2.7
Quality2.9
Difficulty37%
Would Retake219
Reviews37%
Would Retake
219
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
41
4
33
3
36
2
36
1
73
What Students Say
“The tests are pretty straightforward if you take good notes during lectures”
ECON106 - 4.0 rating“Econ 10A is a really difficult class in general and she does her best to make the concepts understandable”
ECON10A - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
17%
Textbook Required
24%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.54 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON10A
4.3
(4)10A
3.5
(4)ECON150
3.3
(3)ECON150A
3.0
(4)ECON9
2.8
(113)Difficulty by Course
ECON102
3.6
ECON2
3.5
ECON10A
3.5
ECON101
3.5
ECON109
3.4
Reviews (219)
She's awesome and her tests are pretty easy except for her essay questions. And if you ask her about the essay she just dances around the topic because she wants you to figure it out on your own but even with that said, her class is not too hard and I recommend her!
Excellent and fun teacher. very smart but not cocky like other teachers in the same department. Tricky tests and very hard if u dont go to lecture. Class is easy and teacher is very helpful during office hours.
She seems nice and cool in the beginning, but she doesn't put her notes online, so you're scrambling during class to get everything down, and she doesn't have the best notes. She's extremely unhelpful during office hours, talks to you in a kind of condescending way and doesn't help at all.
She really needs to put her notes online!! It's so frustrating to try and write everything so quickly just from what she says. You have 2 homeworks, midterm, and final.
Very nice and extremely happy. A little bit confusing, notes scattered and unorganized, but overall not too difficult.
don't take her unless you feel like torturing yourself for a quarter. she is nice, but provides little to NO examples on problems you need to do for hw and tests. i've also never seen an econ teacher with such poor understanding of rudimentary math. this class sucked
Benelli is one of the best econ professor that I've had in UCSB. She is really nice and helpful. Her test is not hard as long as you attend lecture and take good notes. just pay really close attention in class and you will do fine.
I did not learn much from her. Her lecture is boring.
Ignore all the negative feedback from other people. Econ 114 - As long as you *go to class and pay attention* you will do fine. She has practice midterms online, and a unique grading structure that works to your advantage. And the class was interesting, besides!
Super friendly teacher, tested us only on what she went over in class. She let us out early most of the time, and always kept her material short and to the point. Take her if you can.
Prof has attitude and grading is very objective. Would not recommend her for 114.
Must go to go to class and take careful notes. Study the old midterms and you should be cool...two midterms and final..interesting class. great professor
A great professor that i've ever had. Friendly and helpful. Super enjoyable class. Go to class, pay attention, and get As. Highly recommend !!!
Always attend class and take good notes. Though she posts notes online, they are very rough. Study HW, practice exams AND NOTES for exams. MT and Final (35%,55%). 2 HWs (5% ea.). If you understood 100a/100b well you will do fine. Exams will have some unexpected questions that will be found in your notes. Final harder than MT. Fair curve. Overall,A
Easy class if you go to lectures. Her midterm/final were straight from lecture notes. However, she is a hard grader and pretty mean when you talk to her about regrades, or about anything in general.
Very likable professor. Attend class, take good notes, make sure you can do practice tests and you'll get an A. Definitely recommend! I'll be taking more classes with her in the near future.
Average professor. Only reason for bad rating is that she promises at the beginning to help you out in any way possible, however is actually very rude and seems to dislike students who come in to discuss their performance in the class.
This professor was not that great. She got harder and her teaching is not clear at all. Her midterm was exactly the the practice one, but the final is not. It was tricky and hard. I ended with a C+. NOT easy A. She has problems with math and always makes mistakes. Take other econ electives with another professor. I highly do NOT recommend benelli.
Great Teacher! Had her class in the spring and her teaching style is very clear. Easy to understand and follow. You do have to go to class on a regular basis b/c most of her test material is strictly based on lecture notes. The only way to get a bad grade is if you don't pay attention. Easy A
Teacher was unclear about what was going on. No real plan to the class or teaching in general. She would draw models up on the board with little to no explanation and tell us this is how it is done. Do not take this class. Although she didnt do the math as much as the other teacher would have, she didnt help students at all. She hates students.
Took her class because I was told she is easy and tests straight from notes. Definitely not easy. Anything goes on the final even material that was barely touched. She is awful at math which is confusing to me since she is a econ teacher. Also doesn't like when you ask for help or have issues with test problems.
econ114, unhelpful. overall, do not take her. just answers quickly & shortly when u ask questions. her notes are exactly like what the others said.
I thought this professor was great! I think these comments about her are horrible. Like any course for the econ major some significant amount of work is necessary to get a good grade and for this class you must be willing to do so. And no this is not Benelli;it's a student. Sometimes she does the math a bit quickly but she takes all questions.
Showing up to class is mandatory in order to do well. Some aspects of class were unorganized. Not a bad class to fill an econ requirement, but nothing special.
Take notes in lecture and you will do fine. perfect if you are not a math person. She is easy to get along with and I found her pretty funny.
For someone who wants to get an A in this class: Take this class only if you can show up to every lectures and pay a fair/reasonable level of attention throughout the class. As many have commented, she is a bit disorganized so if you dont get the ideas in class, its very difficult to retrace (unless you want to go to her OH).
She seems to be willing to help students. But actually she treats students quite rudely when you asking help unless she has already been knowing you, then she will treat you differently.
How can you listen to a person always refering to herself in 3rd person? Confusing structure in her lectures, very little explanation and not encouraging people to ask questions by always emphasizing how superior she is. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.
Best professor in econ dept. Very helpful and really wants students to learn material. She is brilliant and is willing to meet after/before class to make sure understanding is there.
Class really made all that econ finally make sense! Very energetic and makes econ fun! Wish I had taken all her classes since econ is exciting when viewed through her eyes. She really likes students and tries to get to know everyone in the class. It's different because most professors don't care and she does.
