3.2
Quality3.8
Difficulty56%
Would Retake91
Reviews56%
Would Retake
91
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
26
4
19
3
9
2
22
1
15
What Students Say
“Those genetics TAs save my butt every test”
GN311 - 2.0 rating“Dr H was not nearly as bad as I had read”
GN311 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
76%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.41 avg changeRatings by Course
GN311
3.2
(89)GN312
1.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
GN312
4.0
GN311
3.8
Reviews (91)
WORST TEACHER EVER. He's been teaching the GN 312 lab for a few years, but this is the first semester that he's teaching GN 311 lecture and it's been a nightmare! He is very knowledgable in the subject of genetics, but he does not effectively relay the information to the students in a way that we can understand. Tests are extremely difficult.
Avoid Dr. Halweg if at all possible. If you can take the course with a different teacher or at a community college over the summer, then do so! Dr Halweg is not an effective teacher. He blows through the material like we are graduate students and expects us to already have a firm understanding of genetics. SAVE YOURSELF AND YOUR GPA.
Dr. Halweg isnt a bad teacher but when you ask for help he doesnt help you at all hes just condesending and anooying. Hes a harsh grader and made lab harder than it should be! Dont take him!
Overall, he made Genetics not as hard as others. You do not need to use the text book. He puts all the notes online and you can print them out and bring them with you. I found this class very easy after hearing my friends with other professors complain.
Dr. Halweg is good teacher and is definitely knowledgeable. Genetics 311 is hard in general, so the difficulty of the course doesn't stem from Halweg's teaching. He's pretty funny/sarcastic and you can tell he's super smart. Attend problem sessions and listen to the audio recordings of lectures at home and you'll be good.
Very hard class. Problem session and homework are necessary to even think about passing the class. You don't need to actually come to the lectures because he posts them online. The only thing about that is you might struggle figuring out answers in the powerpoint because the ones he provides does not include them
I really enjoyed Dr. Halweg's lectures. He doesn't read straight from the slides and he has a good sense of humor. However, I really struggled with his tests. They are not easy and they are taken online in the DELTA center, which was hard for me because I do much better when I can mark all over the questions. Dr. Halweg is very approachable.
You don't need to go to class because the slides are online and you'll tune him out anyway. If you want to pass the class, go to recitation and the genetics tutorial center in FOX 140 M-T 6-8. Those genetics TAs save my butt every test. I'm a genetics major and it's HARD
He's a good guy and a solid choice for GN 311. His tests are a bit hard, but he mostly takes from his homework and a couple of slides, so go over those and you're game. He tends to gloss over harder concepts, but you focus on those in recitation so that's not too bad. It did get pretty boring in the last 3rd of the class, but it's the material.
Halgew talks really fast in lecture, which is difficult to follow. He also has a tendency to talk down to people, and does not respect DSO accommodation on the basis that he finds it unfair and an inconvenience.
He obviously knows a lot about genetics, I just dont think teaching is for him. Overall, he isnt a bad professor though.
Halweg is well-informed keeps your interest during class. He moves fast through the material, but thats because there is A LOT that is covered. Because of this the course is very difficult and even with a lot of studying I couldn't pull an A on any tests. But, if you show an effort and come to his office hours he might curve your grade at the end.
Had an incident with making up a test. He was very understanding and let me take it. He is nice to talk to and will help you if you need it.
Dr H was not nearly as bad as I had read. Are tests really hard? YES! Is there a TON of material? YES YES! But come to class, do the homework and go to problem session! He's very accessible outside of class to review tests/go over questions and I found him to be very nice once I showed him that I was trying. Work hard and you'll do just fine
This class moves at a pace that is ridiculous. Halweg is an interesting person outside of class and is very knowledgable, but teaches as if each and every student in his class is definitively a genetics major or a graduate student studying genetics. The exams are incredibly hard and there is a massive amount of "lag" between material and exam.
Posts all his lectures online, but the tests will get you. Extra credit built into hw helps a lot. Even as a typical A+ student I only pulled a solid A on one of his tests. They're difficult and cover a lot of information, but he's not a terrible lecturer. Textbook not required, but read it anyway. Review all practice slides and a B is doable.
