2.4
Quality3.7
Difficulty29%
Would Retake321
Reviews29%
Would Retake
321
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
321 total ratings5
31
4
43
3
62
2
64
1
121
What Students Say
“Lectures are very boring and very confusing”
BIO311D - 2.0 rating“I'm sitting in hansen's class right now and I wish I hadn't come”
311C - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
75%
Textbook Required
0%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.48 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO311D
2.8
(55)BIO301E
2.8
(9)BIO311C
2.6
(94)311D
2.3
(43)311C
1.8
(98)Difficulty by Course
311C
3.9
311D
3.8
BIO311C
3.6
BIO311D
3.6
BIO301E
2.8
Reviews (299)
ABOUT 40 PERCENT OF THE CLASS FAILS HER EXAMS EVERY TIME!! SHE IS A TERRIBLE PROFESSOR. SHE WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT TO STUDY FOR EXAMS. SHE WILL NOT GIVE YOU A REVIEW. SOMETIMES YOU WILL STIL LBE GOING OVER A WHOLE CHAPTER THE CLASS BEFORE YOU ARE TESTS( EX: UNIT 2 IS OVER 7 CHAPTER, WE LEARNED THE 7TH THE WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE FRIDAY EXAM) RUN!!
DO NOT TAKE HER! Her explanations are not clear and the powerpoints are not helpful whatsoever.
If I could take a diff bio prof, I would. Hansen's tests cover a ridiculous amount of material & she never gives reviews and teaches whole units right before exams, which forces you to have to KNOW EVERYTHING even though it probably won't be tested. Also, lectures are super boring and she answers everything with rhetorical questions
Tests don't have anything to do with material covered in class, lectures are full of obscure examples. Tedious homeworks. Would not recommend at all.
Dr. Hansen was an alright professor. Her tests were tough only bc the multiple choice was oddly worded, but if you do her lecture handouts you should be fine since her short answer questions come from them. Also she does provide EC through bonus questions on exams, extra credit assignments and Mastering Bio HW. If you study hard you'll be fine!
After reading many of the reviews, I have to say that I think a lot of the negativity is unwarranted. Is she a tough grader? Yes. Are her tests tricky at times? Yes. With that being said, she definitely has a passion for biology, and while her lectures may be dry, she does her best to relate the topics learned in class to the real world.
Hansen's class if fair. You can do well in her class by reading the book and reviewing the slides before tests. Go to class for participation. Discussion is useless. Maximize your points on homework, and be sure to do all EC things. Her tests are 20 MC, 4 FR, and 2 EC questions. FR comes straight from handouts. MC is trickier bc of wording.
Dr. Hansen's class was doable, a lot less harder than the previous reviews made it seem. Tests are based off the lectures and handouts. MC is definitely way harder than the Free Response, you really need to know your stuff. Homework is tedious but very easy. Her lectures were boring but you can tell she loves plants and biology.
It's not so much that the test material is hard, but the way she structures the test is made to make you do terribly. She also readily admits that she throws in at least two questions from the multiple choice (out of about 20) that she knows no one will get right. Free response isn't bad. She is also by far the rudest professor I have ever met.
Lectures are very boring and very confusing. She's very patronizing and will look down upon you if you ask questions she deems stupid. She will rarely directly answer a question, instead she'll pose a new question that'll confuse you even more. You'll basically have to fuse with your textbook in order to do well.I highly regret taking this course.
DO NOT TAKE HER! Although her class is not that hard to make an A in, she is a terrible professor. She always responds to questions with rhetorical questions, and her office hours are a joke. She will not help you for the exams at all, so you're on your own. Also, she made the final ridiculously hard compared to previous tests.
What a fantastic professor! Was there to help students during office hours and her lectures were clear and concise. Her exams were super easy and there are also extra credit to help you out! I had no problem studying and only studied for a day before the exam.
Do not take her. Very confusing and gives convoluted lectures. She emphasizes plants too much because she is a plant biologist. She is a sweet lady, but awful teacher. TAs aren't very good either. Overall, awful experience!!
3 Test, 1 Final, Homework, and participation points. Homework was useless and a waste of time. Lectures are disorganized and choppy. Lectures are just powerpoint with questions on them. Difficult to judge what to study. TA that I had seemed like she didn't know much about biology. Recommendation: Find another professor
This course was far more difficult than an intro course should be. This was because her tests were very tricky, especially Mc parts. Her study guide questions are only like 50% relevant to helping one study for the tests. Also, her hws are irrelevant. Making an A isn't impossible but it is definitely going to be rough. Positive side: she's nice.
Worst professor I've ever had at UT. She is HORRIBLE. Her lectures are irrelevant to the tests and she is impossible to please. The tests are filled with mediocre facts that were never mentioned in the reading or lecture. It's impossible to know what to study. Sweet lady, horrible professor.
She just assume you know everything and she teach the simplest things in class but have questions on the test that is not even understandable. DO NOT TAKE HER.
Dr. Hansen makes biology very unbearable. It's almost as if she doesn't even know the material herself. She asks lots of questions in class, and never provides the correct answer, leaving her students very confused. Not worth your time-- I would honestly recommend taking Bio another semester if she is your only choice.
She rambles a lot and hardly every directly answers a question. We did top hat quizzes for class attendance and she never actually says what the right answers are but she seems to think she is explaining something. My TA was nice and much more clear but Dr. Hansen honestly sounds like she doesn't have a clue.
If you take Dr. Hansen, be prepared to self-teach the entire semester. If you ask her a question, she will beat around the bush worse than a politician. This woman is a horrible teacher and honestly should not be employed as such. I truly would advise taking bio another semester rather than taking her.
Hansen is nice but being nice doesn't make you a good teacher. Extremely picky when grading and makes you feel stupid for asking seemingly "obvious" questions in class. People think that the students who give professors low scores are failing the class and are just mad but that is not always the case. HEED OUR WARNINGS!!!!! Do NOT take her class!!!
For the final exam she posted an announcement telling us to let her know if she had any questions and after I sent her my questions with ideas about what the answer may be, she emailed me back to let me know she wouldn't answer any of them because figuring it out on my own is how I would learn. Avoid this lady at all costs.
Dr. Hansen is a nice and she cares, but her teaching style is just bad. Half of her lectures are just questions, and she never tells us what the correct answers are. She also uses a different edition of the textbook than is required for the class for test questions. and if you ask her a question, she answers with another question. awful, BEWARE!!!
Just like everyone else said, unless you want to think to yourself "why am I here" in lecture, I recommend finding another bio professor. Lectures are a waste of an hour that could be spent reviewing the textbook. Test questions are meant to trip you up and overall the class isn't difficult, but tricky. Nice lady, bad professor.
The textbook is definitely required, the online quizzes will sometimes ask you about specific diagrams in a chapter. She is not the best at explaining things, so if you have questions it's usually a waste of time to ask her. The worst part of her class is that a lot of her questions are unclear on tests and even the TAs admit
I was able to add almost 2 full points to my grade through EC. Hansen is fine, not great, but really not that bad. Read the textbook like you are supposed to, and you will get a good grade. The homework is easy and the TAs are pretty great.
Professor Hansen's class is not that hard. As long as you keep up with the readings and understand the material, you will do fine on the exams. The homework assignments are basically completion grades. She also gives extra credit that can potentially raise your overall grade by 2%. However, she is a terrible lecturer, and she isn't very nice.
If you don't have a textbook, don't expect to pass. Lectures may be mandatory and include a participatory/attendance grade, but knowing which chapters to read is more important to pass. All homework assigned is over the textbook, and all tests and final include information that is 90% from the book. It's possible to make an A with B+ scoring tests.
Dr. Hansen is the best Intro Biology teacher at UT in my opinion. Her lectures are well-structured and easy to follow. She is always very happy and gives all the material you need to succeed. The way her class is structured allows for ample opportunities to review the material. She is a very compassionate person and is willing to work with you.
The tests in this class were not too bad, but you definitely had to read the textbook to understand what was going on. There is not a criteria given for what is expected on the tests, so you have to just memorize everything. Attendance is mandatory because you have to answer questions online during class. If you work hard, you can get an A.
First day of class she'll tell you to not rely on the book, that's a lie. The book is your only friend in this class. She gives weekly quizzes with all "select all that apply" but gives no partial credit. Didn't really learn much in class and her tests were hard. I did okay only due to my prior knowledge in biology, but she helps in nothing.
Dr. Hansen is by far my least favorite professor. The homework is ridiculous and it's through a textbook access code so it's hard to keep up with deadlines because they change randomly. She barely mentions topics covered on the exam? Her multiple choice are either very vague or super specific so good luck with that. Take anyone else
Her lectures are awful, but she gives a lot of extra credit which got me from a C to a B. She is a super sweet lady and really cares about biology and wants you to learn. She just refuses to change her lecture style. Learned more from my TA during recitation than from her.