The definition of a great professor. The class was both challenging and engaging. She is one of the very few professors at UCSB who focus on teaching--not research. Exams were fair and homework was not excessive. Grading policy was very fair as well.
Really just not a good professor. Cannot stand listening to her talk, also she isn't very smart. Probably the worst professor I've had at UCSB. Material isn't too hard if you can stand listening to her yelldictate at you 3 times a week.
Cindy was hands-down the best prof I've had at UCSB. She was very available and approachable for help and she went above and beyond in explaining the material for her students. In addition, she is very passionate about the subject, which helps a great deal in keeping the class engaged. If you take 10A, I highly recommend her. Do CLAS with Lindsay
Only went to two of Benelli's lectures. She wanted to help and also made sure that you understood the material if you went to her after class for help. Very enthusiastic and did her best to make the mundane material interesting. Got an A, but only self studied and spent countless hours on practice midterms.
I think Benelli is one of the best professors that I've had at UCSB. She shows you how to do problems step by step, making sure that you truly understand the material.
Best 10A professor it's a shame she won't be teaching this class anymore. Takes the extra step and physically works out practice problems during lectures. Though you obviously need to do a lot of studying on your own, she is by far the most helpful, & truly cares about the students.
She's very friendly and is clearly passionate about what she does. Econ 10A is a really difficult class in general and she does her best to make the concepts understandable. Her lectures are fast but she will slow down if you ask.
Her lectures is really disoranized. That's it. Most of materials and grpahs are uncelared , but midterms are not that hard.
The tests are pretty straightforward if you take good notes during lectures. Just make sure to do all provided practice problems posted on GS, as they are pretty representative of some test questions. Reading the book can help fill in the blanks if you miss lecture. If you stay on top of things, it shouldn't be too much work.
Its pretty clear, if you study, you will like her. If you dont, you wont like her. Be prepared, listen and study. If you do all of that, you will pass, because she explains things well. I never asked for help, but my housemate did. Not many professors are as helpful as her.
I never encountered a professor who had such a distasteful personality. She's extremely sarcastic and enjoys to be the queen of a hostile environment. Don't bother raising your hand cause she probably doesn't know the answer. Instead she will give a smart ass remark trying to embarrass her students by preventing them to ever ask another question.
Cindy is literally the best professor in the econ dept. She actually cares about all her students and is really straight forward with whats gunna be on her tests. She's really nice and would recommend taking her to anyone thinking about taking her class. Also took 150A.
She's only good for 10A. The worst upper div prof ever. 3 quizzes + final. When she says "This won't be on your text", it will. She wants to smart talk but messes up so much in the lecture that she confuses more people. If she says the second quiz covers D-F, you have to study B-D. She's not good at teaching this class. Take 114A instead.
Benelli is a great professor, and personable, She really cares for her students and does everything in her power to get the best out of them. Attending class is important for preparation of the quizzes. She goes over the models and possible exam questions only in class, and if you don't attend you miss out on information that's not in the book.
Cindy was super clear in every topic she talked about, she was also really energetic for an 8 am class! You can tell she really loves to teach and has a huge passion for Econ. I'm not an Econ major and have always dreaded taking an Econ class but she made the subject very enjoyable
Professor Benelli was a really nice professor that really taught you everything you needed for the quizzes and final. Make sure to do all the practice problems to be able to do well on the exams that she gives you. Everything is straightforward as long as you attend class and take notes on everything she says.
Charming and easy to listen too.
She has great enthusiasm when she teaches and it helps students remain engaged during lectures. Her quizzes were pretty difficult but if you put in the effort to study and go to office hours, you should do just fine.
Benelli is honestly a pretty good professor, just a bit tough and intimidating. I didn't do too well on 2/3 exams, but studied hard for the final and did the extra credit that she was nice enough to offer. It's a tricky class but if you work hard for the grade you can do it.
Great class, learned a lot, but it was not easy. You have to be ready to work hard. If you attend lecture, take good notes and pay attention, you should be fine. Did not use the textbook at all, my notes from lecture/section were enough.
Def suggest you attend her lectures. She is a little sassy but I honestly just think it's funny and kinda great. She curves each test (and it's a very generous curve to say the least) and doesn't like to trick people. She tells you what you need to know and gives great examples pertaining to whatever subject we're covering. Not a lot of hw either.
I really really really do not like Cindy. She is very disorganized and for someone who has never taken Econ before, I was very confused. Her slides are badly organized and her tests never reflected what we learned in class. She is very full of herself and the way she talks really made lecture unbearable.
Cindy's lectures were great but I feel like her slides were a bit all over the place. The tests were nothing like what she taught in class but she had a very generous curve. She is disorganized and rude at times but I would recommend the class if you want to take an "easy" Econ class.
I thought she was great! Even though attendance is mandatory, I think you need to attend both lecture and section to do well. Lectures are important because she tells you what she expects on the tests and sections are important because the TAs explain everything in detail. If you attend everything and take good notes you should be fine.
Cynthia's lectures are really informational and chances are if you attend lecture, you'll do okay in the class. She has an interesting personality and I couldn't tell if she was being serious or sarcastic. Overall, she has really great lectures and she uploads all of them online.
If you go to lecture/section and do the practice problems Cindy puts online, you'll do fine in this class. She explains econ in a way that makes sense to non-econ majors, and she repeats concepts and topics a bit, which makes it easy to understand and remember.
To be credit, she tries hard. Not much in the way of effective teaching or inspiring her students
I've literally never had a worse professor. Her lectures are unbearable, so cringey and incredibly disorganized. She did not explain a single concept. I had to teach myself everything just using the book. I can't believe she's allowed to teach. I don't know a single person who likes her but unfortunately nobody else teaches this class
This class is very meh
Hectic quarter because she tried to teach all the material in 9 weeks. Expected us to know the material that she didn't teach. There's a lot of exams. She gets off topic sometimes. I learned more from my T/A than I did from her. If you took econ in high school you should be fine. If you didn't, like me, good luck!