GN311 is a hard class, there is a ton of material. Print out notes and jot down small info, its not all on the slides. He's a good prof, knows what he's talking about and likes genetics, but the material is just tough. There are 5 exams, a lot of lag time but if you study and take notes consistently they aren't crazy hard, just the moodle questions
Tough, but fair I think. No cumulative final but there are 5 exams which works out to one every 3 weeks. Problem sessions are actually useful. You can look over your past exams by appointment only. Attendance closes in under 3 minutes, but you can still get participation credit, so don't skip just because you were late! Tests pull from the hw a lot
I honestly don't know how he is able to keep teaching here. He's super condescending, rude and doesn't seem like he wants to be there. For a lab you have to put in a lot of work and study a lot. He is a tough grader. The lab wasn't a requirement for me, but I took it b/c I thought it would be fun. I was wrong. If you don't need this lab don't take
We had five tests and they were all pretty similar to the homework and practice problems. Attendance and TopHat is a huge portion of your grade so make sure you go to class. There is extra credit on the homework. He is also helpful in office hours.
He is not a good profoessor. He cares more about reading off of the slides than actually teaching the material. He also leaves the attendance up for like 2 min and closes it as soon as class starts. He's not helpful in office hours and he doesn't really care about helping. Also, he doesn't help narrow down important topics from the 200+ slides.
He has a lot of bad ratings and I was worried about taking this class, but I honestly loved Dr. Halweg. If you work hard in this class in put in effort you will do well. Tests are just like the homework. Lectures aren't super fun but he tries to make it funny and the material is interesting if you actually pay attention.
I was terrified to have Dr. Halweg but he is actually a really sweet guy. He makes you know he's available if you need help and is ready to explain whatever you need. He's a good professor, but if you don't like his teaching style Dr. Jones lectures are posted so it doesn't matter who you take.
This was a course w a broad scope and lots of content. Lectures and HW are the only resources I used for studying. HW load is very manageable. Tophat is used for questions and attendance daily. I rarely read the textbook. Tests can be tricky but they give example problems that follow the same format as the harder Q's so if you study you'll be fine.
He didn't have tests we had mini-test videos. I did not mind these at all however the grading at times seemed hard and inconsistent. His lectures are great and the homework load is doable. He is a great professor and answers questions in a timely manner. Honors for thing class is fun as well. It consists of making 3 different infographics.
His class wasn't bad, but I would recommend you take Jones if you can. She seemed much more interesting. His lectures weren't too hard to follow, just kinda boring. The mini video grading seemed kinda scattered too. Overall, not too hard.
He schedules test right after breaks so you don't even get to enjoy your breaks because you will be studying. On weeks with breaks he doesn't cancel the problem session like most classes do he just records it and puts it online for you to complete on your own times. Each exam includes tons of content. Plan to study a lot or you won't do good.
Good luck. This guy gives exams that are open ended on calculations and the exams are already difficult enough. He gives you lectures that are long and tells you to restudy by watching them, but if you have other classes it's hard.
While there is the nice perk of not having to attend class and mostly being able to work at your own time frame. The tests are jokes, the amount of memorization for one test is insane and yes while he does offer exam feedback, he just highlights general areas you got wrong with nothing specific. Not to mention the timing of the exams after break.
This course was by far the worse course I have taken at NCSU. The instructor did not seem like he wanted to be there and the exams were extremely hard. He started teaching you the new unit before you took the previous unit exam, so you would have to study for days on end for the exam and then have to turn around and turn in homework.
This teacher is the worst that I have ever had. Tests? GOOD LUCK. They are so heavy in material and when he teaches you have no indication of what he is putting on the test. I have never failed a class and I am now on the verge of passing and failing because of him. It is a terrible class and he just worsens it.
This class is a mess from beginning to end. The tests are a lot harder than the homework. Since you can't look over your test once it's been graded, what you have and haven't covered is not clear. Yes, there's a form you can fill out, but with it I received was passive-aggressive advice to "learn how to study"
The exams were extremely difficult with the amount of content that he throws at us. Homeworks make up about 40-60% of the exams, while the rest could be anything from the 200 plus lecture slides. It got to the point where I stopped looking both ways to cross the road when I went to his lectures. Avoid him at all costs.
GN311 hardest class. 5 modules, every module has completely different material - specifically lots of different problems. Form a study group and practice solving the problems. Dr. Halweg gave lots of practice problems. The first unit is deceiving - following units will be hard! If you have a lot of other classes/difficult, take GN311 another time
If you are taking any other challenging course, take this class another time. There are 5 modules and the information is extremely scattered. He provides 200 slide powerpoints and pulls test questions from something that is only on 1 of the slides. It is challenging to study for the class, so form a study group and take Jones if possible.