Hansen's lectures are boring & she is bad at answering questions. She loves ambiguous TopHat ?s during lecture. But 311D material isn't bad & her class is doable with the textbook and learning handouts. The homework is weekly, not useful but not hard. The tests are not bad - multiple choice and free response that you can usually predict.
debra was super annoying, she loved plants too much and isnt clear on what to study for
Kind person but inefficient lecturer. Did not enjoy her class at all and her lectures were super boring. Tests are decent only if you study, otherwise its not going to go your way. If you love plants, then take her... but otherwise steer clear...
Going to class is mandatory because there are questions that you have to answer. For the tests you have to study a lot: they cover materials from lectures, from textbook, and from the quizzes. You definitely have to work hard to get an A in this class. There is also weekly discussion that is graded on attendance and accuracy in answering questions.
This woman ruined my mental state for a solid 8 months. She was a boring lecturer with immensely unfair tests. Do the learning objectives, know them back and forth and hope for the best with the tests. She would overlook huge topics in tests while pinpointing dumb facts. Study more than you need to, and study the lectures before book. Good luck.
From personal experience with classmates, I know that most of the people who complain about Hansen complain because they slacked when exams rolled around-blaming her. I had a great experience with her, and didn't buy or read the book once. Just reread her powerpoints and take advantage of the abundance of extra credit she offers!! She's super sweet
Hansen is a great choice of professor. Her lectures are clear, and they're all posted online later. Her exams cover what's on her lecture, not sneaky textbook excerpts. I didn't even bother to buy the book and learned everything I needed for Genetics and Biochem on her lectures alone. And her extra credit is great! Highly recommend.
I'm sitting in hansen's class right now and I wish I hadn't come. She has an incredible ability to not answer a single question, even when asked directly. On top of this, her lectures are confusing and not relevant to the tests. Study the textbooks, go to the TAs (not gustavo), and really know your stuff and you'll be fine, but don't expect help.
Okay, I know biology is a weed-out class, but she makes it so hard to want to try. Her lectures are boring and unnecessary because all of her tests are based on Learning Objectives and random facts from the textbooks. I would choose another bio professor. Maybe one less hysterical and condescending.
Her tests are tough and have tricky wording. It is hard to know what to study in detail for the test. Her lectures are okay. Her power points are basically just explaining photos from the text book, so if you really want to learn, listen in class and bury your head in the text book. It is a doable class as long as you put in the work to learn.
This class was made intentionally difficult and had the opportunity to be a learning experience. Her tests are pre-made somewhere online, but unless you are in a group that knows where to find them good luck. You have an 1hr15 minutes to answer 35 questions that are longer than this review. 3 exams that weigh heavy. Lectures are not helpful.
I don't recommend this lady at all. She's a horrible person who doesn't care if you do well or not. If you're looking to take a class to teach yourself and learn how to fail, then take this class. I'm a pretty good student and I'm struggling so I wouldn't take her unless its the last teacher available. She has no idea what she's teaching.
Honestly, many people don't like her class because it truly is a college environment. What I mean is that she just lectures and that you have to teach yourself the material too. She does a great job summarizing the textbook and honestly so long as you work you will be fine. If you don't like that idea, why are you attending college? Best of luck!
As long as you pay attention in lecture you should be fine for the tests. She also hands out packets of what you need to know on the exam. If you did well in AP bio you'll definitely do fine. One thing is that she won't answer her own lecture questions unless you ask directly. Everything you need to know is in the handouts-use textbook for clarity
84% of your grade is determined by your test grades. There are three midterms making up 60% and a final of 24%. If you are not a good test taker do not take her. On the multiple choice questions in her exams she really tries to trick students. Towards the middle and end of the semester she started to somewhat make attendance mandatory.
The class is mainly test focused so make sure you're not cramming otherwise the questions will catch you off guard. Also details, details, details. They can make or break your test grade.
Dr. Hansen is an incredibly sweet woman who loves biology. I think her teaching skills (in 311C) were impaired by her lack of passion for microbiology. Her TAs were not incredible, however, Santos was usually on top of things. Tests are worded weirdly. Hansen's office hours are helpful though. I wouldn't have enjoyed the class if I didn't love bio.
You can tell that Dr. Hansen is a super sweet person. She's just not a good lecturer at all. The tests are ridiculously hard and the multiple choice are tricky and based off small details from the text book. The stuff that she goes over in class don't even begin to cover what's on the test, so make sure to read the book heavily.
I did not enjoy this class. Lectures are hard to pay attention to and she usually doesn't answer students' questions; she will reverse it and say "you tell me". She seems nice, but she's not a great professor. The exams can be difficult, but it's manageable.
Dr. Hansen was not the best at teaching. She says upfront that she will not spend time over things you can simply read about. The "learning objective" handouts & reading the textbook helps on the test the most. Attendance is technically mandatory, but some people would answer the online questions from home. There are hopefully better professors.
This professor gives an excessive amount of homework that will not help you on the test. Her lecturing skill is poor, and it is flat out hard to pay attention in class. Tests are generally fair, and you can do well if you study the things she emphasizes. Overall, the professor is ok, but switch out if possible
Dr. Hansen simply doesn't teach. Her lectures are overly simplified and very vague, while tests are extremely specific and wordy. It's very easy to thoroughly understand the material and still do poorly. It takes WAY too much to do well in this class. Get another prof.
LOL don't take this woman's class. She is disrespectful and does not answer any questions that you ask her. Her tests are extremely specific, but her lectures are very vague. One day, when she learns how to be respectful and teach her students, maybe her class will be okay. Expect to teach yourself everything and only ask TAs (not all) for help.
Oh Debra... If I hadn't met a really good friend of mine in her class, I swear I wouldn't have survived. She isn't a good lecturer at all, and like others have said has the remarkable ability to never directly answer a single question. If you aren't good at chemistry or have an attraction to plants, you probably won't love Debra.
I went into this class expecting the worst from previous reviews. It's honestly not that bad. The key to succeeding is to just READ THE TEXTBOOK and do the LOs. The tests, like most bio tests at UT, are tricky, but you get used to the style. Her style of teaching is more review what you should have read before class than teaching new material.
Professor Hansen may not be the best at teaching, but if you follow her directions in class, getting a good grade is probable. I received a 78 on my first test and got a rude awakening with this class. You can't rely directly on the professor and her lectures, but if you study the textbook and Tophat well enough, then getting an A is possible.
Hansen is a really bad teacher but her class isnt that hard. I stopped going to class after the second test and all i did was read the textbook and i aced every test. Homework is all on quizlet and she grades for attendance but i received a 100 and missed countless classes.
Dr. Hansen really cares about her students. I had some issues with a final grade and she went through the class records and found a misgrade that ended up in getting a grade bump. She gives extra credit that helps your grade and cares about the subject. There's a lot of information and the tests can be tough, but if you put the work you can do it.
BIO301E was ridiculously easy. Debra was very good at teaching the material, and if you have any interest in the subject whatsoever, you should ace the tests. Tests were almost all short answer, describing stories of what happened in biological discoveries. Come to 1/3 of the classes and you'll get enough info for an A. Papers were easy As.
Lectures are structured weird. Discussions are really useless. Exams are hard. The questions are either super vague or really specific. Rely on reading the book and doing LOs if you want to pass the exams. Overall, she's an eh professor, but she cares.
Dr. Hansen is really nice and clearly passionate about her teachings. However, her tests are extremely unpredictable. I spend 12+ hours studying for each exam, yet my exam average for the class is a B. You can put in infinite amounts of work and still not get the results you want.
311C required a lot of studying, but her structuring of the class forces you to discover and retain an in depth understanding of how life works at a microscopic level. If youre a BS & truly want understand why things are the way they are, TAKE HER! It really helped to draw out each chapter in a detailed diagram. She pushes you bc she cares.
This class turned me from being passionate about biology to hating it. Hansen is a terrible lecturer, doesn't understand the material herself. Tests are EXTREMELY specific. SO much busy work hw. You can understand 100% and make a 70%. Study old tests, do the LOs. If you can, get another professor. She is awful. Switching my major after having her.
I do not know why no one likes her. She is honestly not a bad teacher. Some of the topics in the class are boring in nature and there is nothing you can do about it. Her tests are pretty easy to study for and assignments are pretty light. If you are looking not to die over biology, you should highly consider taking this class. You learn alot too.
I thought the class overall wasn't bad. Her tests weren't that difficult with the proper amount of studying and her Learning modules helped a lot. Her lectures can be boring but I think that she still understands the material well.
