to a beginner level. If you struggle with math, then you will struggle in his class.
He needs to make the class more exciting.He puts me to sleep!
I would recommend taking chem with anyone else. Riggs' class was incredibly difficult and he wasn't very good at explaining the material. He constantly made errors in his own calculations and the slides he provided as notes were useless so I read and annotated each chapter in order to keep up. Also, the tests are MUCH harder than the homework.
didn't learn much from him, i had to go on youtube to research most of the material, he put me to sleep for most of the lecture!! i would not take him again.
Dr. Riggs was a bad professor. He was very rude and couldn't do simple math. He openly admitted he has a 30% pass rate. If it at all possible, TAKE AT ANOTHER COLLEGE.
By far the worst professor I have ever had.
mono tone lectures straight from powerpoint so print them out and teach yourself. not very much hands on if that is the best way that you learn. just wasnt very helpful to me at all....
hated his class... mono tone lectures, works straight from his power points so print them out and teach yourself. he wasn't helpful at all with when you were lost or to clarify anything.
Dr. Riggs tries his best to relay the information but he forgets that most people have not taken chemistry before. The online hw and quizzes help to reiterate what you learn in class. I would definitely buy the book because its really helpful. He also gives good curves so you will for sure pass.
Professor Riggs is not the best teacher in the world, but after having him for two semesters I've learned he isn't that bad. His lectures are horrible because he teaches like we are Grad students. However, if you have questions he will answer them and he is a nice guy. DO THE HOMEWORK & QUiZZES!!! Prepare to teach yourself. Study!!!!
i say the book is mandatory because im basically teaching myself chemistry right now. Riggs is a very nice prof, its just really easy to get lost in his lectures
buy the book, use the power point slides, and DO the homework. beware of the homework due dates and times, he likes to do the ol' switcharoo. i stopped going to class midway through the semester (A LOT of people did) and would just study on my own in the library. youtube and khan academy are your friends during this difficult time! god speed
Dr. Riggs is an intelligent man and he's very nice. However, I feel that he could incorporate other means of learning to help execute the area of study. Yes! You do need to be in class and you do need to pay attention and take notes, but sometimes I feel that he can do a little more to make sure the students understand overall.
DR. RIGGS IS A NICE MAN HOWEVER THE TEST ARE EXREMLY HARD. YOU HAVE TO STUDY. THE CLASS IS EXTRA BORING AND HE MAKES IT WAY HARDER THAN IT HAS TO BE. YOU HAVE TO TEACH YOURSELF SINCE HE TALKS SO SLOW AND QUIETLY AND YOU MAY NOT GET EVERYTHING THAT HE IS SAYING. HE HAS A LOT OF QUIZZES BUT AS LONG AS YOU STUDY YOU SHOULD DO OK.
I actually only saw professor Riggs in our lab four times all semester. His lab really depended on the RA, who, for us was Rodriguez, and he was pretty awesome.
He is a nice person but sucks as a professor and its probably time for him to retire because he has nothing useful to give to the students. He doesn't really teach well and except to teach yourself for the tests and other assignments. It's possible to make an A if you just work hard on your own. Don't except to be taught by him at all.
This class is not a walk in the park. His lectures are very confusing and make things seem way more complicated than they should be. YOU HAVE TO READ if you want a chance of getting an A. He does give generous curves on exams and homework and quizzes help boost your grade because they don't have a limit on attempts. Take at your own risk
The best way to describe him is calm. He has a monotone voice and I just imagined to be watching "How Its Made." He loves writing on a chalkboard and it is CRUCIAL to copy everything down, even the diagrams. Do not be afraid to ask questions, he begs you to! I made an A+ by paying close attention to detail and having identical notes to his.
I'm still currently in his class but he is the worst professor I have ever encountered by all means if you can avoid taking his class do so! Save yourself the sanity, If you struggle with math like I do you will most likely not make it, he does not teach at all he expects you to already know all things chemistry and is extremely cocky and arrogant.
