2.3
Quality3.8
Difficulty19%
Would Retake94
Reviews19%
Would Retake
94
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
8
4
15
3
19
2
19
1
33
What Students Say
“Gives quizzes on material before he even goes over it”
GE0200 - 2.0 rating“Avoid taking his class especially if you're a working student”
GEO200 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
91%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.71 avg changeRatings by Course
GEO270L
4.0
(3)GEO270371
4.0
(1)GEO270
3.2
(5)GEOGRAPHY200
3.0
(1)GEO
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HIST101
5.0
GEO04
5.0
GEO260
5.0
GEO110
4.6
GEO270W
4.3
Reviews (94)
Dr. West is a really cool guy, he is funny in the classroom and really knows his stuff. The material he teaches is really boring, Im still taking this class so I cant tell you how he grades.
this guy is really nice the lectures are boring but he has a good sense of humor he doesnt like it when you talk while he is talking is very helpful if you need it
He is a very nice and understanding man, he grades on a curve usually. He is pretty funny and his lectures are usually pretty interesting. He gives a lot of pop quizes though.
HOLY LORD WE HAVE TO WRITE A 20 PAGE PAPER!!!! that's for the L course though, non-L with him would be pretty easy. He sends you way too many e-mails on the littlest things, but otherwise he's... ok.
He's a nice guy, although sometimes he expects too much of us. He also has this whole white card/red card system which all seems very childish to me. If you disrupt the class you get a red card and lose a participation point (white card)..last time I checked this was college...
this professor knows his stuff but can be a complete spaz at times. i found his lectures confusing and he would get ahead of himself while talking about subjects that made him heated or that he was really interested. I also think that he is unfair in his grading.
very good professor.
He gives too many quizes and tests. He's rude and very unhelpful. He loves to ramble on. He also likes to call out people and embarass them infront of the class. His jokes are very not funny. He made geography even more boring. I think he is way too uptight.
No Comments
nice pants pal. all stuff done on computers. download all work on there. seems like its going to be easy and the teacher is young
There are no words to describe Dr. West. His class is hard and so are his test. But as long as you talk to him in his office hours and keep him updated about**** thorough emails then youll be fine. Aslong as you do the extra credit and show him that yo
No Comments
Hes tough, gives map quizes-helped me out drastically. Has this whole "participation" obsessiveness, this will detriment your grade if you don't participate. Say anything at all every single class and you'll be alright.
I think that he dresses in the dark, no lie. But other then that he is all right. If you read and pay attention in class you should do fine.
run away please..i hate this class. He wears tight cordorouy pants and his class puts me to sleep everyday, no lie. His tests are hard, questions that werent even in the lectures and his whole stupid u have to participate 6 times is completley whack...DONT TAKKKEEE HIMMM save yourself
Dr. Eric West had been a very good teacher with the way that he had shown the notes on the projector and had many things that you could do on the computer to help you with the class such as study guides I recommend taking a class with this professor.
Class can be really challenging, but the tests are always easier than expected. Dr. West is really nice and helpful if you show interest in the class. Grading is more than fair.
He is a nice guy, but the classes are really boring and the test are impossible, no matter how hard i studied i still fail all of them!
Really nice guy and funny if you have half a brain. Anyone who says this guy is awful, is just a lazy freshman not willing to work, or an undergrad with a sorry outlook on life at college. I got a B+ and all it took was moderate notes and the ability and to focus for 45 minutes. I recommend him for anyone who wants to learn something.
Dont take this class...his pants are way to tight and the map tests impossible...even if you study he makes the maps impossible to comprehend. In the class all you want to do is sleep...
