Great teacher... Very helpful. Def. not an easy A, but if you study hard you'll be able to get a good grade. One of the best teachers I've had.

Very helpful in and out of class. She went through a lot of material in a short time, but it was all interesting and she obviously enjoyed her field. Always prepared and a fast grader, despite being pregnant. Great Prof.

Take BIO 109!!!I only took this class for a gen. ed. but I absolutely LOVE it. I have learned so much and I would definitely recommend this class to anyone! Although you have to study quite a bit for the tests that are tricky, there are PLENTY of opportunities for extra credit. (I have an A+)

She gave lots of extra credit points and provided review questions for each lecture. Also, after I was unsure about an exam grade, she emailed me saying she saw the mistake and had corrected the grade on blackboard, so I no longer needed to see her during office hours. She had a good sense of humor and knew her material well!

I found this class to be EXTREMELY hard-- but when i made appointments with her she was extremely helpful, even gave tips about what was on the exam. Very reasonable prof, just show interest and give effort to the class. Great lady-- very knowledgeable about the topic!

Great Teacher!!!! Do the study questions and test will be fine. Keeps you very interested in class even for it being in the morning. Great knowledge about material and 5 pt. in class assignments if you attend class regularly.

She is an incredible teacher! I loved the subject, and she only made it all the better. Make sure to do the readings before class, and the vocab and study questions after. They help A LOT. Her exams are hard, but the whole class is very enjoyable. Especially the lab, it's a lot of fun. A lot of cooking and eating. She truly knows what she's doing.

Carpel Tunnel. Write or type fast. There are lots of blanks and extra notes. Very fun class. Papers and presentations are not that difficult. Tests are tough if you dont do the questions.

Best prof I ever had! She gives you a TON of ways to raise your grade if you fail tests. Oh and Her tests are IMPOSSIBLE. But overall, she really gets you to understand the material.

She talks really fast and covers a lot of material, but she'll answer any questions you have.

Great professor, knows her plants, keeps it lively, you won't regret taking this, and if you go to class most of the time you'll be able to pull of an A or B!

Content is somewhat hard to understand, but she will answer any questions you have. Knows the material she teaches more than any professor I have ever had. If you go to class you can get a good grade. Tests are somewhat hard but she allows you do some make up questions.

Very helpful teacher. Hard tests but do the study questions and go to class and the test will be easier. Her labs are fun and a lot of the time she lets us try the plants we study in lab. We ate lots of fruits and vegetables, and even made bread and wine!

Test are IMPOSSIBLE. Must take good notes or you're screwed. If you miss one lecture you miss a big chunk of the next test. Knows her stuff and goes through it very quickly. Will help you with anything if you ask. Great lady but the class is hard.

Dr. Hollister is great. I was overwhelmed at first by the amount of information being thrown at us, but it just takes some getting used to. Lots of note taking. Exams are tough but the study questions help a ton. Hollister clearly knows her stuff and is very nice. Just prepare to hear her address the class as "folks" VERY often.

So, so sweet! She's a major dork, but the best kind. I aspire to be as sweet as her. She really knows her stuff, and while the class was a bit challenging for me, I definitely slacked on studying. Love her labs - there is always food. Study the slides and come to class and you'll be fine!

One of the best class I have ever taken. I love plants, so I enjoyed taking the class. She is honestly one of the best professors I have ever had. If you go to her lectures and take notes, and also do the study questions, you will do really good on the tests. The labs were also very easy .

Elise Hollister is an excellent professor. Throughout the semester she demonstrated an amazing work ethic (never missed a class) and did her absolute best to make sure her students succeeded. Very hands on, down to earth, and direct, she tells you exactly how to get an A; you just have to be willing to do the work (I was not). Very nice woman, too.

She is a great Professor! However, her test are ridiculously hard, I averaged a C on all of them. She gives tons of extra credit opportunity, and even lets you do extra credit on her tests. The labs were very fun as well, I found this class interesting and a challenge. I recommend her and this course.

Super interesting and hilarious. Great person as well. Labs are easy and she's really helpful, just ask questions!

I really enjoyed the class. She is extremely knowledgable about plants. She is also very nice, however she lectures until the very last second of class. Her tests are impossible though. I studied my brains out and still did very poorly. Don't bother buying the books. I haven't touched them once.