While Dr. Riggs is a nice man, I found his class to be very difficult. His lectures are hard to follow. I ended up teaching myself over half of the course material by watching YouTube and doing practice problems from the textbook. Tests are hard. Managed to pull an A but with great difficulty. Try to get a different prof esp. if you're in nursing!
He's great
Do not take him if you're not willing to learn the material all by yourself. If you do not have the motivation to teach yourself this course, you will fail. His lectures are fast-paced and hard to follow. He's a really nice and funny professor; however, I don't think he can simplify the material. He's too intelligent to "dumb" it down.
He reminds me of a nice grampa but his class is fast paced and honestly, you have to self-study to pass this class. I managed to barely pull an A. There are 4 major tests and then hw and quizzes(which should be 100s bc its unlimited trys) so your grade essentially falls on the tests. Its doable but he should not be your first option for this class
Professor Riggs' lectures consist of going through the powerpoint slides. The homework/quizzes are through Sapling & you get unlimited tries so you're guaranteed a 100 in both sections. The class before the test he goes over an old test which is very helpful! I scored 2 B's & 2 A's. If you thoroughly READ THE TEXTBOOK the tests are not hard.
Do the work and actually try to learn the material and there is no issue. He gives you enough homework, that you should at least be familiar with the material if that is all you do. Homework and quizzes mostly happen only online, but tests are in class. Do the quizzes and homework, that will help your grade no matter your test grade. Not too hard.
I really did not mind this class much. The lectures are sometimes hard to follow and there are times where he skips slides & expects you to learn it yourself, but it is very doable. I took notes both in class with lecture &out of class with the textbook & it helped alot. Homework and quizzes do help!! I liked this class and Dr. Riggs. Good luck! :)
Professor Riggs is a nice man, but his class can be a bit difficult. He's very smart, so he doesn't seem to be able to simplify anything, and he's not very understanding when students have trouble grasping a subject which can be frustrating. Do all the homework and quizzes. There are unlimited attempts, so do the problems until you get a 100
He seems like a really kind professor, yet he purposefully tries to trick you on the test. I have test anxiety and both of those factors caused me to do very poorly on the first test.
He's a nice professor but his tests are kind of tricky. The lectures are okay but this will probably be a self-study class. He comes through with the grades so just make sure you get 100s on Sapling hw and quizzes bc those will help you out in the long run.
Not very good at giving lectures, prepare to teach yourself.
Be prepared to teach yourself! learned everything by watching YouTube videos and reading the book. Dr. Riggs is confusing and hard to follow during lectures. I literally taught myself everything! Not a good prof. and he puts a lot of trick questions in his exams.
First of all, he is soooo old. Like I didn't think that would affect anything but it did.... The homework is online but it is a lot ! He reads off of powerpoint so it is very hard for him to keep people's attention. If you do not have to , DO NOT take his class!
DO NOT TAKE HIM. He expects his students to already know and understand chemistry and does not explain anything. You have to teach yourself the entire semester. He is also super old, has a monotone voice, and talks really low/ mumbly. Super difficult to understand. He also gives a ton of homework that is over material he hasn't gone over.
He doesnt teach is that simple. You only go to class for the attendance. Thats it teach yourself at home.
Terrible professors. Doesnt explain anything. You dont get a review for the exam. Hardly ever lets his class out early. You basically need to prepare to teach yourself.
Professor Riggs is a very intelligent man, if you don't understand something go talk to him. Paying attention during lecture is important. He reads from the powerpoint but show you how to do everything. Also he records all the lectures! He seems a bit scary yet he is super sweet. This class is hard in general so just be prepared for a challenge.
Lectures make you sleepy but Riggs is knowledgeable and helpful. Always grades quickly, responds to concerns by email FAST. He is a kind man. Makes sorta funny grandpa level chem jokes. I think this class was easy because of his help. Approachable guy, many resources for a good grade. We saw last year's tests before our test day - HELPFUL!