Benelli is a great professor. She explains concepts well and reiterates important information multiple times. Material itself is challenging at times but always rewarding. Tests are simple and practice questions are uploaded on GS. The other people rating Benelli badly must not have been paying attention in lecture.
GO TO LECTURE. Cindy's personality and humor is very unique, you either hate her or love her. The class is very test heavy, the midterm was 40% of the class. She tends not to test on new material leading up to the tests which was nice. Lectures can be hard to follow sometimes, but if you put in the work, read, study and ask questions you can excell
Best professor I took at CC. I heard a lot of bad things about econ at CC and I was very worried, however I took micro and macro econ with her and she inspired me to change my major. 2 years later here I am with a BA in Economics from UCSB. Thank you Cindy. (I took the class over 2 years ago so a class description report would be inaccurate. )
You either love her or hate her. Shes pretty kooky but has a ton of energy and is clearly passionate about Econ. Go to office hours, shes easy to talk to and just wants to help! Show her youre taking her class seriously and follow through and theres no way you get a bad grade.
get ready to teach yourself because her lectures are at best a framework to guide you on the material. her examples dont always make sense and sometimes make lectures unfollowabke and incoherent. nice lady, bad teacher.
Professor Benelli is a nice lady, but her lectures are not necessary. I, along with most, taught myself. There is a textbook that you can buy along with the TopHat subscription, but I wouldn't recommend it because it wasn't necessary. She does post her slides online. There are 3 Midterms and a Final, grading is somewhat lenient.
She really does try, but she's just not a very good teacher. Her lectures are cringe worthy. Too much time spent trying to be funny and she makes the concepts way more confusing than they need to be. One of my least favorite classes I took in the Econ department.
Cindy was decent, but she needs to get her stuff together. It was a 9am so I skipped lecture for weeks at a time, and still got an A. TopHat textbook isn't mandatory unless you skip lecture like I did - it saved my grade. Most of the grade is 3 midterms and a final. She does really care about her students, although she can be sassy at times.
Cindy was a genuinely nice person, but lectures are all over the place. Attending lectures is basically unnecessary, you can learn just as much (probably more) from Econ Videos on YouTube. The grading scale is very odd, good luck attempting to figure out the curve. The whole course is confusing, but Econ 9 is still better than taking both Econ 1/2
Contradicts herself in lecture very often. Unclear visuals that shell brush off if she cant properly explain it. Slides arent posted online so youre stuck copying down slides that shell always find a mistake on. Easy test grader though so its not hard to pass, but its a hard class to excel at.
She is a nice person, very caring compare to other professors. That being said, lecture is very hard to follow as she writes on her Ipad and is a bit all over the place. However, you have to attend class as notes are not posted and exams have questions gone only in lecture. Overall one of the easier classes in Econ if you have good math skills.
One of the worst economics professors I've had at this university, constantly makes mistakes and confuses students. Very disorganized in every aspect of the class, including test prep, gauchospace posts, and even lecture. Often does not even introduce the subject she is going over before jumping into some abstract calculations. Would not recommend.
The material isn't super difficult but Benellis teaching is terrible. Her class is very disorganized and her lectures are just math based, very little explained in concepts. She does a bad job at explaining herself and often goes against the textbook or gives us wrong information. Overall, she is a horrendous teacher.
Mrs. Benelli is interesting. She knows what she is talking about but her teaching style is not very good. Her lectures are often messy and clunky and confusing. Her graphs aren't very good. She does not use power-point slides which is a BAD thing in economics. She zooms through lots of math and assumes we know things magically. Pretty funny though.
Make sure to go to lectures because she does not post slides as she lectures with her iPad. Offers extra credit but really your grade is going to be based off the tests. Good thing the subject isn't too difficult because her lectures aren't that great.
She talks a lot, as in she goes off topics into these weird tangents. She's nice, funny sometimes, and she's also really passionate about Econ so that makes her cool. She knows how to keep you up for an 8 am or even an 9am with her energy. She's all about *EcOn WoRlD* GOT IT?!?!?!?!
I absolutely adore Cindy Benelli: shes passionate about her field and you can tell how much she genuinely loves Econ. The class is, however, hard if you havent taken any Econ before, but if you took AP microecon in high school its pretty easy. There are three midterms and a final, and Id say theyre fair. Some homework, but not excessive at all
Her way of teaching is very disorganized and although she claims you do not need the textbook or tophat, she pulls alot from them on the exams and has repeatedly put material on the test that we did not cover in class.
Cindy is a very nice lady, but I could not follow her lectures AT ALL. She jumped from slide to slide, and never posted them after class like she said she would. Her grading was never clear. I also did all of the xc assignments which looked like I received credit for, but at the end, I only got credit for one ?? weird
Her quizzes are nothing like the practice quizzes. Her lectures are unclear and hard to follow
Benelli is all over the place. She spends way too much time on long-winded metaphors and often tests on things she briefly or never went over. The content itself is not super difficult but she makes it more complicated than it is. If you like to- the-point profs this is NOT the class for you. Went to every lecture and am still lost.
Cindy is an amazing person and professor. We did not get along at 1st but she grew on me. She provides a lot of resources to help you do well and the class comes with a huge curve. She is so smart and well educated. She also actually cares about her students and their lives, Ive had hour long discussions with her multiple times.
WARNING: Every test had questions omitted, controversial answers, and unequal grading or a combination of all 3. Content is easy, but Cindy makes it 10x harder by over explaining and skimming hard, easy to miss concepts. Also witnessed her essentially disregard an international students concern about their understand of an english word on a test.
Benelli is a nice lady, but honestly, lectures are kind of pointless. I managed an A in the course with barely showing up. What really matters is that you GO TO SECTION and DO THE HOMEWORKS. They are a big grade booster. Also you should for sure get the textbook, its really good and make sure to do practice tests on GS before exams super helpful.
I was definitely frustrated with the class at some points this quarter, but she was consistently nice, caring and helpful even if the class was a little unstructured! She posts everything online and has a very fair grading system, but she isn't always the most clear or organized with her lectures. She is helpful if you use her as a resource though!
