2.2
Quality3.2
Difficulty11%
Would Retake92
Reviews11%
Would Retake
92
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
11
4
9
3
9
2
30
1
33
What Students Say
“He's definitely no Jeff South in the Mass Comm Department”
MASC361 - 2.0 rating“Worst professor I've ever had at VCU”
MASC361 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
81%
Textbook Required
48%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.94 avg changeRatings by Course
MEDIA
5.0
(1)ETHICS
5.0
(1)LOTSOFMC
4.0
(1)MASC101
3.4
(16)MASC290ETHICS
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MASC290MEDICS
5.0
MASC001
5.0
MASC261
4.7
MEDIAETHICS290
4.0
MASS101
4.0
Reviews (92)
He doesn't take flack from anyone. He tells it how it is and he expects great things from his students. Best of all, he always stays relevant to the subject on hand and never goes on tangents!
He was very straight to the point. He gives a study guide for final and he lets you know what to look over on test. It was a simple class and he is a good professor.
He is an awesome teacher and he gives very understandable notes. It's very easy to pass his class you don't really need the book. IF you listen in class...and go over is notes, you will pass the class with an A
Great teacher. Easy if you attend classes, pay attention and speak up in discussions. Stays on point...never sidetracks
No Comments
I enjoyed it very much. He brings up many interesting points and really encourages you to think about things that you normally wouldn't. His tests are VERY easy if you just pay attention to what he speaks about in class. Excellent teacher!
he is not helpful at all. if you have question about a grade, he will not answer them. overall, not a good professor. the class could be very interesting, but he does not reward understanding, only one's ability to carry out instructions.
Nice guy, grades tougher than you will expect.
Three grades. Two given in the last two weeks of class (for me anyway). Doesnt hint to what is on exams. Harsh grader. One person got an A on the first exam.. it was a 91.. the second lowest A you can get.. with no curve, or extra credit.
VERY harsh grader, especially on the case study you have to do. You better make sure you cover EVERY detail when completing the case study or taking his tests! Nice but will not back down once he has made his mind up. Stay away if you want an easy A!
material is relevant to topics in todays media making for heated debates. there are only three grades so if you mess up on one thing then your toast.
HE SHOULD BE FIRED
This class was so easy if you took good notes and studied the chapters. The professor will more than likely go against any answers you give in class, but the discussions were still good at times.
Knows his stuff, but is incredibly condescending and unnessarily rude. I have talked with other students and many people believe he is not quite as nice to white students as he is to black students. Whether it's because he knows them better from ABC, I don't know. You have been warned.
He is an unclear and a rude teacher. I took the class in the fall and he only gives 3 grades throughout the entire semester. Not once did he crack a smile, and he goes against every answer that you give in class. And the case study....he was a harsh grader on that assignment.
He is a very easy teacher. Just go to class and get the main points of the book and you will do fine. Just try and be one of the first to go when presenting your case study, he grades less harsh if you go early!
Dr. Thomas was a big disappointment. I expected a relatively easy class (how hard can media ethics be?) and I got a pain in the neck. He is an overly harsh grader and he seems to take off points at will. He is extremely unfriendly and seems to avoid contact with students at all costs.
This class is easy. I mean the exam is so easy you just need to pay attention to his notes and he does tell you everything that is going to be on the exam. he is a serious teacher but if you do your work and go to class you will pass. Be warned that if you miss class but have an A you will not be exempt from the final. it is part of his policy
Dr. Thomas is a brillant professor and really knows a lot about the media. Great class and easy tests if you have good notes from lectures! I would definitely take one of his classes again!
Excellent.... he knows his stuff and is very clear about what to expect on tests.
Fun guy class can be boring but you can learn alot hard to get a hold of.
TERRIBLE TEACHER!
This is by the far the absolute worst teacher I have ever had. He does not teach, he yells at you. There are no class discussions, just him telling you how wrong you are. I learned absolutely nothing, except maybe how to dislike a teacher. He treats students like 5 year olds and does not care at all for what you have to say.
If you want to do Busy Work then take Minorities in the Mass Media. Easy A though...