Although he is a bit monotone he really tries to teach his class. As long as you put in the effort you should be able to pass his class. Make sure to do all the homework and quiz assignments since that will help your grade in the end. He does have lecture videos and he does do a review before the exams.
I'm sure the guy is amazing at chemistry, but he is not a good teacher at all. All he does is read the powerpoint and expect you to understand, and he doesn't clarify questions even if you ask. Also his voice puts you to sleep. Offers no substance to the class.
Dr. Riggs does not explain things clearly. All he does is read through the powerpoint VERY FAST! I felt as if sometimes I couldnt understand because he was either going to fast or not explain the material. The homework was hard, and sometimes its 2 hours+ long. I would recommend taking someone else. I pretty much have taught myself this semester.
Do not under any circumstances subject yourself to his class unless you have no other options. He lectures in a very monotone voice and its honestly better to go home and teach yourself. Have a family emergency and miss assignments or a test? sucks to suck he cares more about the possibility of you cheating than giving you a fair shot. Awful class
Super super nice man, but the class itself was the most difficult thing I've ever done. I have never cried over a class as much as this one. Extremely difficult, hard to follow, impossible to get help. I got an A in lab but failed the lecture and had to change my major.
I'm surprised to see these awful reviews because Dr. Riggs is one of my all time fav professors at TWU. Chemistry isn't an easy subject, but he teaches it well. He breaks everything down, and if you need any help with anything, his door is open. He makes you learn the subject. He's excellent! Show him you care, and he will care right back.
I had Riggs for lab and he is absolutely absent from labs. Its all about your TA, mine was very understanding and helpful but overall graded hard. The most difficult part of this class is the in lab quizzes. The quizzes are never the same and are almost impossible to study for. I barely got a B but most people in my class failed
Im shocked to see all the negative things on Dr. Riggs here. Obviously chemistry is a difficult subject and takes a lot of practice to be successful, but I thought he was a decent professor. He cares, has a good sense of humor, and his lectures werent too bad. Lots of homework/quizzes (to be expected), but if you put in the effort not too bad.
Reading the reviews, I thought I would not be able to pass the class at all, but he is not that bad like everyone says. Chemistry is a bit hard, but it's not impossible to pass or understand. His lectures aren't really good, but he is very accessible outside of class. The hw is long (2 hrs), but you get used to it & have 3 attempts to make a 100
I mostly taught myself the material, but he was accessible and helpful upon request. Lectures were the exact powerpoints so I did not find them helpful. The grading is very clear, and while chemistry is challenging, if you try your best and don't procrastinate, an A is very achievable. Drops lowest test grade with the comprehensive final as well.
He is okay. he reads straight from the PowerPoints so that is that. I have had some serious problems due to covid and personal reasons and i emailed him about it. he came off as the deadline is passed so you have to continue on, and seemed a bit rude. there was a grade replacement with the comprehensive final but that's about it.
He made u feel dumb if u didn't know answers; he read off of powerpoints but used examples sometimes. make good friends in his lectures and use a lot of ur time to read the textbook and work on ur own. there's 4 exams and multiple homeworks to complete. Can be boring a lot of times but i passed with no help other than myself so good luck
the worst professor i've ever had. he reads straight off of his already bare minimum powerpoints. when you ask for help he is condescending and rude. he's not helpful at all and doesn't explain anything. would not recommend AT ALL. if he's your last option, register early next semester, seriously.
Chem is a very challenging subject, so you need to be prepared to teach yourself the subject anyways hes not bad but he just goes based off the powerpoint. If youre looking for sign, this is it, dont take it. Best Wishes!!