Prof. Hollister inspired me to be a botanist. She is so funny, and I honestly thought she was canadian at first (she isn't, btw) she is so excited about plants and loves to teach. She is SO respectful to her students, and will help whenever you ask a question. Take the hits she gives you, and life will be good. She also gives a lot of bonus points.

Good teacher, you need to be in class to pass though!!! The lectures are pretty interesting but you need to take good notes to do good on the exam. Never get homework and she's clear on what you need to know for quizzes and exams. Really nice and laid back.

Professor Hollister has been one of the best professors I've had so far in my 4 years of college. She really understands her material and is fair. It's not an easy lab, and you do have to put in work, but she explains it so clearly even non-science people (like me) managed to pull a good grade! HIGHLY recommend her! Super energetic and fun.

Explains as if you were a first grader. Good teacher though

She really knows the material she teaches and is extremely passionate about science as a whole. She explains things very well and is hands down the best prof I've had so far at grand valley. She cares about her students and wants them to understand. Being that she is so smart, the material is hard to understand at times but she is overall great.

Prof. Hollister was a great teacher for me. She taught the information (plants of the world) in a way that wasn't boring. She is always willing to be "your best study buddy". If you keep up with the work, the class is not hard. She also has a unique sense of humor that is slightly dry, but so hilarious! She is so passionate about what she does.

She was a really great professor. The class was pretty tough especially because I didn't take BIO120 or other classes like that. Her exams are brutal but if you study for weeks in advance you'll be fine. Otherwise her lectures were really cool and she is eager to help you. She checks rough drafts on papers and projects to help you do well.

This class was amazing as well as the teacher. She is super passionate about her work and makes lecture really interesting and funny. I would highly recommend taking this class as a gen ed if your'e not a science major. She tells you exactly whats on the tests and quizzes. Really nice professor, and very helpful.

Take this class!!! Gives optional study questions after every lecture that are basically the exams. She was super helpful in lab and actually made lecture interesting. Would recommend anyone who needs a gen Ed to take this class.

Take this class!!! Gives optional study questions after every lecture that are basically the exams. She was super helpful in lab and actually made lecture interesting. Would recommend anyone who needs a gen Ed to take this class. She's always there to answer any questions

She is one of the best professors that you're going to run into. If you have the chance, choose her! You will not regret it.

I had Elise for Ecology lab and it was my favorite class of all time. I failed the first assignment and realized this class was going to be hard. If you put forth the effort and you enjoy the class, it will reflect in your final grade.

I had Dr. Hollister for BIO 109 and she was amazing! She was the reason I switched my major to biology. Take her if you can!

She's one of the better professors out there. You won't find many better than her!

She is an excellent professor and person!!! 10/10 would recommend

She's honestly the best prof I've had so far. She's so funny and makes lectures really interesting. I hate science but I actually enjoyed this class because she made it so interesting. I would 100% take her again.

Hollister is a wonderful professor! The lectures have a lot of information, but she posts the slides with fill in the blanks, so if you show up to class you get all the info. Every exam also has chapter study guides which she directly takes questions from, so if you do them you're guaranteed a good grade. Passionate and cares about student success

Elise is SO passionate about biology and it really shows. She's always so excited about what she's teaching and it's infectious. You really have to work for your grade, but it's definitely not impossible.

Great professor explains the material clearly Study for the class based on the powerpoint she provides and use the study guides she gives you Great professor who loves to get students involved and love to make them laugh

She is very passionate about her classes. She makes jokes and keeps the class entertaining and her abs are super easy. As long as you take good notes during lecture you'll do great. She offers a whole lot of extra credit on tests, quizzes, and the paper due at the end. If you're not a science based major and just need the gen ed take this class!

She is so helpful and very easy to reach outside of class. If you're not a science major this class is the best to take. The labs are really easy and fun. As long as you stick to the study guides you'll be fine.

If you show up to class and take good notes, the class is easy. Tests can be hard, so make sure you review study questions. Take this class if you are not a science major and need it for a gened.

Elise was a great Professor to have my first semester. Although there is a lot of work, it was easy to get through due to how fast she would answer my emails for questions. Definitely would take again.

If you're willing to put in work, Elise is a great professor. You can tell how paassionate she is about what she teaches & thorough notes are mandatory. I was struggling trying to figure out how to study for her exams, so I met with her outside of class and she was very helpful & gave me tips and I could tell she wanted to help me, very personable

Elise is great! She's super passionate about being a botanist but gets that a lot of people take this class as a GE but still wants you to have fun. No lab reports and lots of extra credit opportunities, I think i got about 20 points.