There is no emphasis on what is important and what is filler. There could be questions on an exam asking about a specific concept that was only mentioned briefly on one slide. There are practice questions for each exam but they don't help that much since it is impossible for the questions to cover all 250+ slides worth of material. Not a fun time.
Unless you are ready to devote every hour of your life to this class, avoid this professor. Hard class, professor makes it 10x worse. I have had less stress in my organic/upper-level chemistry courses. You can study for hours and know the material well, and still very easily fail the tests. The type of professor that hopes students fail.
This is a tough class. The content isn't too bad but its just so much to learn. We move fast. There are never any breaks and we start new content a week before the previous test. Extra credit is possible. Tests are hard. I put in 6hrs studying and got a C/B. Started getting As when doing around 9-10hrs studying spread out the week before the test.
Halweg is rude, condescending, and a terrible professor. He does not care whether or not you succeed. He refuses to answer basic questions, and seem inconvenienced at having to do. He pulls random questions from a 250+ powerpoint. You are genuinely better off taking the course with Jones. In other words, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
Tests are mostly just the homework questions reworded. The content isn't hard, but making a tiny mistake that tanks your grade is easy. The textbook is not required, but the one we used for the class helped me.
Dr. Halweg is one of the worst professors I have ever had. He was not willing to help you, he acted like asking questions inconvenienced him. He is very disrespectful and heaven forbid you got get help somewhere else online because he has a system that tracks his students on the web. He will fail you without asking any questions or caring. Terrible
not helpful at all. went to review a test he did NOT want to be there. Had a test cancelled because of a wellness day but I can tell you he definitely doesn't care - piled two units of content into the next test (over 50-60 different topics) and didn't emphasize what was going to be on it at all - just sit back and watch us struggle.
Uses info from 200+ powerpoint slides. Exams are basically homework questions. Doesn't seem to care for students and goes fast through lecture. Would not take him agian.
I may be in the minority here, but I enjoyed Halweg. He is a funny guy, and I thought he expressed the material in a quick but orderly manner. Be ready to put in the work for this class. It is a year's worth of info crammed into a semester. The lectures can be boring but they can get interesting in Module 5. HW every week, exams weighed heavily.
Dr. Halweg is a great professor if you try in his class. He makes it clear what's on exams with concise learning outcomes, his homework is very helpful for exams, and he's great at answering questions. His office hours are helpful and he gave extra credit opportunities to make up for a cancelled exam bc of a wellness day. Class is interesting!
professor Halweg is really nice and very approachable. His lectures are extremely long and are packed with lots of information. He also moves quickly through his presentations so it's easy to zone out and get lost. Everything you need to know for the test is covered in class plus he provides practice problems and study guides
Tbh Halweg and Whitney Jones are the only professors and 311 is a highly standardized course... I would recommend taking whichever time block fits your schedule best and ignoring the professor for the most part. 5 exams (no cumulative final), homework due once a week on Fridays, Tophat for in class participation points, problem sessions for grade.
I never had Halweg's lecture portion, so this is more of a review on his Playposit videos on Moodle. I thought Halweg was a really great lecturer. Whatever topic or explanation Jones seemed to miss in class, Halweg would cover online in his videos which made everything flow together smoothly. He has dry humor, but I think it made him funnier lol
Dr. Halweg is an incredible professor. The course is fairly difficult and lecture heavy, but if you come to class and participate it is totally manageable. The tests are pretty similar to the homework questions. He is accessible outside of class. The class is interesting and there are opportunities for extra credit. Would definitely take again.
Dr. Halweg is a phenomenal professor. His class can be difficult but if you go to class, take notes, do the homework, and attend the problem sessions then it's 100% doable. Dr. Halweg is pretty funny and he's also understanding and caring when it comes to mental health which is reassuring. I definitely recommend him as a professor.
Dr. Halweg is a very nice professor. The course moves pretty quickly after exam one so be prepared to stay on top of lectures. Attendance is mandatory.
The worst part about this class is that the exams are up to a month behind the lecture material. We would learn something starting September 15 and the exam covering it is not until halfway through October. It is difficult to absorb new material when you are worried about studying and grasping the past material.