Wonderful professor, awesome professor. Always there for his students, even the L part of the class was not that bad. Would take him again in a heartbeat!!
very nice guy.
he is not very consistant with his grading and it is all based on participation
Dr. West is overall a good professor. Very nice, good sense of humor. However, he had issues all semester managing lecture time between exams. Grades consist of 4-Exams, Labs, quizzes, participation. The "L" part of the course fun. Participate for extra credit. Lectures are done on PPT. Class gets boring at times. Easy "B-A" grade.
control freak!! i was in a lecture of about 75 students which made it nearly impossible to participate even though that counts for a big chunk of your grade. i had an A on EVERY exam and quiz and yet he gave me a B- final grade because of my participation, even though i raised my hand nearly every class he just never ever called on me. BULL!!!
I liked Dr. West as a person, and I think his GEO 100 class(assuming you go to class and study for the map quizzes) is not very difficult, but I have issues with the way the class is formatted. 75 people in a class and he wants you to participate? Please! It is difficult to get his attention so you can ask a question or participate to begin with.
Stay away! Dont take this professor unless you absolutely have to. I could write a million things on why but there is not enough space.
Horrible teacher! Do not take!!! Does not grade fairly at all and will severly impact your GPA.
No Comments
Dr. West is not a good teacher. He may be a good person, but as a teacher he has no sense of the impact of his profession. He does not come prepared to the classes, he just go with the flow or the questions the students have. I think it is a shame that SCSU has a teacher with Dr. West's abilities becuase he does not know how to teacher.
HORRIBLE TEACHER! he never returns e-mails, is never clear on the homework. Tests and quiz's are hard to pass. You have to participate 5 times in a class of about 100 people and if you don't he drops your grade an entire letter grade. stay away from him!
Worst professor ever! Spare yourself the agony of this smug and egocentric professor that I can't understand why he's still teaching!!! Waste of time!
test and quizes are hit or miss, can be rediculasly hard but lets you take the test ind. and as a group and if you get higher than a 55 you get an average of the two if you get a 75 or higher you get the group grade, good teacher tough and really loves his job and knows the material, very passionate
Dr. West is HORRIBLE! Beware of this professor. He is too into his study and tries his hardest to get you into it as well. He does not realize it is a classroom, not a geography club. The class is very boring as well. Try to avoid him.
Dr.West is a friendly person. In class he is nice, but very demanding, and specific on his requirements. His tests/quizzes are difficult, so be prepared for intense studying. Also, learn how to use Google Docs ahead of time.
I thought that maps were boring, but this guy makes it fun. We do labs that break the lecture routine, and during labs, we can talk. It's a more laid back atmosphere. The professor also expects you to study, but he keeps all the notes on-line. So you always know what's going on, even if you miss a day. This class was good. I want to know more.
First test was only ten questions but took 2 hours to muddle through. He used terms that could not be found in the text and didnt even give a lecture on subject matter, just expected us to teach ourselves. He is too caught up in his studies to get to actual teaching. I had to drop the class it was so awful.
I've only been in Dr. West's class for a week and completely agree with everyone else's review. Way into his studies, goes off on tangents and doesn't really teach. He puts questions on quizzes he knows aren't in the book. STAY AWAY!
This guy is very eccentric. His quizzes are hard mostly because they are on difficult reading material that we never go over in class. Often assigns homework that is not on the syllabus, at random times in between class meetings, and God forbid you haven't constantly checked your email and remembered every word you read for his class.
Dr. West is very unorganized, he jumps around from topic to topic and confuses you further when you ask for help. You do nothing in class and have highly demanding hmework, that can be posted the mourning of on google calendar and groups. He's a nice person, but just a bad teacher.
Dr. West is very unorganized, he jumps around from topic to topic and confuses you further when you ask for help. You do nothing in class and have highly demanding hmework, that can be posted the mourning of on google calendar and groups. He's a nice person, but just a bad teacher.
Dr. west is neurotic to say the least. To put things rather simply, he tries to teach so much in such a short amount of time that his lessons become confusing and nuthing gets accomplished. if he were to teach on only one or two things all year more would get done
Great person, terrible professor. He goes off on tangents and is obsessed with Google and all it's wonders. Assignments are very challenging and not necessarily possible to complete.. I would suggest switching to another class, it will save you a lot of stress!