You can do well if you 1) attend lecture, 2) read the book, 3) attend section, and 4) do the practice problems (!!). Lectures were kind of confusing and often very indirect. They were entertaining, but not my personal learning style. The book is more direct, but I really would still recommend going to class. Sections were very straightforward.
Was very all over the place for a lot of her lectures. Often went on economic tangents about concepts that she then would say were not on the test, thus wasting time. While she is very caring and wants to make sure everyone passes, she can often make relatively simple concepts confusing.
I loved Econ and I got a good grade by studying hard and doing the work. Going to class wasn't necessary, she's a lovely lady but she's a very odd professor.
Benelli has a lot of controversy, but I did fairly well by always attending lecture. It's easy to get lost if you don't pay attention b/c of her complicated examples. You can also never go to class & watch yt vids but this worked for me. She's really funny and approachable. Also, definitely don't waste your money on the book & js take good notes
The most disorganized prof I have ever seen. Lectures are messy. She promised to do a lot of things but did not do any. She would mess up your study plan. It is the 5th week now, but she still hasn't posted any instructions about our homework, quizzes, and papers. I am so confused about this class.
This class is horrible. I've never had a teacher like Mrs. Benelli, she has such an odd way of teaching and doesn't explain things adequately. She's extremely disorganized and is hard to follow. Don't take her!!
Profesor Benelli is one of the most caring, sweet professors I have ever had. She genuinely cares about how her students are doing- more than just academically but on a personal level. She is so understanding and supportive. Not only that, but she puts immense effort into teaching and making sure her students absorb the material.
Prof. Benelli is caring, but her lack of organization just ruins the class. Lectures can be confusing, and sometimes she would just explain a concept that isn't relevant to the course. I appreciate her for recording lectures, but she sometimes a week late to post them. Paper and final needs more guided instruction of what she wants.
This class was a blessing. Yes, she was a little unorganized, but definitely NOT to the point where it should have an effect on your grade. She's extremely accommodating, has a very calming voice, and easy to follow. If this class is just to knock out a minor prerequisite or gen-ed, I highly suggest taking her.
Professor Benelli was extremely kind and caring and her positive attitude made a subject that I am not usually interested in much more bearable. Despite organizational issues, I would say the class was fair and made easier due to her understanding demeanor. It may be different for those that take it in person but this was my experience!
Take this class if it's offered remote! She adapts her class very well for her remote students. I've heard otherwise when taking it in person. Overall, Benelli is very unorganized and impossible to reach over email. She's really trying her best though, and I appreciate her effort. The only difficult part were quizzes, but even then totally doable.
So sweet, you can tell shes passionate about what she does and teaches! A little bit hectic just being online, but I thought she adapted well given the circumstances. I genuinely enjoyed this class and learned a lot!
Honestly, Prof. Benelli is a great person and means well, but she has not at all adapted to the online format. Deadlines keep changing, class is supposed to meet 3 times a week but only meets once, and the content is completely different than the syllabus. This class is an absolute mess, all of the slides in recorded lectures are WAY too fast.
Benelli is a nice woman but she has zero organizational skills, making her class near impossible. Regardless of if you understand the material, she makes the quizzes so confusing and unorganized (I suspect she isn't writing the questions herself, so they don't match with what she is teaching) that its pretty difficult to do well on them.
I honestly cant believe so many people didnt have a good experience with Benelli! I was skeptical taking the class because of her ratings, but I thought she was awesome & very nice. I didnt attend classes for about half the quarter, never went to a single section, barely studied, and got a B+. Cindy is very accommodating & wants to help you.
If you want to actually learn econ in an organized format, I would not recommend Benelli. You can tell she cares and wants to engage with students but she's having a hard time with teaching online... she often mentions that teaching remotely is more challenging than getting her PhD. Feel bad for her, but yeah her class is a struggle bus.
Terribly organized, her lectures are all over the place. I would recommend just reading the textbook and ignoring her lectures entirely.
Professor Benelli is amazing. You can tell she's such a sweetheart. She is honestly one of the most kind and understanding professors I have had at UCSB. There is a lot of complaining about her class being difficult but you really just have to TRY and she will reward you for it. It is all about the effort. If you can take Econ 9 with Benelli do it!
Cindy was fabulous. Even with covid Cindy was able to make herself available to all her students, and gave lectures to the same quality one would expect while attending in person classes. Cindy was also a caring human being who (unlike my other professors) understood the difficulty of learning online for most students. I am very grateful.
Professor Benelli cares greatly about the well-being of her students and their ability to be successful. Her lectures, however, are often confusing even when the content isnt very hard. Quizzes also do not match lectures very well and are worded confusingly.
She can be disorganized, but nothing that's not unmanageable. Lectures could go on tangents but got the job done. I didn't get textbook but I was already familiar so w/ the subject. She was very accommodating for the perils of online school, which eased a lot of stress from the quarter. She's very sweet and cares about our success and well being.
The class is pretty easy and the textbook she asks students to buy is not needed at all. Concepts are basic Economics that were taught in AP Micro/Macro. The downside is the Professor is VERY disorganized and unclear about her expectations. I know several peers who got high grades (As) on all assignments but ended the class with a B. Wack for sure
Prof. Benelli is super sweet! She really understands that students are stressed bc of the pandemic, so she has a lot of acceptance with late work and extra credit, etc. However, she is also a bit disorganized and her lectures aren't very helpful, meaning that you kind of have to teach yourself from the textbook.
She is so weird and her homework and quizzes dont match up with what she lectures on. Half of the time shell post a word doc of random math which makes no sense without context. Unless you enjoy teaching yourself everything from an equally useless textbook definitely stay away from this dumpster fire of quarter organization and class in general
the most disorganized, all over the place professor i've ever had. she's nice as a person but cannot structure a class whatsoever. never even posted the full syllabus. wasn't clear about instructions/guidelines for final project. lecture videos too vague to understand concepts enough for quizzes. wouldn't post lectures/lessons on time. not worth it
I didn't know it was possible for a person to be so disorganized. The worst class I've taken at UCSB, not because the content is hard, but because Benelli never has any idea what is going on. I feel bad for all of the students in this class. Prof shouldn't be able to harm students' grades because of organization but she gets away with it. AVOID.