Attendance was a grade in a class that should not have forced attendance. Study well.
Prof. Halweg isn't that bad, and he's actually quite nice. He's willing to answer any question and is accessible outside of class. I feel that most of the difficulty is just from the class/material itself. Since the material is so dense, you HAVE to pay attention and take good notes. Attendance is also a small part of your grade.
He made the class entertaining and has a bunch of study materials available for tests. If you use them and look at the learning outcomes you should be good!
To be a junior in Human Bio and have this be my most difficult class I have EVER taken is ridiculous. The tests are random questions from 200+ powerpoint slides and are set up to be failed.Moves much too fast and has way too much material for the first level genetics class most students take. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO.
At first I did NOT like him, but then I started to think he was funny in the middle of the semester. By the end, I really liked him. He is a vibe! The last lecture is really cool. Tests are hard, but if you use the guides he gives then it's fine. And I was annoyed that we had to buy the textbook because I didn't really use it.
Does not care about the success of his students. Will read off the lecture slides, and attendance is mandatory. When I was struggling in class and attended his office hours he told me to look at his powerpoint. The exams are conceptual and weighed heavily. If you can take this course elsewhere I suggest that you do so.
I know Dr. Halweg has mixed reviews, but I quite liked him. He was very kind to me when I went to his office hours or emailed him, and he seemed to care about students, their well-being, and their success. The material he covers is dense and difficult, but that's just the nature of the class. Study and work hard and you can do well.
The rate my professor scared me, but he was great. He taught the material well and there were lots of extra credit opportunities. While the class had a lot of material, that's how it would be for any professor teaching the class. There's no cumulative final, just a module 5 test. HW was not overwhelming and helped to understand the material.
The tests were not too bad and there are practice problems and the homework problems which resembled the test. However, in terms of teaching the material Halweg was not the best. I would reccomend taking it with Dr.Jones. There is no cumulative final exam and there are weekly homework assignments.
Does not do a well job of explaining the concepts, TopHat questions are out to get you and you get a 50 if you get it wrong. He reads off the powerpoints and tests are hard.
Do NOT take this professor. He does not care for his students. This professor has 200+ powerpoint slides that he does not explain well. He will read off of the slides and cannot/ does not elaborate. During his office hours, he just refers you to look at the textbook or the practice questions and does not actually help you.
Dr. Halweg is honestly not the best professor. He just reads off of powerpoints with 100+ slides, so every time an exam comes up it feels like you just have to teach the material to yourself. I would spend 4+ days before exams of almost constant studying and still got B's & C's every exam. Be prepared to WORK for your grade.
go to class and do good on homework to boost your exam grade. Exams do not test your knowledge of content which sucks. Also the first exam is by far the easiest so do well on that (still hard af) exam 2 is okay if u know the conent and exam 3 is soooo hard i spent 20 hours studying and did worse than the others so just dont even try! good luck :))!
Be prepared for him to fly through lectures. I often found myself having to go back and watch lecture videos just to be able to complete the HW. I liked that I got 3 attempts for the HW, highest grade taken. Each exam is based on at least 200 slides so its very important to study hard. He is not very helpful either so don't even bother asking him.
Show up to class, pay attention, and do all the homework to the best of your ability. Try to get 100's on the homework, it'll help counter the exams. Exams are hard with the conceptual questions but if you study the practice problems and slides you'll do fine. Most people don't like him but I thought he was funny and caring, just a little boring.
Stay on top of your lectures, there's literally zero reason to go to class unless you don't like online lectures. This class is hard, prof seems nice, honestly never interacted with the guy.
DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY. He does not help students when they need any assistance. Also, TopHat questions are meant for attendance but if you get it wrong he automatically gives you a 50 on attendance. He is not very compassionate of his students. Every exam is on at least 250+ slideshows that he flies through in class.
If you attend the lectures and problem sessions and read the textbook you can do well. If you don't go to the lecture, you have to watch the online video lecture to get access to the homework. There is a homework assignment every week, but you get multiple attempts. Tests are hard but similar to the homework.
Alot of people complain about the grading but this is a tough class. I really enjoyed taking Dr. Halweg's course. He has a unique sense of humor and explains everything well. Just stay on top of the lectures and the learning outcomes, study, and you will be fine. The homework and problem sessions almost always are good representation of the exams.