Although a lot of people hate Dr. Hansen, I think she is the best. She tries her best to explain the material and you can really tell that she is passionate about what she is teaching. If you skip her class, you will not pass. Her tests are usually based on the powerpoints (from her lecture) but it is better to also read the book.
For people who expect to read the textbook as a supplement to lectures, Hansen's really not that bad. She does have a tendency to avoid direct answers to questions, but her worksheets and lectures are engaging and get the point across. Her class isn't boring. :-) It's intensive, but she does a good job at emphasizing the important messages.
When I first got stuck with Hansen, I was terrified because of the terrible reviews. Don't listen to them! She gives LO handouts that literally spell out what she'll be testing over for each unit. It takes a lot of time to go through the textbook and do the work, but that's how you're going to learn. Put in the work & you'll be totally fine
She's literally the worst prof ever. She only cares about plants. Take anyone else for 311C and 311D.
I didn't think she was as bad as other reviews. Boring lectures, okay workload. Highly recommend reading the textbook. Discussion was pointless, but my TA was nice. Tests were okay, but the final was so hard due to the wording for me.
Lectures were pretty much pointless except for activities she would assign. Discussion was also pointless, but if you show up you get the points. Biology multiple choice wording tends to be a little unclear, but reading the textbook and the LO handouts really guarantee a good grade. Memorization is key - put in the work and you'll do fine.
Hansen was an easy A in my opinion, but her lectures weren't very interesting. If you read the textbook, her tests are very straightforward.
Dr. Hansen was an awesome professor! She made all of the material learnable, and I learned quite a lot from this class.
Pretty solid for a first year introductory course. Professor Hansen was cool. Not much else to say, except don't forget about the homework just because it's online and not graded until the end (hehe).
I heard a lot of negative things about Dr. Hansen, but I had an awesome experience in her class. She is really kind and cares about her students. She gives out "LO handouts" for every unit, and they are pretty much papers that show the topics she could test you over, and the corresponding readings. Do the LOs and go to class and you will do well
Lectures were not engaging at all and tests were too specific to really measure your knowledge. TA's are very helpful, but not enough to make me like this class.
She sounds a little dry but I swear her lectures are interesting if you can pay attention. Or watch her recorded lectures on x1.5 because they are very clear and concise and helpful. Her tests are fair, definitely not easy but if you do the LOs (!!!!) and watch her lectures, you really should be fine. I like biology so I am a bit biased, but fair
This class was just terrible, boring lectures that really did not help when it came to the exam. This class was a constant stress and no fun at all. The reason why I hate biology.
Nothing in this class connected for me. I've always loved biology, but I couldn't stand this class. Good luck.
My biggest regret was not switching out of her class. She always dragged her lectures on until the very last minute. So dry. Her answers to your questions are very vague. & don't even get me started with her tests. Not good. Wording is so confusing. I don't even have any tips for this class. Just don't take bio311d with her. Save your GPA!
Unless you LOVE plants, do NOT take Bio 311D with her. The structure of her lectures was all over the place and hard to follow. If you learn by connecting topics, this is not the professor for you. She bounces from topic to topic and then goes back to the first topic with no pattern. I had to teach myself with the textbook.
Dr. Hansen is a lot better than what others make her out to be. I ended up with an A in this class (a 97) by reading over her lecture slides and taking notes during her lectures, along with utilizing the textbook. I worked really hard for this A though, so her class wasn't the easiest, but definitely doable with effort!
The material is disorganized and taught out of order which can make studying and knowing what is expected of you for the tests difficult. However, Dr. Hansen is enthusiastic and caring. She is passionate about biology and the lectures were never boring. It's not hard to do good if you show up. Never once used the book.
I took this class as a non-science major for fun, inspired by AP bio in HS and 311C with Dr. Fritz. I realized this class was not what I expected when I got B's on the midterms. Lectures are dull/boring and focus on plants. An A is still achievable if you put in the work (read textbook after lectures). I pulled up my grade from a B with the final.
Lectures and discussions were mandatory as they count for a grade but I honestly wasnt able to take notes during lecture with the 50+ slide powerpoints she flew through in 50 minutes. Test questions were terribly confusing but I dont think the free response was graded strictly. Tough, plant-focused class and you must review her slides carefully!!
Dr. Hansen is amazing. She is very knowledgeable about her field and studies botany on the side (which I love). Furthermore, grading isnt too hard and shes funny in lecture. The tests are straightforward. Also, she brought a giant bowl of mini M&Ms to class! Cant beat that. Will try to take bio311D with her next semester.
Dr. Hansen is a really sweet lady. However if you don't learn well through reading textbooks then this professor probably isn't for you. I found her lectures to be unengaging and having little to do with what is actually going to be on the exam. Her TA's were okay but I felt like the whole semester was very unclear in what she was trying to teach.
There is a way to do good in her class, I just never figured it out. Her teaching style is very disorganized and difficult to understand for someone coming in with essentially no prior knowledge in biology. If youve taken other bio classes, or if you took AP Bio, you can most likely pull off an A with some effort. If not, good luck.
Unless you already know everything about biology and love reading the textbook... do NOT take this class. She is super sweet but not good at teaching during lecture and tests are tricky. TAs aren't great either.
I had Dr. Hansen for 311C and 311D. I have so much respect for her; she is so caring and made biology extremely interesting. I looked forward to her witty jokes/comments and her easy-to-digest explanations of the course material. I really enjoyed the class. It is difficult, especially without previous biology exposure, but it's worth it.
Dr. Hansen's class comes with a bit of a learning curve, but you will truly understand bio after her class is over. The LOs she provides are extremely helpful; you will be well prepared for her tests if you go through all the modules and the slides before. Her TAs are also helpful, and she is quick to answer questions electronically.
Annoying online modules, way too much homework, cares way too much about plants for an introductory course, takes attendance for boring lectures, loves trick questions on exams, rude in office hours I have continued on as a Bio major and this is the only other Bio course that I have received below a B+ in, it's definitely her not me.
Dr. Hansens lectures are mostly mandatory but they don't really help you prepare for the tests, she lectures over very specific topics and fun facts. If you get behind in reading it's very hard to understand what is going on in class. The textbook is really the only resource provided by the class. The tests are worded in a very tricky way.
You will def have to work for your grade in this class, but it is totally doable. Skim the textbook and take clear notes from her lecture slides (posted on tophat) though they can get confusing. She posts modules for each unit with extra notes and videos that is super helpful for exams. She ends up giving extra credit at the end too. You MUST study
Dr. Hansen is a lot nicer/better than some of these reviews make her out to be. She really is a nice professor, and lectures in a fun/passionate way. She seems very caring and wants her kids to do well. However, this class is very tough and you need to rely on the textbook. Her lectures weren't helpful to me but I had to go for attendance points.
Only take Dr. Hansen, if you are ready to read a whole chapter before going to lecture everyday. Her lectures are not meant to teach you but rather reinforce you. Take notes during lectures or you won't understand it when you look back at it. Her test are kind of tricky but doable. Use lecture materials to study for test. Recording her lecture!!
Sweet professor, she really cares about her students. If you take her class, you're gonna have to read weekly. However, if you're a good reader I would definitely recommend this class because the tests are a breeze if you read the book. Her lectures aren't great but very doable A, plus she and her TAs are very accessible outside class
She wasn't terrible but she definitely had room for improvement. Hansen was sweet, but she has a habit of answering your questions with "yes, but also no," which never really cleared things up for me. Test questions come from specific things she says in lectures, but the LOs and weekly self-quizzes will save you!!!
Tests are tough, if you read the textbook they are doable; she replaces the lowest with an average of the 3. She provides tons of self-quizzing opportunities both in/out of class that are super helpful. She's also super understanding; I missed the final and had an issue with an assignment because I took someone to the ER-I was able to do both late
If youre not into reading everyday this prof is not for you. Tests were really hard and extremely specific, and lectures werent very helpful. Only like 2 good TAs and thats if you get lucky. Godspeed if you have her.
She's a terrible lecturer as a lot of what she lectures isn't relevant to the exam, but her class is not hard to get an A in. You need to read the textbook and make sure you study the learning objectives and modules posted online. The majority of your grade comes from tests. Read the textbook consistently on top of that and you will get an A.
Terrible class.
I cannot express how horrible she was. Bio311D is not that difficult of a course, but she insists that we do all of our learning on our own, as her lectures are absolutely irrelevant and she does not provide and information for the test except for the textbook. She never gives us answers during class and just wants us to figure it out ourselves.
The worst professor I have ever had at UT. Lectures are not relevant to the tests whatsoever. TA's are completely useless and don't help at all. She does not care about her students doing well, and she never makes it clear what we need to know for the test. Horrible resources, horrible class, horrible professor.