Elise is a great professor! She cares about her students success and makes the information easy and fun. In lab there is a quiz every week but she tells you the week before exactly what is on them. Exams are tough but if you study the notes you fill in during class you will be fine!

great professor, very knowledgeable about botany. A bit of a tough grader when it comes to projects, but is very clear with her expectations.

I would highly recommend taking BIO 109 with Professor Hollister. Her lectures are easy to follow along with. She is willing to help her students during lab and outside of the classroom. She wants her students to succeed. She does offer extra credit frequently. I do not usually enjoy science courses but Professor Hollister made class enjoyable!

She is absolutely awesome. She goes out of her way to help and make sure that her students understand. He tests are very straight forward and assignments are graded based on the rubric. I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone. Also very interesting lectures.

Didn't even use the textbook. Once or twice she'll have u use them in class but with a partner so just find someone else with one. She's very sweet and funny, offers extra credit, and lots of help. It's hard not to pass this class IF you show up and take notes

Elise is really nice and cares about her students. She does take her lectures serious. But if you just show up to class and take notes it's easy. She does do little quizzes as attendance but there are also lots of opportunities for extra credit. The labs are easy, fun and 2 hours. there are weekly lab quizzes, but she tells exactly what's on them.

FANTASTIC PROFESSOR! Useful information about LIFE that anyone can use. Bonus points weekly and simple quizzes that really bring your grade up. At points I legit had over 100% because of bonus points. You don't need the textbook, but it might help. Shes really adorable and funny. Show up, take notes, pass with flying colors.

She is PHENOMENAL! Best professor I've had in my four years of college! She is very amiable & is knowledgeable & passionate about what she is teaching. This class was super interesting. The tests are difficult, but as long as you study the material well, there is no reason you cannot get an A. Take her!! She's the absolute best.

elise is one of the best professors! take good notes and study for the tests and you will do great. there is no reason not to pass with an A with all the bonus points she hands out!

She was amazing! I ended up missing alot of class and she understood and took time to catch me up! Lectures are amazing, extra credit opportunities that you should take, overall just an amazing professor!

Elise is by far one of my most favorite professors. She is incredibly helpful and sweet to all of her students and truly wants to see everyone do their best. Her Witty humor, however is my favorite party. Her lectures and labs are engaging (and Im not a bio person at all) and fun to be at. Go to class, take good notes, and youre golden.

Elise was my favorite professor from this semester. Her lectures were amazing and always worth the trek across campus at 8AM. No, really! She's hilarious and knows just how to make the material accessible. That said, those lectures and labs are essential to success--don't skip unless you're on your deathbed! Anyhow, I highly recommend her.

I love Elise!! So kind and so funny at 8AM. You can tell that she loves her job. Her lectures are very easy to follow and she is always willing to help students.

Elise is the best. Lectures are a lot but she makes them fun and engaging. I loved going to class and she made lab enjoyable. She's funny and witty, and is very caring and will work with you if you need help. Follow along her notes and listen to what she says - she tells you how to pass and gives tons of extra credit/bonus pts. Would def reccomend.

Elise is great! Shes one of the first professors Ive had that actually cares about her students. Her lectures can be long but she tries really hard to make them engaging. Theres a lot of material on exams but for each lecture she provides study questions to help you better learn the material. Overall great class!

Elise is amazing. She really cares about her students and wants them to pass. She is compassionate about plants which really makes you more interested in learning about them. As long as you do exactly what she wants on paper and group assignment, it is an easy A. I am not interested in plants at all but I have actually learned a lot from her class.

One of my favorite professors at GV! She is a plant expert and her lectures are so fun. She is quick to respond to emails and gives out extra credit. Her class was manageable and well organized. I wish I wasn't a senior or I would take another class with her!

Dr. Hollister has been the best professor I have ever had. She is super witty and watching her lectures has been a blast. They are so engaging, you can't get enough. She is knowledgeable, and answers emails fast. The only down side is that there are hardly any assignments. Everything I had was open note so it's easy to get an A if you attend lect.