TopHat questions are meant to get you, expect 1-3 questions everyday. Even though they're meant to take attendance if you get them wrong you'll still get a 50. It gets easier after the first module but genetics is a very difficult class so stay on top of it. He doesn't explain concepts well so I recommend taking someone else. Three attempts on hw.
Chill dude, I like him
Not sure why Dr. Halweg has a low rating, genetics is extremely information heavy but he provided every resource possible. I never took notes in his class because he talked fast but he provided his own videos of lectures so you could work through at your own pace. People who do bad in this class do poorly simply because they didn't try. Awesome guy
Dr. Halweg gets a lot of hate but genetics is a very content heavy subject and he does his best to provide you with the resources needed to succeed. Every test question is from a learning outcome so if you know those and how to do the homeworks then you will be fine. At the end of the course he has opportunities for extra credit to boost your grade
TopHat tracks attendance, but you'll get full credit if u try your best, even with wrong answers by the semester's end. Pay attention to lectures and slides for manageable homework. Watch Moodle lectures where he simplifies the subject. He's the best for this class, unlike the other 2 in the department who teach like you already have a PhD.
The tests were nothing like what the homework was on. I did not like this class and it was just a waste of my time
Dr. Halweg is a very funny and cool guy. Class is just decently difficult, so study a lot. Participation and attendance is important, but you can have a few days off if needed with no penalty. Exams are HARD, but just use materials given to you and study the homeworks especially. One homework a week, not a bad professor at all.
Teaches with the same material as the other teacher. Does give study materials, module objectives, and homework to study with for exams. Exams are not cumulative. I think taking microbio previously helped with learning some of the material in this class.
Overall not super difficult class if you do the homework and practice problems. Halweg was funny and made the best out of the slideshows he taught. Rewatch the lectures before the exams as well as do all the provided materials and youll be fine. Tophat questions for attendance for grades.
Could miss up to 8 classes and still have full participation points. Lots of extra credit points possible in homework- this makes exams less important. Great lecturer- engaging and good at explaining tricky things.
Dr. Halweg and Dr. Jones teach the exact same course. I did not pay attention at all in class and just watched his videos and did fine. The exams are EXACTLY like the homework and anyone else saying otherwise i dont even know. Take either professor this course is so mickey mouse.
The professor clearly has passion for the subject matter, but I found the lecture style difficult to engage with and struggled to stay focused.
Dr. Halweg is an amazing lecturer. He explains the topics so well and in depth.
He loves what he is teaching, which makes class so enjoyable. It has probably been my favorite class so far. It is not the easiest class, so you will have to study a lot. But even if you do not do great on an exam, there are SOOO many chances for bonus points that will definitely boost your grade.
Professor Halweg is amazing!! I absolutely loved his class. It is lecture-heavy, but he is a great teacher and very easy to understand. There was extra credit, and the exams are not super hard. You will definitely have to study for this course, but it is worth it!!
Is this class hard? Yes. However, I still love his class. Dr. Halweg understands that this course is hard and that some of the content can be boring, but he teaches it in an engaging way that is easy to understand. I also loved all the jokes he'd sneak into his lectures to see who was paying attention. The class is passable if you put in the work.
Absolutely love this professor, he teaches the material in such a engaging way I somehow stay awake for his early morning lectures. Exams are a little difficult but if you go over the HW and lecture material before the exam that should be more than enough to get a good grade. Overall great professor and love his enthusiasm for the subject.
He's super funny and a great professor. GN 311 has a lot of course content to get through and can feel pretty fast paced, but he has clear slides and does a great job elaborating on them without rambling. You get three skips per module, online lecture videos are posted, hw is helpful, and the study guides are great.
Great lectures! I daze off in just about every other class, but he was able to keep my attention nearly every lecture, especially with his oddball humor. This class is content heavy, and notoriously difficult, but Dr. Halweg provides lots of online materials and genuinely wants to help you succeed.
Loved this class and Halweg; he ended up having a great sense of humor. He reads off slides, but if you spend time studying and understanding the material, you can easily get an A. Nothing on the test was a surprise. If there are a lot of slides on a topic, it usually means it's important (especially Drosophila)
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
76%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.41 avg changeRatings by Course
GN311
3.2
(89)GN312
1.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
GN312
4.0
GN311
3.8