I didn't think that this class was ridiculous. He was not clear with his lectures at all. He did about two chapters a day, so four a week, and the second test was cumulative and he went over everything in about 20 minutes. Worst teacher ever. U can never reach him. Grading is unfair, takes points randomly and when explained, it doesnt make sense.
Ok you need to ignore what people said about him above b/c he does not treat blacks better than whites he treats everyone the same. He comes off as unemotional but he really has feelings deep inside you just have to get to know him. He is a easy grader as long as you do exactly what he asked for its as simple as that. I got a A not hard at all..
Don't bother buying the book! All of his test material comes directly from his lecture. If you can take good notes, show up to class, and participate in current event discussions, you have nothing to worry about. Be warned that his lectures can be very dry, but just take notes and pay attention to detail. A tape recorder would be helpful!
THE WORST PROFESSOR I HAVE EVER HAD!!...I just came home to drop the class. I have attended every class, spoke up in lectures and whatnot. He is very unclear, does not give any guidance on anything. Three grades the whole semester!! He's very rude and condesending. Appears to be **** towards white people.
not a very nice man. condescending, impersonable, unfriendly, and unapproachable. i scheduled a makeup exam with him and he showed up 15 minutes late with no apology. tests ridiculously hard. i was looking forward to this class as the best one this semester, but it ended up being the absolute worst. wish i'd checked him out first. DON'T TAKE HIM
HORRIBLE!!........I looked at some of the comments from 2003 and 2004, they are totally different than what he acts like now. He acts like he doesn't care what so ever about his class. Someone will ask a question and his response will be, "just do what i say". Teaching is not his passion anymore it's OBVIOUS!!
Look Dr. Thomas we have other classes to do not just yours! 60min presentations, three test, and multiple journal reviews of face cases BORING. Test review was a joke and the teacher makes it as hard as possible to pass the class, DO NOT TAKE!
Your opinion does not matter. Point blank. He's right your not. Very snude attitude. Very arrogant and pompous. Do not take this class unless you like being FRUSTRATED the entire time!
Take notes and pay attention in class. His tests = notes, movies and other people's projects. Oh and he will take the most random thing from the notes and ask it on an exam. Takes attendance and gives homework.
I didn't find him biased toward black students but I did find that he was unprepared and lacked interest in teaching. We had to do 2 projects and 2 tests and those were our only grades. It's a low stress class, especially when you watch movies every other day. Overall, this class wasn't bad but he's lacking in the motivation department.
2nd worst class to engl215 my spring semester. whoever says he treats blacks better than whites is a liar. i'm black and that did not change his rudeness. he doesn't care about the class. he's never accessible and when you try to go to him and figure out information he blows you off. he wouldn't even let us share info for the final. LAME SAUCE!
WORST PROFESSOR EVER! In the beginning he comes off as an OK professor, but as soon as you turn in your class evaluations he'll screw you over! The final test had nothing to do with what he said it would. It was a bunch of random facts and dates. He's rude, condescending, unhelpful, and unorganized. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS!
I took him in the Summer, the class wasnt that bad 3 test and thats it I got a B out of the class.
This teacher is Horrible. He let us out an hour early every class and if you came to ask him some questions after class he asks you to make an appointment. He supplies no notes and his tests are unpredictable. He isn't lenient at all which is funny because as a teacher he fails. I don't know how someone hasn't noticed his incompetence yet.
He doenst teach the class, he just give everyone these crappy projects, and lets the students do the teaching... He is going to ruin the Mass Comm school since he is going to start teaching 101 next semester...Good luck kiddies...I wouldnt say dont take his class...but I would say if there is another teacher available take that!
We have three presentations in his class, each presentation takes up two class periods and we have watched three movies so far and it's November. He hardly teachs the class at all; I don't like him.
Professor Thomas is a part of a dying breed of old-school teachers, and for our next generation's sake, this man needs to retire. He is apathetic, insulting, condescending, and intellectually surface level. I don't know how this man became a professor. I don't know why he would enter a profession in which he doesn't want to be there.
Horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible, he doesn't actually teach the class he makes us do these big projects and watch movies everyday. I had him last semester and he was bad then too, but I had to take him again this semester for my major. Avoid him at all cost, you learn nothing and he is a major jack ass - he doesn't care at all and it shows.
Be prepared to be told, not taught, about the history of advertising. He can't stimulate intellectual curiosity in a classroom. His class structure is to make you do assignments that don't matter, then ask you such easy question you won't want to answer. Then when someone does answer, he will say something "Not exactly," or "perhaps." Frustrating.
Took the class in the summer and test were easy they were straight from the notes...boring at times but a cool guy
Without a doubt the worst professor I've had at VCU. Lazy beyond words, no online resources whatsoever, and no guidelines on what to prepare for for the tests. I'm not one to point fingers at professors, but this man just does not care. Once you reach that point, you need to be fired. Simple as that.
He teaches the class like a high school/middle school class. I just took him for a 3-wk summer class & our team had gotten 3hr sleep pretty much every night to prepare the presentation. We had one of the most entertaining & creative presentations, but he was totally being a prick n gave us a low B. Make ur presentations boring as possible.Avoid him
Does not teach! His tests SUCK random information pulled out of nowhere... I have an A in every other class but may BARELY pass this one!!! NEEDS TO BE FIRED
His class is easy in that he doesn't require critical thinking but hard because he cares about nitpicky BS that doesn't really matter. Ie: On the test he will ask you very specific questions about total ad revenue (in numbers) for a given year, but not why it matters. He's basically like a crappy high school teacher.
This was a very easy class. Professor Thomas was probably my least favorite teacher (he was just plain and uninteresting), but I enjoyed this class and enjoyed learning. He gives good notes, but you have to go to class because he won't post them online. His tests are easy, but pay attention to current events, they can come up. Study and you'll pass
For a mass comm major that's informed about the history and current practices of most mass comm professions, this class is incredibly boring. Same for Prof. Thomas. I didn't learn anything, was always bored stiff in class. He never assigns homework that's graded and his tests are easy if you read the chapters thoroughly and take detailed notes.
It is extremely obvious that Clarence Thomas is on tenure and could careless about his potential impact on students. Horrible course. Do not take.
READ everything. Take notes on names and numbers. He loves both for tests. Be in class.Lecture notes are not enough.You really have to work for your grade and sometimes still NOT get it. He really doesn't care. He doesn't hate anyone but he sure as hecght doesn't like anyone either.If you can avoid, then do so. I have to take him again..ughhh.
He was not my favorite teacher at all, nor would I recommend him for anyone looking at taking MASC 101. I loved reading the textbook and found it incredibly interesting. Make sure you read everything that he assigns! But sometimes on the exams he pulls questions out of thin air that you don't know anything about!
Not that bad of a guy. As long as you come to class and take very good notes you will be fine. Be sure to write down all the statistics he gives you because they will be on the test! His tests are pretty straight forward, the questions are from his lecture and charts/graphs from the text. Just go to class and pay attention and you'll get an A.
Dr Thomas was an amazing professor. He's extemelly inteligent and knows what he is talking about. His tests are straight foward, very easy! He doesn't give extra credit, but gives up 2 points for students who answer his questions in class correctly. I'm taking him again!
Not bad in terms of intelligence, but he never seemed to want to be bothered with students before and after class. Make sure you READ the textbook and attend class to write down the information he gives because it's usually on the exams.
Don't take his class if you can. He is the worst professor I have ever had.
worst professor ever ; gives ONE test the whole semester and its worth 50% of the grade with no review guide to study from; presentation due at the end of the semester ; feels like a middle school project but he is a tough grader
Nice professor but VERY hard. His tests are based mainly on lecture and a bit on HW and reading. No extra credit, 3 tests are the ONLY grade, and no curve. The information was interesting but he doesn't try to make it easy for you. Take note of ANYTHING the author of the book bolds or pulls out in a chart or blurb because it will be on the test.