This is the worst professor ever!! Do not take his class period. He not punctual, unorganized if I didn't read the textbook I honestly will not learn anything about geography. Honestly he will be report tithe faculty and really needs to be replaced! We students pay for a education not waste of time. I don't know what aids and voodoo have to do with geography.
He is rarely on time, he tends to go off on tangents, he fails at posting material online, he is hardly prepared for class (making copies, running back to his office, grading work, etc.), and he is too caught up in using technology to teach his courses.
Dr. West has absolutely no regard for his students. He is only concerned with how he can get ahead in his research and appearances to scsu. I really don't understand why he chose to go into teaching he is that self absorbed. None of the other students respected him. He can be nice at times but he ultimately his classes are confusing and strange.
A really disorganized and doofy professor. However he is very nice and easygoing and is willing to work with students. Alot of reading and the quizzes are annoying. Posts notes on blackboard for you. Participation is pretty easy just raise your hand 3 or 4 times during the semester and your fine. Also extra credit oppurtunities are there for you.
You can tell west is insanely smart but the way he teaches lacks clarity. He teaches only to the test, and his exams always contain tricky vocab that nobody understands so ALWAYS ask, its not you its HIM. If you take this class prepare to self teach and READ and READ and READ some more. Sometimes can come off as rude when he corrects people.
Dr. West comes off as strange and awkward but he really is a cool dude. His classes are kind of tough but if you try, show some effort, and participate, you really can't go wrong. Overall, slightly difficult teacher but a really interesting person once you get past his doctoral front.
If you have full time studies with job! DO NOT take his class. His class absolutely requires reading, reading and reading. It takes 8 - 10 hours of reading every week. Avoid taking his class especially if you're a working student. If you're already having it, your key to pass is reading and participating in class.
Annoying. Very arrogant. Most importantly, takes off a letter grade for more than 5 absences, LOL what a joke
Gives quizzes on material before he even goes over it. Thinks he's cooler than everyone in the North East
He thinks he is better than everyone else and unless you really love geography I'd advise you not to take it. Very awful teacher.
Very annoying. Doesn't stop talking. Goes off on trangents about his bias beliefs. Don't take unless you have to. Nothing positive about this class.
worst teacher i've ever had at southern. stay away.
Do not take this class if you think it will be an easy Tier 2 requirement. Gives quizzes (mostly pop quizzes) on reading and they are VERY specific questions that you might have missed while reading. (you would think he would go over the material before he quizzes? NOPE) He can be a good guy if you go to office hours but otherwise he doesn't care.
Dr. West is a really intelligent man, but when it comes to teaching, he's something else. He does post the notes from class online which is helpful. There is a ton of reading for the class. You must read if you want to do well on any quizzes and the exams. His questions on his exams are kind of tricky. Avoid if you can, but its passable if needed.
He is extremely good at what he does with GIS mapping and he helps you understand how to use the program. Quizzes are either announced or pop quizzes, so make sure to read the chapters in the book. Exams are kinda tricky, but are passable with studying. Labs are straight forward and there's a paper you have write. Overall nice guy, would take again
He never answers emails and when I went to his office hours he was always extremely late. When he does answer emails he's very rude and says that what you're saying is wrong and that things never happened.
Absolute worst professor I have ever had and possibly one of the rudest people I have ever met. Not to mention, 3 out of 4 times I went to his office hours he wasn't there, never responded to emails, and when he did he told me that our conversation was over because he did not wish to further explain something to me.
Even though he gives the students many recourses and clear instructions for assignments, he does not effectively communicate. He will respond in a way that is very confusing and rude. I have tried to ask for help and ask what I can do to improve my grade but he either doesn't answer my questions or is not willing to work with me.
Dr. West cares a lot about what he teaches. It may seem like he is difficult to communicate with, but you must be very specific about what it is that you need help withneed him to clarify. Expect a lot of work, but don't be discouraged from asking for help he wants students to do well. He puts a lot of effort in and will expect you to do the same.