Hah if you get Hansen for Bio, do yourself a favor and switch to ANY other professor. Lectures: slow, boring & put the whole class to sleep. NEED to read the textbook, meaning teach yourself all the material bc lectures were pointless. Shes a big fan of independent learning and does her job to not teach in class so you have to learn on your own.
Honestly, her class is pretty easy as along as you read the book and her PowerPoints. Her lectures are a little dull though. I personally don't think she's as bad as all these posts make her out to be, but I do understand why people criticize her lectures.
Very Rude during Office Hours criticizing you why you don't understand the material when that's why we're here. She called us Monkeys one time on the discussion board, basically calling some people idiots in not knowing how to work Canvas. Tests are very hard and textbook heavy but her questions are tricky. Her lectures are not super helpful.
I had her for 311C and D and her class was manageable, but I didn't really like her lecture style. She's not as bad as all of the other reviews say, but her tests were annoyingly specific and oddly worded. She cares about helping and she definitely works with students. She did cancel all tests and the final during the pandemic which was really cool
By far, the worst professor that I have ever taken at UT. Her exams were extremely difficult. I would record her lectures, read the book, and do her review outline worksheets and I still did not get good grades on the exam. Take any other professor but Hansen. I attended her office hours to see how I could improve and she was very patronizing.
I do not know why so many people are ragging on Hansen. I only took her for 311D, but the course was not very hard. Lectures could be dull at times, but she is clearly passionate about the subject. I was able to get by learning from her lecture slides and small amounts of supplemental reading from the text book. Don't be scared of her rating.
Dr. Hansen should have a higher rating in my opinion. She is clearly passionate about her students and offers many resources inside and outside of class for students to do well and succeed. If you make an effort and do the worksheets, you'll do well. Note: this is a review for last semester, AKA before the coronavirus online switch.
Hansen is very sweet and so passionate about biology. The subject matter can get tough at times. I personally liked her soothing voice but it put my friend to sleep. Its very important to listen to her lectures and take notes from them. You learn from the textbook but the lectures reinforce the information you need for the exams.
Just finished my second semester with Dr. Hansen, and she still remains my favorite prof at UT. Her passion for biology shines through in lecture -- along with her sense of humor. Go Dr. Hansen!
Dr. Hansen isn't my favorite lecturer, so I recommend reading the textbook a fair amount. If you are ever concerned about misreading, don't be afraid to speak to Dr. Hansen, she will listen to you and try to help. Her office hours weren't my favorite, but if you truly need help don't be afraid to go see her.
Dr. Hansen truly cares about her students and is willing to go the extra mile to help them. Her lectures are often boring, but cover all content required for tests. The Learning Outcome handouts that she provides are very helpful in preparing for the tests as well. Keeping up with these and revisiting them really helped me do well on the exams.
Dr. Hansen is amazing! I admit I wasn't too big of a fan at the beginning, but she is so sweet and knowledgable and caring that I ended up loving her. Go to class, participate in assignments and use !! the !! LOs!! and you will get a good grade :)
Dr. Hansen is overall a really great professor. She has engaging lectures and is always really sweet and funny. You have to really study to get a good grade on the tests, which are on a lot of different topics. She transitioned really well into online learning and actually made the class easier. Also, get the Vital source E-Book.
Love the prof, she's so sweet. Class was decently organized. DS mandatory, although not very useful. She adapted super well to online classes. Use the LOs, close guide for tests, which are more specific to her lectures/modules than textbook.
ONLINE TRANSITION - I was nervous to take the class reading her previous ratings for in-person but it was entirely opposite experience online. Dr. Hansen's online transition format should be replicated through most web-based courses at UT. She's understanding. She adjusts. Weekly quizzes substitute midterms. Lots of recordings but super manageable!
Literally some of the most boring lectures I have ever listened to. I don't know if it's her voice or what, but even her attempts to be interesting fall painfully flat. Her questions are very application-based, which isn't something I'm going to complain about, although it makes the course significantly harder. This is my impression 5wks in
Extremely, extremely textbook heavy. The bulk of your work is reading and mastering textbook material by yourself. Lectures are mainly just a summary of what the textbook is on and not valuable on its own, but the textbook readings are really the main thing. She makes really useful study guides though, but this is def a self study class
Professor Hansen was a decent professor. She kinda answers questions in a mildly roundabout way and she has the most soothing voice ever (which makes watching her lectures a little challenging). To get an A, just watch the mini-lessons, read the textbook, take good notes, and go to discussion.
Class is honestly fine. Tests questions can be tricky, but these "Mini-midterms" are not weighted very heavily. Its helpful to watch her mini-lessons before the week starts to learn most of the material. Textbook is nice to study with, but honestly not necessary.
Dr. Hansen is really passionate and knowledgeable about biology but she's not my favorite professor. The live lectures sometimes explain complex concepts to us but most times makes them more difficult to understand. The recorded lectures explain things on the surface level but you have to read the textbook heavily to do well on the bi-weekly tests.
I took Bio 311C online for the fall semester and I believe the class isn't extremely difficult but it is hard to get an A due to the difficulty of the quizzes. The homework load is somewhat heavy with assignments on 4 different platforms but there are opportunities to still maintain a decent grade with the reflections and homework
HW and reading is pretty heavy, but if you stick to it an A is totally possible. Every week you have prerecorded lectures (1-2hr), abt a chapter to read, and online hw on 3 diff platforms (Simbio, Masteringbio, and squarecap). There's abt 6 tests & a final. Tests can be eh but she gave 2 options to retest & xtra credit. Not too bad.
Dr. Hansen was amazing this semester. Her lectures can be a little long, but they're very informative and she really cares about her students. Of all my professors I've never had one who cares as much as Dr. Hansen she genuinely wants everyone to succeed and as long as you give a little effort you will.
Her 311C class was difficult, but in 311D it was clear she was more connected to the material and her lectures were actually enjoyable. This class can easily go awry if you have a bad TA, but she was accessible and nice. Her grading was fair and the material was interesting.
Dr. Hansen is hands down the nicest and most understanding professor. Her classes was pretty difficult in my opinion and you have to work for it. Her lectures are pretty lengthy, but informative. What I liked the most is how homeworks and reflection grades (aka cushion grades) weight a LOT which help ur grades.
I would def not recommend Hansen. Her lectures are so boring I genuinely could not pay attention to them. We have biweekly midterms and they were always pretty difficult. Lots of opportunities to raise your grade, but I hated this class (and I usually like bio). She's also pretty rude when you ask questions and isn't even very knowledgeable.
Dr. Hansen gets a bad wrap, I think. Her class is something you must study hard for (the 6 mini-midterms and final exam are quite fair but cover the material thoroughly), and a lot of the homework is assigned, but most of that homework is just busy work that will pad your grade. She is very caring, and her TAs are great!
A lot of the reviews aren't great, but I don't think Professor Hansen was horrible. Definetely not the easiest, but it is not hard to get an A if you work for it. READ THE TEXTBOOK before the mini-midterms!!! Lots of easy assignments to cushion your grade, the only hard part was the mini-midterms. Self-studying is the only way to do good.
Squarecap was annoying at the beginning. She would close the squarecap question right away. Discussions werent as helpful. I felt like the class was a bit disorganized. The lectures sometimes consisted of her teaching, answering questions or rediscussing topics the entire time. The videos are more useful than her lectures.
No Monday lectures! Met on Wednesdays only. Lectures were boring, but all you had to do was show up and answer square caps. Reflections every week - tedious but made getting an A easy peasy. Tests were open book and her wording can be confusing, but as long as you have the book open ur gucci. Hansen is a sweetheart - don't be afraid to take her!
Dr. Hansen is a very nice person. She genuinely cares for her students and provides so many resources to understand the material. Doing the study guide questions and mini lectures helped me the most. Even if you don't do well on the midterms there are many other things that pad your grade. Look over her learning objectives to prepare for tests.
She's nice but there is SO MUCH BUSYWORK. She never teaches during actual lectures and all of the class was based off of not so mini "mini lectures" that were on canvas. Tell me why we would spend like 3 hours in class every week and then have to watch like 3 hours of mini lectures in our own time to actually learn. The tests were pretty easy
Dr. Hansen's teaching style isn't for everyone. She records mini-lectures to watch and they're not really that interesting. She can definitely go on tangents and talk about things that are irrelevant. Definitely read the textbook and Khan Academy videos on the basic concepts. Her quiz questions are confusing so you need to understand the concepts.
I took both 311C and now in 311D. Her quizzes are nothing like what she teaches and give no time at all to answer the questions. Very textbook heavy as her lectures vary between random topics or one small part of the whole module. I took her again only because I had her first semester, but I would avoid if I were you.