I LOVE HER!!! I took BIO 109 online and it was the most interesting and passable class ever! Definitely do the optional study questions she supplies in order to study for exams. Elise is such a fun and caring professor who truly cares about her student's grades and well-being! TAKE THIS CLASS!

Elise is such an amazing professor. She cares about her students so much and really does the most to make sure everyone passes. Even though this course was online it was still easy to obtain information. She loves plants and wants her students to be as interested as her.

Very knowledgeable and cool professor. I took this asynchronously during covid. She cares a lot about her students and the content is interesting. Exams were pretty straight forward. She assigns one paper and a group project. The only thing that I disliked was that she speaks very fast, sometimes I had to play her videos at half speed

Amazing woman. She went through some health problems and was emailing and grading from the hospital- the class bought her a get well gift because she was that impactful. Even though it was a gen ed class, the content was interesting and engaging. The lectures could be long but had lots of cool info that helped with quizzes. Super easy/amazing prof!

she is a very caring person. very understanding & grades very easy. also is very helpful

one of my favorite professors at gv, super caring and didn't assign a billion assignments like every other prof who taught online. lectures were pretty short & just had short weekly quizzes with extra credit and only one paper!

Elise is very kind and knowledgeable, willing to work with you to improve your grade if you are.

Elise was a wonderful professor. It was online and asynchronous. The lectures were awesome, she used PowerPoint slides, had clear grading criteria, and expectations. She gave all the info we needed at the beginning of class. She would get back to you within an hour or in minutes. She wanted you to succeed. Would take her again!

do yourself a favor and just enroll in her section. She is a great professor all around. the class was laid out well, the expectations are clear, & lectures are clear and focused. exams are based off lectures, and you don't need outside materials.

I LOVED this professor. (She was my favorite this semester) She is very nice and actually cares about your learning. She explains things well and is very understanding. Definitely recommend this teacher!

She is an AMAZING professor. She cares so much about your learning. She is constantly reminding you of due dates and is very organized. The class was a lot more interesting than I thought. Just do what she recommends you to do and you won't have to study for a second.

I love Elise, shes a great teacher and is very passionate. She talks fast but shes very wise. I appreciate her a lot. Great Professor.

I love Elise!! Very friendly and helpful throughout the entire semester, dont hesitate to reach out to her if you need help! I 100% recommend that you print out the ppts and write notes on them like she mentions, it helped me a ton. I will say that she sends a lot more emails than my other profs, but its mostly reminders about due dates and stuff

If you want an easy GEN ED course. TAKE PLANTS WITH ELISE. She is one of the easiest, most understanding professor on this campus. You take one lab and one lecture quiz a week. OPEN NOTE. We take about 4 exams throughout the course but she gives you the option to take them wherever you want, and they are also open note. Lectures long but managable

I took this class online with in-person labs and it was soo easy. The professor is really nice and relaxed about attendence for labs. For my class, there was a textbook assigned but i never used it- all exams are based off the lectures, so take good lecture notes.

Prof. Hollister is an amazing woman and truly wants you to succeed. She ensures everyone has a fair shot to do well and if you do your work and come to most lectures you'll be okay. She uses a textbook but also has a couple spare copies for students to use. Lab is really easy and she is very helpful, would take her again!

Every week, there is one lecture quiz and one lab quiz. The lecture quiz can be retaken as many times as you want for 100%. Lab quizzes are taken once but all the material is in the lab guide. Make sure to take good notes in class. She says to buy the textbook but I never read it and have an A. 3 exams and a non-cumulative final. I love Elise.

Elise honestly wants you to succeed. She gives SO many extra credit opportunities that can add up to 10 points on your exam. Her lectures are long and very informational so make sure you are paying attention and taking good notes. This isn't a class you can take a nap in lol.

Elise is an amazing professor. Amazing lectures, and clear grading criteria. Grades are exactly based on rubrics and are very fairly. Offers many opportunities for students to earn extra credit. Best biology professor I have ever had, if you can 100000% take a class with Elise!

Prof Hollister is amazing! Take good notes and use her study guide questions to do well on exams. She always lets you have a reference card for exams and offers SO much extra credit. She is super sweet and cares about all of her students and even knows each one by name. Weekly lab and lecture quiz, but they are quick and simple.

Elise is such a sweetheart. As others have mentioned, she really wants you to succeed! Reciprocity matters; if you put forth effort, she will go the extra mile to help. Lectures can get a little lengthy and dry, but Elise does a great job of breaking up her lectures with humor and anecdotes. Fun prof and fun course!