Worst teacher I have ever had. His class is the only class hurting my GPA. He doesn't not speak clearly or use any visuals. You must attend class every day because the only grades you get are three tests and they come straight from his lectures plus a few graphs from the book. He made me second guess my major and mass comm is my life.
Made me change my major. If you are someone who does not do well on exams, do not take his class. Grades are based on 3 exams, and information on it are mostly from his lectures.
Worst teacher ever. Boring, long, dry lectures. Only 3 grades: the tests. No curve. Get another professor
If you can avoid his class in your best interest to do so! NO grade curves. His notes are verbatim of other semesters, and he reads them off exactly the same. Which to me shows the little effort he puts forth to assisting students based on how they retain his information.
I seriously loved having him. He can be rather rude, but he tells you exactly what he wants. Take notes on everything, even statistics, and read the book (it's not too long). Just go to class and do exactly what he says; he knows what he wants.
This class was alright, passed but he can be boring. All exam questions come from lecture, so make sure you get good notes, u dont really need book. He's dry and wont really communicate w students, he konws a lot but his style of teaching is not good.
Tough grader. Tests consist of lecture and 15 questions from the book. That's all you are being graded on. Can't get anything below a C from him but that is if you study hard.
Clarence Thomas is by far the worst professor I ever had at VCU. He doesn't like to repeat himself, yet doesn't offer slides to supplement his dictation of notes. Although he doesn't have to provide a visual for the class notes he expects students to do so in their projects. He is disrespectful and dismissive of students. Don't take this class!!!
He's definitely no Jeff South in the Mass Comm Department. The 2 test are very specific and detailed so take good notes. When he mentions things to google, memorize them. The research project is very TEDIOUS but as long as you include everything from the outline in depth you should get an A...
This class is awful, lacks interesting content and any substance. Thomas is rude and boring, and teaches the class like your in 4th grade.Test questions are from lecture but completely arbitrary in random unimportant facts, it is hard to get an A but super easy non the less. Take this class if you do not want your brain to be at all stimulated.
Worst professor I've ever had at VCU. His class consists of only three grades: Two tests and a big research project. The tests are very difficult, requiring you to remember obscure little details that he made brief mention about in class. And the research project, forget it! He takes off tons of points for EVERYTHING unless its absolutely perfect!
If you like feeling like you're in high school, complete with an unfriendlyunapproachable teacher, assigned seating, and ridiculously pointless assignments, take this class.
Tells you exactly what you need to do to pass, he's from the old-school of teaching & is NO NONSENSE. You HAVE to pay attn, take notes & do HW in order to pass midterm & understand final proj. The final proj is easy to get an A-B if you follow his instructions & some effort. Everyone who complained about him didn't do one or any of these things.
Take Diversity in the Media if you want to be infuriated two times a week. Dr. Thomas is teaching out-of-date concepts and doesn't want to hear student's modern perceptions on diversity. He controls class discussions and doesn't allow for open, honest dialogue. He is narrow minded and is especially frustrating when discussing women's role in media
The grade in this class is two "exams", based on lecture/movies & class discussions/speakers. It's hard to study for when the speakers are all over the place. Some of the content was REALLY outdated, most movies we watched were from 70s- 80s. It's 2016, memorizing 30 year old trivia doesn't help today's diversity. And the tests are made of it.
You pretty much have to take Thomas for history of journalism at VCU so just suck it up. He's the worst teacher in the journalism faculty. He teaches poorly, he's petty, his instructions are unclear and his criticism is unfair especially in the group project. Best of luck.
Dr. Thomas is the ridiculous professor I have ever had. He treats the class like its middle school. He provided no documents to supplement lectures. I would recommend recording his lectures because you will miss something and it will be on the test! 33% Test1; 33% Test2; 33% Test 3. Honestly, I would avoid taking his class. It's a waste of time/$$.
Dr Thomas was an excellent professor. He is serious and expects the class to be just as serious and to participate. Students complain about him because he demands that they work, respect and will not just give them the grade they want. Only the students who do poorly are very critical of him.