I took her for 311C and 311D. I would not have done as well in 311C if I hadn't taken AP biology in high school. I liked how online she made it so that the grade didn't only consist of the quizzes. The quizzes are very hard and much different from the study guides. Take another biology teacher if you have the chance.
She was very disorganized the first semester that I took her ( 311C) and Is a bit better now. I never really read the textbooks and looked at her lectures only. Honestly Ill just give it to you straight because I cant find the words to describe her as a professor. Just try to look for different options before taking her.
If you get Professor Hansen for Plan II Bio, just drop. It's not worth it. You learn so much less and are working way harder than you otherwise would with another professor. She'd make a great therapist, not a great bio professor.
She's not the worst professor ever but the class wasn't that enjoyable. Her lectures weren't that interesting but they had enough info for the quizzes so textbook isn't necessary unless you want to know more. I really like biology but that interest was dampened after this course. There are definitely better professors to take.
Dr. Hansen is a sweetheart and I enjoyed her class. She cares about her students mental health and is understanding, even changing some deadlines when the class expressed their stress. The busy work (which wasnt bad) mainly served as a grade cushion because the quizzes can be tough. Watch the lectures, do the assignments, and read the textbook!
Dr. Hansen is very kind and caring. Even though the lectures are not helpful, I found the discussion sections (which are led by a TA) and the pre-recorded videos helpful for the quizzes. While the textbook is not necessary, I found it helpful to at least skim it before the quiz. There are a lot of easy assignments to pad your grade.
Dr. Hansen is a nice person, but this class is definitely the hardest 311D at UT. Her lectures are basically useless since the course material is so dense. Assessments are designed to trick you with unnecessarily confusing wording and a level of detail not covered in discussion or class. Assignments and hw do help cushion your grade though.
She's honestly not that bad. The class is boring and the content is repetitive and there is weekly homework but it's manageable if you keep up with everything. At some point, I stopped paying attention in class and just learned with the textbook and the homework, and I still got an A. The chapter quizzes are pretty helpful!
She's nice and it's a pretty easy A if you keep up with the homework. The only thing I disliked about her class was how repetitive it was and how much she talks about plants. If you read the textbook, you honestly don't need to pay that much attention in class.
Professor was unsure about what she was teaching and did not cover many topics and says to read the textbook. Goes through lectures fast and does not give enough time to take note.
Put simply, if you want an 'A' or if you just want to learn, do not take her class. Her lectures are useless for learning the actual material, but she still expects you to know every little detail of what she doesn't teach you. You'll have about 1.5 hours of videos and two to three chapters a week, which you'll use to teach yourself.
Don't ever take her if you want to actually learn. She does not know how to teach and her exams are worded really weird to the point where you don't actually understand what she's asking.
The experience with Dr. Hansen definitely began a lot more frustrating than it ended. I feel like she takes feedback to heart and is big on self-reflection, however, I didn't feel like lectures and her priorities with teaching truly lined up with what was on the exam. She is really sweet and I feel like knowing what to expect helps a lot!
She is rude and her exams are hard
Do not take this class. She is the worst Biology Professor UT has. Test do not correlate to any of the study material given and ask very specific questions. No retest are allowed and they are hardly ever curves, even when the whole class fails. If it weren't for homework and learning checks I would be failing.
Put simply, her tests are over specific and her lectures are useless for the tests. I can say I learned next to nothing.
Lectures are not helpful at all & tests are so specific!! She can be kind of demeaning at times and comes off as unapproachable. I rarely ever read the textbook and still did all right. Honestly not that bad because she gave opportunities to earn points back/extra credit but take a different professor if you can
Dr. Hansen is a very nice woman, just not a very good teacher. I did well in her class because I learned the material all by myself and turned in assignments on time. Lecture did not add very much to my learning experience since she does not teach thoroughly. Tests are very specific and what you're being tested on is not released before any exams.
Dr. Hansen is a wonderful person and a pretty decent professor. Her grading scheme is in our favor, and there are plenty of opportunities for free points. She asks really specific questions on tests, but as long as you go to lectures and take good reading notes, the class should be a very easy A.
Dr. Hansen is a poor lecturer and is very condescending when students ask her questions. However, her TAs are very helpful. Developing a relationship with your TA is the key to success in this class. They have very detailed PowerPoint given in discussion sections, which are the most helpful for Dr. Hansen's very specific exams.
The sheer amount of content and the specificity of details are the real killers in this class. Combine them with the terribly long textbook readings and her boring lectures, and you have a recipe for disaster. She does offer extra credit and 2nd chance assignments, though. Overall, it's bearable, but avoid her if you can.
I hate her style of teaching, but her class is easy for the most part. I failed two out of 3 midterms and still ended up receiving an A in the class, because she gives so much extra credit. I don't love how she teachers, but she is a lovely person.
This class was pretty easy but not because of Dr. Hansen. Textbook readings are required but she teaches word for word from the textbook, so lectures are pointless. I did alright on tests, but she does give so much extra credit and completion grades that your grade is boosted a ton. Attendance is graded, but you can easily lie about it.
Very self-oriented class. You basically have to learn from reading the textbook because her lectures are hard to follow. The tests are really specific and I didn't do so good on them but there's a ton of extra credit and corrections. Developing a relationship with your TA is the key to success in this class. Their discussion powerpoints really help
BIO 311C itself is an easy class, especially if you've taken AP Biology in high school, so I wouldn't let the other reviews scare you too much if you're just purely worried about your grade. There is a LOT of extra credit. As for Hansen, she's a sweet woman, but her lectures do not add to your understanding at all. READ THE TEXTBOOK AND SELF-TEACH.
Don't take her if you actually want to learn.
Do not take her if you actually want to learn.
Her lectures are disorganized and rarely every reach the specificity of her exams. The quizzes every monday over last week's material are graded on accuracy and tank your grade every time you take them. She adds textbook sections to guide your learning but you're left on your own to search up videos and teach yourself on the topic. Don't take her.
Her exams are extremely hard to prepare for, because you never know what to expect. The information on the exams is super specific, and half the times its not gone over in lecture, just expected to know it from the readings. The only thing saving your grade is how little the exams are actually worth. HW and completion assignments help ur grade alot
She literally almost made me switch out of bio as my major. She barely gives you information on what you test is over. Everyone fails her tests and she combats this by giving out assignments where you can makeup points just so not everyone is absolutely bombing the exams.
the only thing that kept me going in this class was one of her TA's named Tri. Everything else was absolutely miserable. DO NOT TAKE! AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!
Quite literally one of the hardest classes I have ever taken. Not a fan of her teaching style or class structure. Be ready to teach yourself everything.
Hansen is one of the best biology professors at UT. I will admit, you won't learn a ton in lecture. If you don't like to read textbooks, attend class, and study frequently, then you probably won't do well. But Hansen is caring and really wants her students to do well. I would definitely recommend her- she sets clear expectations for class.
Dr. Hansen is the best! She is very accommodating towards students' struggles and needs, and truly wants everyone to do well. If you put good effort in, you will do well in the class!
If you do well in this class it isn't because of the professor, it's because you either knew the content beforehand or know how to self study really well. She says that all of the content is in the textbook when it isn't. Her lectures are useless as two of the three class days are used for weekly quizzes. Take anyone but Dr.Hansen for Bio 1 and 2.
Professor Hansen is kind and accommodating. Her tests can be either seem really easy or absurdly difficult based on what parts of the textbook/lecture you paid especially close attention to. "2nd Chance Grading" allows you to receive ~50% of the points that were lost on tests, but the majority of the grades were weekly quizzes/homework (doable).
Please have no doubt that she is a truly caring professor, and I regret very much that I realized this too late like at the end of the semester so I didn't work hard therefore didn't do very well, BUT if anyone else were to take her class, please! talk to her when you need help, go to her office hours, I'm 1000% sure she will help you to learn.
Honestly, probably the worst bio professor you can take. Her lectures are very boring and often go off-topic. Furthermore, she spends most of the lectures quizzing us instead of actually teaching, so the entire class is basically self-taught. Her exams are oddly specific, and I feel like it was the TAs that helped me more than her.
Dr. Hansen is a really kind woman, and you can tell she cares about her students a lot. But, I would not take her! The only way to learn the content is to read the textbook, and her lectures just gloss over the content. Her exams are specific and ask questions about things she mentioned once. Her class was just really frustrating. Don't recommend.
I would not recommend taking Hansen. She is a very kind woman, but she does not know how to teach. Her lectures are heavy and full of jargon, so if you haven't taken AP bio you will be behind. Her quizzes are 3-6 questions, so very difficult to score well. However, she ended up making everything completion since we were all failing and I got an A.
I loved Professor Hansen! She was a great Plan II Bio teacher who's obviously super passionate about her field. Lectures could sometimes feel a little dull because I'm not someone super into biology, but she always made an effort to keep things interesting. Super manageable tests and lots of fun in field trips!