Caring, blunt, and a good communicator. Lecture heavy but homework light!

Elise was a great professor and I will always recommend taking this class everything that will be done in class is all in Blackboard and all exams are online this class is a breeze if you take good notes.

Prof Elise is great, no only does she offer TONS of extra credit, but she is also clear with her instructions and wants you to succeed. She knows every student by name which makes you feel welcomed. I would totally recommend her even if her lectures are a bit dry. I didn't purchase the textbook but found lectures to have all the answers for exams!

She is one of the best teachers I have ever had here! She cares so much about her students, you learn so much cool information from her lectures, her labs are so easy to complete, and she gives out so much extra credit. You get EC for just attending classes, and she makes sure to get to know every one of her students. Absolutely love her!

Elise was a very kind teacher. She really cares about students and helping you succeed. She offers time to go over things with her during office hours if you are not understanding something. Definitley recommend.

This professor was AWESOME! If you paid attention, go to class, and go to her office hours she offers "bonus points" also could be described as extra credit. She cares about students success.

Elise was the BEST! Could not recommend her enough especially if your not a science person!

100% take a BIO 109 class with Hollister!!! Especially if you don't really care for science or even have trouble with it. She gives tons of extra bonus points, ever exam (except the final) you can use a reference sheet. Weekly lecture/lab quizzes each week but ONLINE. A lab report but she is very lenient on grading and gives tons of extra points.

Hollister is one of the best professors I have ever had. She cares so much about her students. When I had some family issues, Elise supported me. She gives so much extra credit and understands that most people in her class aren't bio majors. You have to try to do poorly. The lectures aren't always the most interesting, but she engages her students.

This class isn't too hard, you have an online quiz every week, the tests are all open note, and you get tons of extra credit. The lectures are very note heavy, but you don't need to buy a textbook only a lab manual. Overall as long as you don't fall behind you'll get an A

Literally the best professor I've EVER had and I'm a junior humanities major who's awful at science. She explains things SO well, learning isn't stressful it's fun, pretty much everything is opennote, and her expectations literally couldn't be any clearer. If you need a lab course with lots of support and a super engaging professor, take BIO 109!!

Professor Hollister is amazing - she really cares about her students and makes the class engaging. Lots of extra credit opportunities, and unstuck ai was a great study tool alongside the lectures.

Elise is very kind however this class was definitely difficult. The lectures are very long and there is A LOT of material. The tests are taken in person, she didn't provide study guides so it was hard to know what would be on the tests. Her labs were always fun and easy. You will not pass this class if you don't attend lectures.

I genuinely love her she's so sweet and knowledgable. 100% take her if you can, you won't regret it. She gives extra credit every class period and she is very caring + understanding. Great prof. and human being!!!

Professor Hollister clearly cares a lot about the subjects she's teaching, as well as her students. There are weekly lab/lecture quizzes but they only ever take about 5 minutes. Tons of extra credit opportunities and everything was explained very thoroughly and clearly. I chose this class for my lab science requirement and I don't regret it at all!

she is super passionate about what she is teaching and it comes through when she is teaching. this class is not apart of my major, being that I took it for a gen ed, but she made me excited about what was being taught! take good notes is my advice for this class. attendance is not mandatory, but, it does count for extra credit on tests.

I love Elise she gives so many extra credit points and really just want you to show up to class and learn. She's really fun and bubbly and when she lectures she's really good at explaining the topics. There is textbook readings but I never read any of them and I was fine. Just show up to class and listen and you'll do so good.

Dr. Hollister is one of those professors who is passionate about teaching and is extremely kind. She gives out a ton of extra credit and if you just show up to her class and take notes, you'll get an A. I would 1000% recommend taking her course.

Elise is definitely one of my favorite professors! Even though I'm not a BIO major and I usually don't enjoy science, I always enjoyed attending Elise's class. Her lectures were fun and she explained everything very well. She is so kind-hearted and enjoys getting to know her students. I cannot recommend her enough!!

Elise is AMAZING! I absolutely loved her class, she truly cares and loves what she is teaching and it shows in lectures. It is a very easy class with lots of opportunities for bonus points. Just watch her videos and take notes and you will do good in the class. She is so sweet and genuinely cares about her students. Take her if you have the chance!