Her course is disorganized. But I do find she really tries to make it better and classes recently make lot more sense than before.
she is a mess. I have never been a class so disorganized. if i knew the class would of been like this i would of done it online asynchronous, her lectures are her running off topic every time. if you want to learn you have to teach yourself, she canceled two classes in a row before our first exam, and 4 classes in a row before our second exam.
The most disorganized professor ever. Quiz solutions and even lectures were riddled with mistakes that were never fixed. She never answered emails, and would frequently forget to post things for us. It is agonizing to watch your professor restructure the class every week because of their incompetence. Your grade is essentially a mystery. AVOID
Never made grades available the entire semester so there was no way of knowing how you were doing in the class. Never replied to emails and was very unhelpful in answering questions. Her lectures would get off topic so you basically have to teach yourself the entire course. Said teaching was only worth it inperson but would cancel class once a week
She is a terrible teacher. She is a very nice person however and seems like if she had her stuff together she could be a very enjoyable professor. But she can not teach, something happened during coronavirus to her and its obvious she has horrible disorganization issues, anxiety, and is all over the place constantly.
seems like a very sweet person but was the most unclear professor Ive ever had. Never was clear on what material we should be learning, cancelled quizzes the day of almost every time, never answered emails, and didnt put any grades in the entire quarter. Would not recommend, but all that being said i think I got an A bc most quizzes were online
Very sweet and understanding!
This semester was a mess, but she understood and felt bad and helped out many peoples grades. I think if you have her in the future you will be okay and to ignore these reviews, just make sure to be ready to read and study. I think she just had a hard time adjusting to being back in school like many students.
This was a bad semester. she helped out with grades by extra credit and corrections on work. Good person and smart professor just a bad semester. Hopefully next semester will be better.
She is a nice person, but way too unorganized. She grades so slow, and TA procrastinating too much. I havent get my final grade until one week after winter break starts. Idk what she is busy about.
Like most people said, shes understanding but very disorganized. Her lectures can be hard to follow, so its really best to read the textbook before going into lecture. As long as youre reading the quizzes are doable. I actually found the final project enjoyable.
Yes shes caring and understanding, but I never knew what was going on in her class. She was really disorganized and made decisions about the class on the spot. My ta was basically teaching me everything bc she was unclear. She wont fail you tho so thats good!
Professor Benelli was nice but her class was really confusing. Her lectures were really off-topic and unclear but the section really helps as well as YouTube videos. Her class is pretty easy as it consists of homework, quizzes online and sometimes in class but it's hard to tell when they'll be in class. The final was a creative project or paper.
One of the most disorganized professors I've ever had. You will actually need to read the textbook in order to pass. She lets you choose the structure of the classes but both structures are horrible. Her lectures don't make any sense and you definitely need to look for help from either TA's or youtube. Its only difficult because shes very confusing
Nice person but completely all over the place in person lectures are the most useless of any class I've ever had, I had to teach myself the entire class. She honestly is not qualified to be a professor she cannot teach
She removed all of her recordings right before our final paper so we would have to come to her office hours if we were stuck. We're all just stuck with no idea what to do at the moment and this analysis paper is due in less than 5 days.
took Econ 9. Unorganized. Unclear. A whole mess. Last minute. Makes lectures and review hard because she takes stuff off of gauchospace.
Surprisingly easy class! She allowed us to construct the syllabus at the beginning of the quarter. The class voted: homework worth most, weekly quizzes rather than midterm, final project rather than exam. Slides are posted. TAs start homework with you in section so you always have guidance. I was scared of econ but Cindy made it doable!
Class content wasn't that bad. We chose the grading structure, and only had weekly hw and quizzes. However, quiz questions were confusing and prof's response to emails were infrequent. Not to mention all class content being pulled from GS before the final. If you have to take the class, just watch kahn and read the book. Avoid if you can.
Class is really easy if you are not a test person. Most grades come from HW, which TAs will go over in section, and one project. No final or midterms, just 4 in class quizzes and a bunch of online ones, all of which are manageable and easy. She really cares about her students and hope you to succeed. Compare to all other ECON classes, 9 is the BEST
Was super nice but I did not learn anything from lectures or the class material provided. There are no midterms or finals, just a paper at the end. Most of my learning came from reading the textbook because all other materials Cindy uses to teach have nothing to do with the quizzes or homework.
This class was the worst class I've taken at UCSB. The class was so disorganized and I never knew what material we were learning. There would be random quizzes in class but never exactly knew what the material was going to be on. The grading is also confusing as the online quizzes were worth one whole point. Do not take this professor.
Literally the worst professor ever. My least favorite part is that she is unavailable MOST times and she answers questions by saying "I can answer that but I don't want to". Before a big project is due she deleted all the recordings making it relatively difficult to finish the project. Anyways if you can avoid taking her definitely do! ! !
The reason the class is difficult is because she never shows up! one excuse after another and I drive thirty miles each way to find that she cancels class again. If you feel I am showing any bias or being derogatory in any way please show up for her class the odds are she won't be there. I am giving this teacher
Incredibly nice lady, complete mess of a professor. Prone to rambling during lecture, consistently late to lecture. Online quiz questions are often vague or incredibly open ended. Material isn't difficult but Cindy presents it in such a disorganized way that you'll end up using Khan Academy more than any of her provided materials.
Cindy is a very nice woman, but a horrible teacher. She is very unorganized and is always late to class or does not show up. You never know what is due, when theres a test, or when theres a class. She rambles on about things that are not Econ related and leaves you to read your textbook to figure everything out. Did not enjoy this class.