Dr. Hansen's class requires a great deal of independence, as her lectures can be fast and confusing. Having taken her two semesters, it's clear that she is still figuring out how to structure her course. Her class consists of 3 exams, weekly quizzes, and misc. assignments. Read the textbook and review her slides to study!
Dr. Hansen was not that bad, but I gave her this rating because of how every test LAST semester was online and no backtracking allowed (going back to an old question). That made things very hard for me. Outside of that, everything was fine. She is a very nice person and is willing to meet with you if you need help/anything outside of class.
Tests were often convoluted and overly specific. It was mostly a game of guessing what she was trying to ask b/c it didn't match the lectures. I had to read the textbook for the test. Weekly quizzes also ate into the lecture times bc some of them took forever. It felt like I could never catch a break with those. I wouldn't take her again
Her exams are awful. Terrible lectures, the only thing helpful about this class is one of the TAs names Tri. If you take this class prepare to do a lot of self studying
I took Plan II Bio with Dr. Hansen and I found all the material so interesting! There wasn't really any homework "due" each week, but it was so helpful for the tests to stay up to date with the weekly handouts. Dr. Hansen was so passionate about all the material, and even took us on a field trip! Loved her!
Dr. Hansen is very sweet and cares about students' mental health. However, her lectures are lacking in depth. Reading the textbook is needed in order to know all the material, as her lectures were very surface level. She has a lot of assignments to pad your grade. Tests are very difficult, but they are curved. Overall, easy A. Hard to learn though.
Tests are hard; some trick questions are over tiny details only mentioned once in lecture. Class is lax, but you'll be totally fine IF you can hold yourself accountable, show up, and pay attention. Don't let the reviews scare you; a lot of them are from slackers who never went to class/crammed last minute. Dr. Hansen is caring and willing to help.
Lectures are pretty average but she genuinely cares about her students and listens to feedback to continuously evolve her course.
I genuinely believe that Dr. Hansen is a nice woman, but if you can avoid her please do. I took AP Bio and got a 5, and I failed the tests. They are extremely specific, and her lectures are not helpful at all. She either reads the textbook or talks about nothing. You have to teach yourself and it feels like there is no way to prepare for exams
Do not take Hansen. She does not do her job.
Easy class, disorganized professor. She is the sweetest person, very kind and available outside of class, but doesn't communicate with her TAs, gets easily distracted, and lectures usually feel like repeats of the text. Turn in work on time and read the text and you get an A.
She made it extremely difficult to pay attention to lecture with just how dry and boring it was. The slides were inundated with information and nothing was really clear. She does provide plenty of resources, but she is not quality in any sense of the word as a professor.
the goat
Such a boring bio class. Her slides are never clear and you basically have to teach yourself the class. Hansen does a terrible job of teaching the material.She asks you more questions than actually lecturing. Her exams have minor details that we probably only talked about once. She does give some assignments to help your grade which is nice I guess
Dr. Hansen is a very amazing person. With that said, I had a really hard time learning in her class. The structure always felt a bit odd and I never really understood the realm of what we need to know, it was always kind of a shot in the dark. Very self-oriented class. The lectures were hard to follow. She gave a ton of extra credit.
Overall a passionate professor about biology but cannot translate it into lecture. Never learned much during lecture as it was difficult to follow her. Study guides are vague and exams will pull specific questions under your feet. Very hard to know what will be on test day so you better be prepared to learn EVERYTHING.
Dr. Hansen is a caring and kind Professor. However, her lectures are often slow and only capture the surface of the content in a course that demands more. The textbook is where you will spend most of your time learning whether you go to lecture or not. She cares for students' mental health, gives extra credit, and has quizzes as participation.
Professor Hansen is really sweet and she obviously cares about her students. That being said, to me her lectures lack depth and most of the learning i did was in the textbook. Not a bad professor to take but you'll definitely be doing alot of self studying. the tests are easy(especially if you took AP bio) but the lectures are somewhat boring.
If you take Professor Hansen's class, you will have to teach yourself 95% of the material. Lectures are not helpful- mostly discussion based and not very much teaching- and discussion sections are never on topic with what's actually going on in the class. Tests are super short- around 15 MCQ and 6 FRQ- so it's really hard to get an A in this class.
She isn't a bad person. But her lectures are very vague, nothing you do in this class prepares you for the test, all of it will be self learning. Her test questions are oddly specific, IF YOU DIDN'T DO WELL IN AP BIO DONT TAKE HANSEN. The only way you can succeed is if you have lots of prior knowledge on bio. I lost my love for bio bc of this prof.
Her lecture are so boring and her tests are really hard escapicialy the final.
Lectures are pretty unhelpful, and you will have to learn everything on your own through the textbook. That being said, the class is relatively easy to get a good grade in. Everything is completion except the exams, and these are not weighted very heavily. She is a kind and truly caring professor, and I appreciated that part of her!
I would encourage everybody to take any Bio professor besides Hansen because you barely learn anything from her lectures. I learned everything on my own from attending weekly tutoring sessions, reading the textbook, watching youtube videos that ACTUALLY teach, and taking handwritten notes based on them. She's extremely detailed in her exams.
Dr. Hanse gives tons of extra credit and you can gain credit back through the exam reflection or whatever. I can see she is trying to improve her teaching/teaching style which makes me sad because she is still a mid lecturer. Her lectures are surface-level compared to her exams. Her exams serve ap bio which can either be a W or an L for some ppl
I seriously have no idea why there are so many bad reviews. Her lectures are a little lacking in depth, but not as boring as some people say. The tests are in-depth, sure, but if you read the textbook you will be fine. There are so many cushion grades and extra credits, and she is very nice and extremely accessible outside of class as well.
Dr. Hansen is an amazing professor; she is very kind, and her passion for biology is evident. Although some claim her lectures lack depth, her lectures were very beneficial to my success in her class. As long as you read the textbook, attend lectures, and attend her office hours (which were immensely helpful), you will do well in her class.
Dr. Hansen's lectures were not too helpful. The tests were also difficult because they asked about specific details. She does offer points back on the test which was very helpful. We did a lot of group work. Dr. Hansen's class required a lot of hours outside class time to learn material from the textbook but was manageable overall.
Bad Lectures/Pacing, Content Heavy Tests, Good Grading Scale Lectures were terrible. They often didn't go into depth and were spent on learning activities that weren't beneficial. The tests were decent but very content heavy, hence students HAVING to read the book. However, Hansen gave back half credit on exams, which made achieving an A doable.
Dr. Hansen is a great teacher. Her lectures are difficult to understand if you don't prepare or seek help. Office hours were extremely helpful, and she is willing to help you understand. She is a great person who wants her students to succeed.
Dr. Hansen is a nice lady, but not a good professor. She lectures in unengaging ways which made it difficult to learn. She would ask questions all the time in the lecture and not give the answer or would explain how an incorrect answer a student gave could maybe be considered right, ultimately making things more confusing. Learned very little.
She is nice, but the lectures were so horrid and boring. She does not teach well at all. I feel like you have to learn everything on your own time, and the exams can get pretty tricky with the multiple choice. Sqaurecap for attendance, some group work, and lots of pearson textbook readings/quizzes. I really really disliked this class and Dr.Hansen
STAY AWAY. She won't lift a finger to do her job and denies it when you call her out on it. She shows up late to her own lectures, communicates false information about biology content, and literally lies to your face when you catch her mistakes. Her exam questions routinely have the wrong information as the right answer, hurting your grade. RUN.
I would not take another class with Dr. Hanses. The lectures are the most boring hours you will probably ever endure in your life and the TA's don't even know what is going on in the class either.
I would never take a class with Dr. Hansen again. Classes are the most boring hour you will ever endure throughout college. The TA's look bored sitting in the front of the room. Practice questions are not even closely related to the tests. TA's grade harshly.
She is very easily lost in her own lectures and often times gives incorrect information on the actual necessary material. Exams make up most of your grade, split between MCQ and FRQ. FRQ's are graded insanely strictly, with almost every question being given half credit if you are not exactly 100% correct. Get ready to do a lot of reading.
If you are taking Plan II Bio and she is the only professor option, RUN AWAY. Lectures are literally the most mind numbing, disorganized, droning, criminally long, despicable methods of torture I have ever endured in my life. The homework has nothing to do with the lectures. Only saving grace is the TA, Francesca. Love her. Hate everything else.
Professor Hansen is one of the most down to earth and caring professors you can get. This is by no means an easy course, but she WILL ensure that you have all the resources necessary to learn content and prepare for exams. Additionally, she does provide extra credit that is centered around review and actually learning the material she teaches.