The homework he assigns takes about 3+ hours (no exaggeration). Lectures are mostly 1:45 to 2hr long if your online class and he makes MANDATORY to watch full lecture. Exam are ton of questions with very little time to take exam. He is rude to his students in announcements and emails. Awful experience all around
He's rude. Not helpful. You hav to watch his lecture before he answers your questions even if its just him reading off the powerpoint given to you. He told a student in my class that he expected us to remeber the material from middle school. Again, he is not helpful at all.
Dr. Riggs seems like a nice guy. However, the online format is not the way to go. He reads straight from the powerpoints given to you in his lectures but still requires them to be watched. He will respect you if you try. If he sees you're not trying, he tends to be unforgiving and rude. Overall, if you try, you will pass. If not, you will fail.
This was my second time taking Mr. Riggs. He definitely is tough. For this online portion you do have to listen to the lectures as participation and do about 2-3 hours of homework every week. Weekly homework and 4 tests are the only things graded in this class. He's very clear about what's due in the syllabus so plan accordingly. Best of Luck
He was the worst !! Terrible at explaining things because he LITERALLY just read from the powerpoint and thats it ! Not flexible at all EVEN THOUGH it had to do with technical MASTERING issues that every student was having. Did not try to reschedule an exam until it was 9 pm and everyone lost a whole day trying to get it turned in but we couldnt!
This professor wasn't bad, but I didn't have to have him in person. He was very boring and monotone in the lectures posted and had a rude tone in almost every email he sent. He would basically call out the class for not doing the work, which as a student that did all of it, made it seem redundant. The test is easy if you do all of the homework.
This class was completely online and that made some things very hard to do and you had to reach out to TAs to get question answered.
Lots of homework, don't skip any assignments! Professor is not sentimental when it comes to making up assignments or exams! He does post lectures so it's plenty of material to go over.. he is just not a professor you can work something out with if you miss any assignment for any reason :(
HE IS NOT WORTH YOUR FASFA MONEY! RUN!
Overall is an average professor. Watching his lectures didn't help me at all I taught myself with the book. As long as you keep up with the homework's and get passing grades on them you'll be able to pass his class. His test aren't graded heavily so you can get away with failing 1 maybe 2.
This is the most disrespectful professor I have ever encountered. He does not care about his students lives outside of his class. 3 hour homework assignments weekly, PLUS LAB, you do get multiple attempts but have to do the entire assignment over which again is 3 hours. He is extremely off-putting and dismissive of his students.
Overall Chill professor, Very monotoned lectures , lectures didnt help as much because he read off the powerpoint. However, this is an online class and is responsiblity based, As long as you keep up with the homework's and get passing grades on them you'll be able to pass his class
This course was alright but you have to teach yourself, there was very little communication from the teacher, and lab reports took forever to be graded.
he's very rude not very helpful and dissmisive I do not recommend his class
Dr. Riggs is not the worst Professor I have ever had, but there is no communication, unless you reach out to him. He was never rude to me the several times I reached out to him. The lectures are recorded from 2019 and he waits until the final week of classes to input grades. If you struggle with chemistry DO NOT take this course.
Professors Riggs was the hardest class I had ever taken but its survivable his lectures are boring but can be of use also he is not lenient he shows no mercy so don't think you'll be shown sympathy you're just a student with no life beyond his class study hard find a study group and survive if you're not already good at chemistry good luck!
He is a pretty chill professor. He is very monotone so it can be hard to pay attention in lecture however he explains all the material pretty well. If you pay attention to lecture and practice the learning checks that he gives, then you will do well on the tests.
Does not offer deadline extensions.Heavy assignments, tough tests, short time frame for exams, and tough grader and very rude. The only good thing about him is he will allow you to take exams earlier than the open date if you request him.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
66%
Textbook Required
15%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.56 avg changeRatings by Course
CHEMI
4.0
(1)FT2403
4.0
(1)FT1073
3.3
(4)C1113
3.0
(1)CHEM1301
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CHEMISTRY
4.7
CHEM1103
4.2
CHEM1123
4.1
C1113
4.0
CHEMCHEM
4.0