I have never written a review before, but this professor is so terrible I felt the need to warn any future students. She changed the format of our midterm THE MORNING OF from 30 MC questions, to 6 short answers. The exam was solely questions about topics she explicitly said would not be on the exam. Extremely disorganized, avoid her at all costs.
Very unorganized professor but also very understanding and nice. The material is made out to be way more challenging than it is because she lectures so poorly. However, I got an A after thinking I was going to get a B or C all quarter, I'm not sure how.
I'm still waiting back for her answer 3 months later. 0/10 would recommend.
Course balanced between lecture and textbook, with lectures establishing the first layer of understanding and textbook setting into stone a deep understanding. Uses graphs and live drawings to actively explain and indicate concepts + relationships. On the more disorganized side, but disorganization does not cripple lectures.
Cindy will go on tangents (she has lots of chickens) that make me more confused than I was before the lecture. I had to rely on the txtbook. not too heavy a course, just a couple quizzes and homeworks each week. She is flexible with deadlines which I appreciate. Wont answer emails but will help in office hrs. Confusing format of Gauchospace page.
I took Econ 9 and didn't go to a single lecture but got an A. I relied on primarily the textbook and online videos. It's not a super difficult class and material is easy enough to understand and pass without much effort. As long as you do the homework and quizzes you'll be able to pass
You won't learn anything, her teaching is bad. Her tests are completely different of what's in the text book. She doesn't even show up for offline classes. I wish I knew this earlier, I would never take her class!
When asked a question in class, she does not directly answer it, but instead talks in circles. She always speaks in confusing metaphors and wastes time discussing her personal life. I have to rely on the textbook to learn anything economy related. I would not recommend this professor to anyone at UCSB.
I really enjoyed Cindy Benelli's lectures, you can tell she cares about her students and has a passion for econ. However, she tends to go on tangents and stories that aren't related to the course content. A majority of the quizzes are directly related to the textbook, so as long as you read it and teach yourself the material you will be fine.
She made me distressed by her unorganization. Nice lady but avoid her as a professor at all costs. Most distressing professor award. No clear due dates. No accessible office hours. Terrifying organization. AVOID ALERT DONT DEAL WITH THIS!
Cindy is not organized, but the class is easy.
Cindy is nice but sassy and very very unorganized. The syllabus said we were supposed to have 15 quizzes and we only had 4. She always says "this might be right but Im not sure" during her lectures or about the notes she posts. You're pretty much on your own in this class. There was no final, just an analysis project and an exam worth 6% in dead wk
Cindi was the laziest professor I have ever had. She missed an accumulated 5 weeks of class due to personal issues that left myself and my peers extremely lost. When she did show up, she would show up for thirty minutes and give an extensive lecture. Get ready for confusing homework and confusing instructions. You have been warned!!
had online tests bc of the strike and bc she got hit by a car. quizzes and hw every week but NOT hard at all. got to choose our final which was a project that we had creative freedom on. she made econ understandable but was frazzled during class a lot. this class is only hard if you make it hard
Cindy was by far the worst professor I've had. She was incredibly disorganized and frequently cancelled the lecture day of or came completely unprepared. Assignments were often posted late or not at all. She had no respect for our time and treated students as if we were children. She frequently asked inappropriately personal questions to students.
Her class really helped prepare me for Econ 1. She uploaded a few videos for us, even though the course was in person. She uses a few graphs to demonstrate how things work. She is really nice. She really breaks stuff down for you. She makes the course very simple and easy. I recommend taking her class.
You could go the entire quarter without attending a single lecture and still get an A in the class. Her notes aren't particularly easy to follow without her lecture, but the course material is pretty slow and easy to figure out. She's very disorganized and will often cancel class last minute. Final is just an essay project.
I love Cindy Benelli! Her class is quite disorganized but her chaotic ways of grabbing attention are phenomenal. She should be a comedian!
lectures and section not mandatory, this class was painfully easy, made me lose all motivation and did not learn anything about economics. don't bother buying the textbook, they offer a free version that works just fine if you decide to use it.
Lecture was not mandatory. There was weekly hw that wasn't hard and the ta's used section to help us with the hw. There were about 13 small quizzes that weren't difficult. The class itself was very disorganized and the professor would forget to upload certain assignments. Wasn't terrible, but wasn't amazing.
This class was super easy. If you want to actually learn and get prepared for Econ 1, you have to put in way more effort than just getting an A. You can get an A without learning much.
There is a quite a lot to do for the class such as multiple quizzes and homework each week but so easy to complete. Lectures and sections really help get the work done.
She was extremely disorganized and due dates were never very clear. Her notes are hard to follow if you don't attend lecture. However, the class material was fairly easy and interesting.
One of the best econ professors at UCSB. She knows her stuff when it comes to econ related materials, and she is certainly one of the most caring professors I've had at UCSB. As a professor, empathy is a vital component to being a successful and I believe that Cindy truly cares about her students. Thank you professor for everything!
If you have Cindy Benelli as one of your econ professors, count your lucky stars because she truly is one of the best at UCSB. Attend lectures, do the assignments as best as you can, and communicate with her regularly and it's almost guaranteed you will get a good grade in the class. Just have fun and enjoy the ride!
Hands down the worst professor I have had, at SBCC definitely do not take this class if you want to learn econ.
The worst professor I have ever had. Does not respond to emails. Does not tell you what will be on the exams. Exams were 1 question. Always canceled office hours because of "migraines". So unorganized. Did not receive a syllabus until week 3. Lectures were a joke. Only decent resource was the textbook. Cindy is the most frustrating person ever.
The most disorganized professor I've ever had. She always cancels office hours and slides are hard to follow even if attending lectures. Went to get a midterm during a time she designated for pick-up, and she never showed up to her office to return it. Canvas messages are cryptic and midterms are one question that don't cover relevant material.
Honestly, the stress of this class is not worth it. It's hard to put into words how much of a mess this class was. No clear indication what would be covered on exams, completely random due date & grading schemes, grades assigned based on her mood, etc. I had no idea what my final grade would be until it was on GOLD. Would not recommend.