Her lectures are slow, useless, and agonizingly boring (I stopped going after the first midterm). Lots of reading the textbook is required to do well. Only saving grace is that the tests are very fair despite covering a lot of content. I recommend going to discussion sections as they can actually be very helpful depending on your TA.
Professor Hansen is a very nice person and seems to care a lot about Biology, but her lectures were very hard to follow and she never went in depth enough with the material so I never felt prepared for exams. I studied a ton so I did great in the class, but not thanks to her or her teaching.
If you're trying to develop a deep understanding in biology, this professor is not for you. Lectures were very surface level about tested information and oftentimes provided wrong answers about topics that would show up in the exam. She does give out a lot of extra credit and homework which helps your grade a lot. Good Luck!
Dr. Hansen is a nice person but not a good professor. She constantly teaches wrong information and tests can be confusing because of how she words questions. Assignments cushion your grade but tests still make up the majority of your grade. Literally take any other biology professor.
If you read the textbook and take lectures notes, this is an easy and fun A. Lectures largely review info, so you'll know exactly what's on the test and be very familiar with it. Like any bio class, it'll take some studying, but she presents the information in such a digestible manner that you can hardly consider that a downside.
lectures were very boring and not at all entertaining. she often went on side tangents and made weird metaphors that did not at all relate to the material. she rarely posts the lecture slides before class which personally makes note-taking difficult. my TA was amazing and honestly my saving grace for this. read the textbook and study with friends
Do not take her class. Lectures are extremely boring and surface-level. Tests are far more difficult. Genuinely her lectures are the most boring I've ever taken. You will have to teach yourself the material outside of class. Avoid at all costs.
She's a nice person but not that great of a professor in terms of teaching. I stopped attending lecture after the first two weeks and got an A on every exam, which is most of your grade. She gives ALOT of extra credit. Read the textbook and use mastering biology and you will be completely fine. Mostly self learning if that's what you like!
The tests are based off of the littlest detail that comes up once during lecture- but its hard to pay attention to lectures because they are so scattered and do not actually go into content.
To start, lectures are really unhelpful and I had to go over every lecture slide myself after class to understand. Professor Hansen isn't a mean or strict lady but the class is scattered and many people struggle to learn in this environment. However, if you put in extensive effort, the A is possible and extra credit is super helpful.
hansen has a palpable passion for biology, but fails at her teaching. Lectures are ramble-y and disorganized, but skip over fine detail needed for the exams. Discussion sections are worth attending bc TAs are awesome. Could honestly pass this class through complete self-teaching. Lots of homework honestly. Def show up for Friday group stuff.
had her for Bio I, although i didn't really like her. it feels like she drags on arbitrary things and rushes through multiple important details at once. she's a kind woman, but doesn't give a very clear answer on anything you ask her and feels disorganized constantly. assignments are easy, okay midterms, just wouldn't recommend her as a professor
Textbook required for assignments. Squarecap not graded but recomended. Gives study guides to go along with readings. Posts lecture recordings and slides. She is nice and approachable but can drag on in lecture. Group assignments on fridays. There was 1 group project outside of class with your friday group. Discussion section slides very helpful.
Hansen is a nice lady but her lectures felt boring most of the time. You have to pretty much rely on the textbook when studying, so, if that's your thing, go for it, but don't expect to learn much from lectures. She jumps back and forth on topics and occasionally tests you on super-specific details that were mentioned once, so keep that in mind.
Literally the worst teacher ever. Doesn't explain anything and tests you on stuff she doesn't teach or go over. DO. NOT. TAKE.
Dr. Hansen was a little unorganized with the material, and I found it hard to follow until towards the end of semester. Modules are key, they aren't graded but I don't know how you could get an A without doing them thoroughly. Kinda boring lectures, but covers key concepts. Thankfully lots of points given back for low exam averages.
Many people do not like Dr. Hansen's class. Those same people also cheat thier way through all of the assignments. Dr. Hansen's class is very easy, IF you READ THE TEXTBOOK for the coordinating chapters for the week according to the syllabus, AND do the Pearson+ assingments honestly. I have made 90+ on her exams just by reading the textbook.
Take anyone but Debra she is by far the worst professor I have taken at UT. In my 1st sem I had Dr. Sata and passed Bio 311c with a straight A for Bio 311d I had to take her and I was going to fail so I dropped the class. SAVE YOURSELF AND YOUR MENTAL HEALTH!!!
Her lectures are so useless they helped 0 percent with exams, just take someone else instead of her not to mention one of her TA I had was so rude and acted like he was the professor and was looking down on anyone who would ask him a question.
DON'T TAKE HANSEN! literally take anyone else, she's so disorganized and WANTS you to do badly. She has failing class avgs for exams, refuses to curve, skimps on EC. She made bio harder and more complicated than it needed to be. Expectations for exams were through the roof when her lectures were lacking. smirks during exams when people struggle
Useless lectures, test heavy grading with no wiggle room for FRQs. Even with SGQs it was hard to know what was important for the exams. Saving grace was extra credit for MCQ corrections (no frg is stingy) and the TA I had. Only take her if your other option is English. You will need to essentially self teach the course.
Textbook req for assignments. Squarecap not graded but good to do anyways. Gives study guides per modules and posts slides/recordings. nice and approachable but can drag on in lecture. Group assignments on fridays. often emphasizes something and hints itll be on the exam - why i say lecture heavy. shes ok just disorganized
I can't even explain why, but Professor Hansen is simply not a good teacher. Her lectures never fully make sense and then what you do learn is not even that relevant to what you're tested on. Good luck Plan 2 kids.
Dr. Hansen is a sweet person, but a nightmarish professor. There's no reason why I had to be in the PCL until 2 am for INTRO bio II to pull an A, especially when the other professors are a breeze. I wish I could give advice on how to do well in this class, but I honestly don't even know how I did either. Avoid if you can.
Do not take Dr. Hansen. She is very disorganized and she always confuses herself. Her exams are extremely difficult and have nothing to do with the textbook.
Sweet person but awful professor. Exams have nothing to do with textbook, hard to follow and hard to study for. TAs are nice but also hard to follow. Exams extremely hard and does not have a lot of filler work to make up for grades. Try your HARDEST to take another professor if you want to do good.
Would not take, seriously not worth it. I have had 5 of my last 5 lectures where she "explained" 3 new concepts in the last minute of class-literally 60 seconds left
Lecture is always rushed. She spends the first 25 minutes bringing up pointless hypotheticals or asking us to draw a picture. Slides are disorganized and vague. Group assignments are supposed to be done in class every Friday, but she never gives you enough time. So much homework.Tests are incredibly specific and unfair. Avoid her at all costs.
Do not recommend for 1st year students. It is a horrible experience with a teacher that has lectures that dont help with the exams. The exams take up about 70% of the grades so all the homework you do barely helps your grade.
Gets distracted and goes on long tangents about things that don't matter or don't relate to biology. Easily distracted and rarely finishes the lecture. No correlation between her homework, lectures, study guides, and exams. The textbook is no help. She is not accessible, she will not respond to emails. Don't take her class if you can avoid it.
Listen to all of the other reviews and enroll with a different professor. If she is your last option for biology, you're better off waiting until the next semester to take it.
Not a good lecturer, goes off on tangents and doesn't get through the material. She likes to trick you on test.
Do not take this professor unless you want to be confident before the exam and then take it and feel like you flopped it. She is a sweet lady, but it seems like she doesn't want us to excel on the exam. The unit 3 exam was the easiest one, everything beforehand was a blur.
The lectures are terrible and often rambling and not teaching what we need for the test. The slide presentations are pretty good. The study guides are very helpful but again, her lectures are pointless except for participation. Tests: No leniency, needs to have full answer or else it will be wrong. Very hard grader and Fridays are unmissable.
She is a nice person is horrible at teaching. Her tests have unfair questions that are no where near what she told you to study. The only thing I can say is pay attention to her study guides and learn from those. The lectures are useless but you have to go for participation through squarecap.
don't take her
lectures are not useful, you have to learn everything on your own. tests are really specific and hard. good luck if you have her
She doesn't respond to emails about grades. Her lectures were very boring. After the 1st exam I knew I was not going to get a good grade in the class no matter how much I study. She has no retakes, curves, or makeups. If I got any other professor I would've gotten an A with less or the same amount of effort. She want her students to get good grades
Dr. Hansen is a very kind person who is obviously passionate about bio, but her lectures were really unhelpful. It's easy to feel like you're following along, but as soon as the test is in front of you it feels like you didn't learn anything. The overall course grade strongly depends on your test grades. There are no dropped grades or curves.
Professor Hansen really emphasizes self-teaching, so if that's not your thing then I don't recommend. Her exams are confusing at times and she offers no drops, makeups, or curves on them. However, a lot of it does come from the study guides and the textbook. This class didn't really fit my learning style, but she was a nice professor overall.