Course comprised of three grades: two tests and a group project. No textbook or supplemental materials which means you need to take incredibly meticulous notes. Questions are heavy on historical figures, names, and specifics. Zone out for a moment and you miss a lot. Only D I have ever received. Seems to think no one is right except himself.
2 tests, and 1 semester project. There's homework once a week, and it doesn't count for a grade. Doesn't make you buy the textbook, but instead gives you a list of people to Google and then never mentions the people again until they're on the test, which makes it hard. Boring lecturer, and he kinda bugged me. But it's an easy A if you go to class.
The weakest link in the advertising faculty and possibly the entirety of VCU. Extremely condescending and unapproachable. Only gives negative feedback. Disrespectful to students. Assigns seats and treats his class like middle school. Wants you to fail. TAKE THE OTHER PROFESSOR. Maybe youll actually get something out of the class. Just terrible
People don't like Clarence because of his teaching style, which I will say can rub people the wrong way. Regardless of what everyone says on here, you do get something out of the class. Those who complain are lazy. He is very specific on how you can get a good grade in the class and the group project is annoying, but I've learned a lot.
Awful professor with extreme unprofessionalism. His lectures are inconsistent and dry, applying a middle school method of teaching using packets and print outs on the first day of class. I took very little away from this class due to his lack of preparedness, teaching style, and demeanor. I would recommend taking any other professor than him.
Thomas has a teaching style where he just lectures and if you don't write down every single word he says, the tests will be extremely difficult. For the final project, he takes off points on specific details he didn't tell you he wanted in the first place. He's unnecessarily strict on grading too.
BY THE WAY THIS IS FOR MASC 474 DIVERSITY IN THE MEDIA He grades unnecessarily hard. The majority of the class will average a 90 or up the entire semester, then end up with a low B for a final grade all because he makes the final worth 50% of your grade. YEP ONLY ONE EXAM! His final consists of material not even covered in class. Very disappointed.
Clarence is the most condescending and uptight teacher for absolutely no reason. If you ask a question, do something slightly outside of his unspecified expectations, or slightly make a mistake he will rake you over the coals. He is stuck in the 90s when it comes to teaching and I haven't met one person who enjoyed him or his class. Dont take him.
Dr. Thomas' teaching style rubs most people the wrong way. Class feels like high school - he is dismissive of questions & refuses to repeat himself if you fall behind during lecture. Lectures are dry and unorganized, and there's no supplementary material if you miss class. Grade is determined by two tests and a group project. Don't take this class.
Prof. Thomas barely taught this class. He assigned group projects in which students were required to teach the class eras of journalism history based on their own research. He covers just a small portion in his lectures. Once we moved online, we barely received any communication from him and the projects we were meant to learn from were not posted.
The worst. Did not want to teach a History of Ad class online in the middle of the pandemic. If you're not in class, you're gonna miss everything and fail because he doesn't email or post any of the lectures. Barely communicates with the class. The class is useless.
I left that class everyday extremely defeated. You can tell he's very knowledgable about the subject itself but his condescending tone and lack of correspondence was disheartening. His tests are insanely specific so make sure to take LOTS of notes he is not an easy grader.
You have three grades in the class - all exams. He talks, you take notes. No powerpoints, supplements, harsh on grading. Does not talk to students with respect, is condescending. Possibly the worst professor I've had.
He taught a HISTORY OF AD class IN PERSON. He gave you homework packets like you're in middle school. Never put anything on blackboard and barely emails you. He expects you to know content, but he doesn't tell you what to study besides the chapter in the book. He tanked my GPA
He is the least accommodating professor I've ever had. I never did well on his tests because he expects us to learn when he just lectures and tells us to read chapters in the book. No powerpoints, guides, class discussions/collaboration - nothing. He barely sent us emails. He only sent emails to tell us when our tests are.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
81%
Textbook Required
48%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.94 avg changeRatings by Course
MEDIA
5.0
(1)ETHICS
5.0
(1)LOTSOFMC
4.0
(1)MASC101
3.4
(16)MASC290ETHICS
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
MASC290MEDICS
5.0
MASC001
5.0
MASC261
4.7
MEDIAETHICS290
4.0
MASS101
4.0