She is professional and easy to work with.
This class was difficult for no reason. Cancellation of lectures and office hours, sometimes with zero warning. The lectures were simple enough, but no access to the slides afterwards for studying. Midterms with one question each, not reflective at all of the course material. Terrible teacher who takes an easy class and makes it frustrating.
The class is very easy. The workload is light, no external reading, and the tests are very short and easy. There are also extra credit opportunities and the ability to take the final as a replacement test grade. As a teacher she is okay but is very disorganized.
This class was unbelievably frustrating. While relatively easy, the tests were never what she said they would be, she was always more than 15 minutes late and never took any responsibility. I would not say do not take it if you need to but the class was a mess and it was incredibly frustrating.
Professor Benelli is one of the most caring person I ever met but the worst organizor. Of course I understand things being tough for us during the pandemic, but changing syllabus and grading in week 7 is just going too far.
The prof is pretty chill but I don't think I can ever take another class with them again. When the reviews were claiming that they're very unorganized, I honestly thought it couldn't be that bad. But it is that bad!! Our first exam wasn't hard, but the questions/topics were inconsistent with what they claimed would come up on the exam.
DO NOT TAKE ECON9 WITH HER!!! SHE IS SO DISORGANIZED AND TESTS ARE SO DIFFERENT FROM PRACTICE PROBLEMS AND TEXTBOOK MATERIAL. NOTHING IN HER SYLLABUS MAKES SENSE DONT TAKE HER
She's an awesome person and very relaxed and understanding. I see why other people say she is unorganized, but it will never inflict upon your grade. The class is so chill and kind of interesting. Very relaxed class. ESPECIALLY for an econ class.
Professor Benelli is a great professor. Her teaching style may seem a bit unorthodox, but she really cares about her students that show initiative. Showing up to lecture isn't mandatory, but its HIGHLY recommended! Most exam questions are hinted at during lecture, giving the students who show up an advantage. Thanks Cindy!
Cindy's ECON9 class is disorganized, but the material is fairly easy. Rely on the textbook and unstuck study for study help, as her lectures and exams don't always align. Not the most helpful professor, but a passable class overall.
She is great
Cindy is really nice and caring. Her lectures are fun.
Cindy is a nice enough person, but is SO disorganized. The lectures make no sense and honestly confused me more every time I went to them. Quizzes every week, fair amount of homework. 2 exams with an optional final to replace your lowest exam score. Exams make no sense and are not reflective of any material taught. good luck
I have never had a professor so disorganized. I would avoid this class if possible, just take econ1 instead. I regret taking this course so much, her lectures are honestly useless and the only way the information was actually digestible was through my TA. Avoid this class at all costs!!
Super disorganized and all over the place. No structure. Grade is unknown until the last minute, lectures aren't helpful. Just hope for a good TA.
Benelli is nice but her class is so confusing especially the lectures, they make no sense. Her tests have nothing to do with what she teaches so you better get the textbook out or figure out some other way to learn the material. Good luck!
Lectures aren't mandatory but you will have to teach yourself the material, her slides aren't very helpful. Exams are tough and questions aren't based on the lectures so you will have to read to understand. Study and read and you will be fine but wouldn't take her again
she is so confusing and her lectures feel pointless because she doesn't cover anything we are tested on.
She's a mix of really good and poor qualities. She's very lenient, especially with late work and grading, pretty much everyone passes. However, her lectures are very disorganized and don't connect easily with the types of questions she asks on exams. You also have no idea what you're grade is until after the final. Teach yourself the material.
Benelli gets easily distracted in class and tells personal stories instead of teaching material. She wasn't able to get through all the material necessary for the final in my class. Be ready to have to learn most of the material on your own since she rushes through notes in class time.
While sometimes unorganized, she made homework and tests relatively easy and gave extra credit opportunities. Lectures were sometimes difficult to follow but overall the class wasn't difficult.
She's all over the place during lecture. So incredibly hard to follow, kinda have to teach the class to yourself.
Cindy is super nice, I took 2 classes with her. She wants you to succeed and if you're confused, she's always happy to help. Her class (managerial econ, not 114) helped me learn before my summer M&A internship. Go to lecture and you'll do well. Cindy is the best! I feel like bad reviews are from people who didn't put in effort and got bad grades.
She's well meaning, but she is incredibly unorganized and can't even give clear instructions on her OWN exam. We walked into the exam and changed a question verbally mid-test. The homeworks don't make sense, and she doesn't post class slides with the excuse of "bad handwriting." Her answers to questions make you more confused. I've learned nothing.
I'm currently in 114A with her and she is very sweet and accommodating. The lectures can seem to be a little confusing sometimes but I did well on the first exam. As long as you can write down what she shows in lecture and study that you will be perfectly fine. If you regularly attend lecture she will tell you what you need to know for the exam.
Out of my 4 years being in college, never have I met a more disorganized, unhelpful, and careless professor in my entire academic life. Not only does she not provide lecture notes, study guides, or even proper practice material, but her office hours are extremely unorganized, as most of the time she is joining from her phone unprepared. Do not take
They post lecture slides but the slides are vague without their commentary. Exams are pretty annoying seeing as there are no study guides and you're only given the modules that will be on the exam (which is usually 10+ at a time for like 30 questions). Section is so pointless all you do is take attendance and watch videos from canvas.
Would never take this class again. The lectures are boring and disorganized, they go on rants that aren't related to the class, and they overcomplicate seemingly simple concepts. Sections are pointless. If you need to take econ you're better off taking econ 1 and 2. She's a nice person but a horrible professor.
Makes economics digestible for beginners and genuinely wants you to pass the class. If you ever have any concerns she responds and gives you advice on whatever it is you need. Actually made me sort of like economics.
I will not stand for all this benelli hate. Sure she is a little disorganized but it's not as bad as people are making it out to be. Very clear about criteria and expectations for the course on the first day so as long as you listen then you'll be fine. I barely did the readings but went to all lectures and did good. She is also very understanding.