Absolutely horrendous. She doesn't teach the material included on the exams. She also likes to throw in material that isn't even included in the textbook or homework assignments. She probably creates incredibly difficult questions and pulls them from a hat like an amateur magician. You definitely will need some magic to pass this class.
Dr. Hansen seems kind, but there is very little overlap in what material is covered in lectures and what is on the exam. She often brought up key material in the last five minutes of lecture and expected complete retention from students, going on tangents and mentioning different (sometimes random) things in class.
She is a kind-hearted person, but a terrible professor. I do not find bio to be terribly difficult, however, as soon as I opened the test, I was lost. It feels like every question is a trick. Her lectures are entirely unhelpful as well. I found what was most helpful is watching videos on each topic covered. Try to avoid!!
Avoid! Nightmare of a class. Hansen has passion but lacks teaching skill. Often rambles pointlessly and overcomplicates things. No point going to class but you have to for Squarecaps. Shocked she hasn't been fired yet. Most people I know barely passed after hours of studying and tutoring. Run while you still can.
Her exams are tough; no matter how much you study for this class, you will never be prepared for the exams. They are also weighted a ridiculous amount (70%) so one bad midterm and it's over. Her lectures are very surface level and not helpful at all. She often goes on tangents and confuses herself a lot. At least her TAs are helpful.
Hansen is really caring as a person, but her lectures are very useless.She would spend the first half of lecture reviewing past things/going off on tangents.Only in the last 5 minutes would she explain new content.Her tests are very difficult to prepare for as she does not talk about the test.The textbook and self teaching will be your best friend.
Hansen was the bane of my existence. I'm sorry that I do not know the ingredients of BABA GANOUSH anyways that's besides the point. I'm tired of her rants during class. I thought I was taking a biology class, but we were supposed to act as her therapists listening to her problems. Don't take her unless you want to fight for a B-.
As MANY other reviews have explained, Dr. Hansen is very knowledgable on the subject. That said, she lectures in a way that assumes the students are at the same level of knowledge as her. Squarecap makes attendance mandatory. 3 tests and 1 final will make or break your grade as they count for almost 70% of it. You must rely heavily on the textbook.
I took her last spring and I was doing fine in the class her tests are weird but not impossible once you figure it out. I wouldn't have an issue with her if it wasn't for how she curved grades at the end of the semester, I finished the class with a 91 but it got curved down to an 89, because she cut assignments that many people had failed on.
Genuinely the best professor I have ever had! I always felt so excited to go to class and I think that she is also just a very kind teacher who cares about her students.
As someone who's favorite subject is biology, ultimately did not enjoy this class. As an auditory learner, I found that the lectures simultaneously gave a lot of nothing and little bits of VERY specific information for test questions. I found that the professor rambled quite a bit, and ain't nobody got time for that in a fifty minute class!
Avoid her. She can't lecture. Even her own TAs were often confused and lost.
She tends to stray off the lecture, so you'll have to learn most of it outside of class. TA discussion is mandatory attendance, but it's an easy and helpful grade. All I studied was the TA slides. She didn't do a lot of practice problems, so the tests were very surprising. One good thing is she replaces your overall average with your final.
The only problem in this class would be the tests. They go over the specific details that do not even show up in the textbook or the class lectures. The only reason this class is not too bad is that the weekly learning checks became participation grades to compensate, but the issue wouldn't even be there if the tests were made to be fair.
I agree with the others that tests were challenging but frankly her class was not that difficult. She's really accesible and her office hours are helpful. The textbooks and the study guide she provides were enough to prepare me really well for the tests.
She gives confusing, drawn-out lectures, answers questions with more questions, has hard, open-ended tests with little to no multiple choice, a good amount of homework, but interesting topics. Discussion sections are required, but super helpful. Overall, a lovely human passionate about biology and has a vested interest in students, but def tough!
If you love life, don't take it, please nothing to say less than this Square caps are for attendance & grades + she closes them so early Basically, you get a quiz every day heavily weighted on tests good luck!
classes were not structured i got nothing out of them but attendance was mandatory so you have to go if you want good grades. If you go to office hours you should probably be fine because i think she likes that but other than that do not take her class please
She seems like a nice person, but she is not a good professor. Study guides and tests will mention things she never talked about in the lectures, and she often makes mistakes. Lectures are useless but attendance is mandatory. You have to learn everything on your own.
God could strike me down on the way to class and I would feel blessed. Do not take her if you want any form of sanity in college. I am a biology major and I am genuinely considering switching to chemistry because she is just so. so. cruel.
She gives NO resources, & she lectures to talk, not to teach. She goes off on random tangents CONSTANTLY & isn't consistent w/ her notes which also don't teach the students the actual basis of the unit. Exams weigh roughly 25% of your grade & you get no prep posted, so you're left to research on your own & hope that what you studied will show up.
Please, do not take this class. The resources she provides don't help, and the exams are heavily weighted to the point where there's no coming back if you fail one. If you end up getting this class in some way, please immediately drop it or change your professor. I mean this from the bottom of my heart.
She wants her students to fail. The class grade is primary tests that she purposefully makes hard. In addition she doesn't teach and expects you to learn completely on your own while attendance is still mandatory.
do not take!
I believe she attempts her best, but you can tell her heart isn't in it. She is a scary woman. Reading is hours per week, and the homework is absolutely unnecessary for the tests (but still makes up a part of your grade). She has study guides with "Learning Objectives" that are frankly useless and barely help. You have to learn it all yourself.
DO NOT TAKE HER. She ruined my GPA and is extremely inaccessible. Sometimes she doesn't know what she's talking about during lectures and just talks for the entire class about something random. Beware to learn the content all on your own.
I thought Debra Hansen was better than other Plan II kids make her out to be. I thought the class was easy and somewhat interesting but also boring. Practically everyone else in the class was not paying attention, which made it harder to concentrate. Wish she would implement a no electronics rule or something...
Professor doesn't know how to teach, talks about bob ganoush, like my fault I don't know what the ingredients are. Her resources to study for the exams are all over the place and non of the resources she provides really help you understand the material in a way which would make you confident for her exams. I would avoid her class.
DO NOT TAKE HER! The material takes HOURS of studying each week to even sorta get it bc her lectures are useless. She talks to us like we're PhD students and 5 year olds at the same time. She doesn't give any helpful practice material. Even her TAs talk about her like they're tired of her.
I want to call this woman words that are not family friendly, If you have any love for yourself, do not take her! I have an A in the class, but I lost so much sleep and sanity on the way.
SquareCap was never 100 percent, as she would not explain them until after we answered. Tests were made harder than they needed to be. Lectures were a mess as she would talk about the test material briefly and quickly, but over random material, which would make the lecture longer and unnecessary. Her organization is a mess, and she can not teach.
Lectures were disorganized and didn't match exams. She made frequent mistakes students had to correct. When my internet failed on a graded Squarecap, she refused help, calling it a “hassle.” Future students should exert their energy on a course that truly adds to their learning. Was also 30 minutes late to the only meeting i scheduled with her.
Tests will have stuff that she never talked about in class. Useless lectures, but mandatory attendance. I ended with an A after a lot of studying. I thought I was pretty good at biology, but this class has been my hardest this year because of having to self-study all of the content and the tests being unforgiving.
Tests were overly hard and did not match up with the lecture or study guides she provided. There were many trick questions on the tests, although she would claim there were none. Attendance was mandatory due to squarecap, but I found that I could often learn the material better on my own/ with the textbook despite usally learning better in person.
Often the material that would show up on the tests was things that were only briefly covered in class or marked as sidenotes. Overall the course is very unorganized. Study guides were helpful to study, but despite her words don't excactly correlate with what is on the test, instead I would focus on the chapters that the study guide is based of off.
hansen is NOT as bad as people make her out to be. although her lectures are kind of wonky, literally all the information you need for exams is in the study guides that she provides. also the group test extra credit thing is pretty great!
i saw her go to the bathroom and not wash her hands.
DONT TAKE HER CLASS ITS TERRIBLE I WANTED TO END MYSELF EVERY SINGLE LECTURE. I stg she just likes the sound of her voice, she yaps about things that are not even on the test. She gave a practice test for the final and she has given similar content before tests, but the tests are 10x harder than anything you will see on the review material.
She is very nice, but her lectures do not match up with her lecture slides. Reading the textbook was much more helpful to study for tests than any study guide or notes she gave us.
The most important thing to know about this professor is that her TAs have said she does not share information and often had to hold their own secret study sessions so we could learn her material. Her lectures are genuinely useless; she often rants about random things. If you HAVE to take her, READ the textbook! IT teaches you EVERYTHING.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
75%
Textbook Required
0%
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