Cindy easily ranks as the worst professor in UCSB's econ department. Zero preparation, handwritten nonsense instead of slides, and exams full of typos. Her lectures were chaotic at best, and she constantly sought pity instead of taking accountability. Tenure shouldn't be a pass for incompetence. she seems like an ok person, but a terrible teacher.
The teacher is extremely disorganized and chaotic, yet never apologetic. The tests are really easy, and she often said the exam would be much longer than it was (not in a good way). Despite receiving a good grade, I would never take a class with this professor again, and I would recommend you avoid taking one with her as well.
She was nice, but also really unorganized (that was the hardest part of the class). As long as you read the book and watch some YouTube videos, you'll pass. The material is easy, but you won't really know 100% what your grade will be until the end. She let some people skip the final depending on their grade percentage, so keep those grades up!
I LOVE CINDY BENELLI!She is SO kind and the class is 100% manageable if you do the practice quizzes and read the textbook before tests.Ppl make it out to be super difficult but it's not if they actually tried.Lectures are very fun and the hw, quiz, and analysis project grading is lenient.I thought the class was fascinating and am a Cindy supporter
Content wasn't particularily hard but there is a CRAZY curve so I'm pretty sure most of the bad reviews out there are from people who didn't bother putting in any work. Will admit that Cindy wasn't the best lecturer though. She had a tendency to go on side rants and would make random graphs that she wouldn't post later.
Very unorganized and chaotic class but the workload is so light and the TAs go over the homework in section. Personally, I thought she was so entertaining and silly but if you want a more organized professor she isn't the best choice. Final was a choice between short paper or video on topic of your choice and midterm was short multiple choice.
Cindy is a very nice person, but her lectures do not make any sense. I often found that I was more confused when I went to lecture rather than when I just taught myself the material. The sections are pretty redundant. Definitely the worst class I have taken here, would not recommend.
Really awful at lectures as most agree. I found once I started teaching myself the material rather than going to class I actually learned it better. Also the way she grades on Canvas is genuinely the most complicated and confusing thing I've ever encountered and I still have no clue what my grade is before the final next week.
I honestly have never had a worse teacher. She is a nice person, but she goes on tangents, repeats unnecessary things, makes useless analogies, and makes so many mistakes you leave more confused. There is no organization. I usually think these ratings are hoaks but by god this one was true. Class is pretty easy but so insufferable.
Cindy is a very nice person; however, as all the other ratings indicate, the lectures left me more confused about the course material than with a deeper understanding. The course felt organized in the most chaotic way possible. Canvas was hard to navigate, but Cindy is very understanding and friendly. Unsure what my grade will be going into finals.
Cindy is a very kind person but is an absolute mess as a professor. The syllabus and grading criteria have changed multiple times during the quarter and she never posts material in time for exams. It is six days before the final and she still hasn't told us if we are going to take it or not. Avoid her at all costs.
Okay yeah she's disorganized, goes on tangent that are sometimes useful but as long as you read the lectures you'll be fine. *My exam were mostly multiple choice it could be different for next quarter*
Honestly, the most unprepared, lazy, confusing, and lackluster professor I've had in my entire academic journey. Exam material is not posted until 3am the night before the test. Lecture notes are uploaded into random parts of canvas that is already nearly impossible to navigate. Lectures become a place for her to rant about random things. Dont Take
She assigned us a project worth 20% of our grade, but didn't even grade it. I absolutely despise professors who assign you busy work just for them to ignore it afterwards. These professors need to retire!!
Good: very nice person. Bad: Notes posted night before exam. Notes so messy/unclear. Doesn't respond to messages. Rambles instead of lectures. Complains about her job. Waits till last minute to do anything. Laughs off her irresponsibility. Answers questions in riddles. Lies about what's going on tests. Don't take this if you want to stay sane sry.
I never had a professor post what's going to be on the final and the lecture slides 12 hours before the final. Tests are unpredictable and entire class structure seems confusing and unorganized. I recommend taking another class if you could.
Overall a terrible class. Like other reviews mention, she doesn't really explain anything, she just rambles about stuff so it seems like she's answering the question. She always says the notes are going to be uploaded asap but it takes her a week to upload them the night before an exam and they aren't even good. Also makes basic math seem confusing
The most lazy and disorganized teacher. Goes on random tangents and can't answer basic questions about her notes because she doesn't know herself. Posted the notes the night before the final. Showed up to our final 10 minutes late, and then tested us on material that wasn't in the notes, talked about in lecture, or in the practice.
Very unprofessional. Late to the final. Unorganized. Never have learned less from a class here before.
Super unprofessional and terrible professor. Gives a list of all the final topics the night before an 8 am exam is so crazy. If this professor was a spell in wizard101 she would be taunt because its a really bad spell. Plus its from the ice school which is even worse.
Very mixed thoughts. Cindy cares about students and sometimes has funny anecdotes, and I learned from classes. Be prepared to spend a lot of time navigating Cindy's frustratingly disorganized style of lecturing/testing on content. To do well on tests need to attend every single lecture and write down every word. Too stressful and far from an easy A
Gets super lost during lectures and makes so many mistakes during class. You'll get more confused than learn anything. Notes are also never posted on time, and massive amounts of random points are taken for answers that aren't what she wants to see on exams. Wasted tuition money to take this useless class. THIS IS YOUR WARNING TO AVOID HER CLASSES!
Truly the most infuriating prof ever, felt like I was getting rage baited. Takes forever to post notes bc they rewrite their scratch work by copy pasting from an alphabet of neat handwritten letters, 1 letter at a time. Notes and lectures consist of objectively simple math that they overcomplicate + goes on unrelated tangents. 10 mins late to final
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
17%
Textbook Required
24%
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4.3
(4)10A
3.5
(4)ECON150
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3.0
(4)ECON9
2.8
(113)Difficulty by Course
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3.6
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3.5
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