I'm not sure why his rating is so low. His class is boring but easy. He comes in, turns on the monitor, and lectures. He gives a lot of pop quizzes but they're all multiple choice, less than 10 questions, and repetitive. The only thing that bothers me is the 6 absence rule. Otherwise the class is completely typical and easy & he's pretty funny too.
Dr. west although he is excited about the subject gets way to carried away and doesn't finish explaining what he starts and loses students. His tests don't typically match anything from the book and are worded weird. He doesn't assign extra credit so good luck!
I am a GEO major, so i really like learning about geography, but Dr. West is a little bit too much. He assigns reading that is sometimes unrealistic for the time period given, especially for undergraduates. He is nice guy, but he makes his lectures over complicated and confusing and always on computer. Passable if you put in some solid effort.
Rambles in his lectures. Notes don't help
Dr. West seems like a nice guy but his class couldn't be more boring. I actually wanted to learn more about Geography and was really disappointed in the way he taught this lecture. The exams were all online and his notes are posted to BB9 but they are not really helpful. Most of the test questions are on vocabulary from the book.
Very nice but disorganized in terms of assignments. Will definitely help you with anything you need, you just have to ask
Do not reccomend! Waited until last day of class to update grades when he kept telling the class he would do it after class, for weeks. Everytime I asked for a grade he said to look on BB later, he would post it... never did. Difficult class due to very boring, unclear notes, never clear and straight forward on answers or in notes; bad experience.
do not take him. you have to read long chapters in a novel (not even an actual textbook) then given an exam on each chapter thats usually 8 questions long so you fail one question and you fail the test. Gives online notes but his note are more of a textbook rather than informational and to the point. He rants about random crap.
Do not take this professor, you will not get a good grade. His test and quizzes are unclear because of how he word things. His lectures are very dry boring and doesn't make sense, he rambles on and on about irrelevant things. You will not learn a thing in this class. If you take him for a W course be prepared to write a lit review.
This was the first class in my college career that I found completely unreasonable, especially for a 200 level that didn't even count towards my major. Even though I did ALL the work with STRAIGHT A's, he FAILED (F) me for leaving 10/min early every 2.5/hr class to attend community service - though we'd discussed this happening. No winning, here.
He is a very tough grader and his tests are confusing but if you ask him, he will make you understand it. His lectures can be boring but when he gets on a topic he likes, talks w/ alot of passion. I think everyone on here just wasn't ready for the amount of work to put in. I put in good (not all) effort and still managed to get a B.
Horrible professor, took his online course, doesn't respond to emails, and gives so much homework every week. Extremely disappointed that I wasted a class spot on his. DO NOT RECOMMEND!!!
He goes off topic and spent a whole class telling us it's our fault "34 out 38 people got a D or an F" on a test. I wouldn't know if he's tough grader since he hasn't given us a single grade. He said he'll post our midterm grades over a week after they were due. I dropped out on the last day possible since I have no clue if I'm even passing.
He is very passionate about geography, but his lectures are all over the place and hard to understand. His tests are hard and don't really follow the long reading assignments that he assigns. He is a nice person, but doesn't know how to teach.
Dr. West is very intelligent and funny. His lectures are interesting and participation is a grade. I would say his class is difficult because its graded by a few things. I took quizzes that only had 7 questions so if you had two or more incorrect answers it was already a 75. However, If you put in effort you definitely will pass.
Extremely rude in emails. When you have a question he just refers you back to the syllabus, even though the answers are not clearly stated and are confusing in the syllabus. Clearly does not care about helping out his students, and helping them succeed in this course.
maybe the worst professor I ever had
Please do not take his class! Dr. West may have been the worst professor I've ever had. He's very rude, especially in emails. Everything he teaches is very confusing (including the syllabus) and doesn't bother to explain. The only subject discussed in class is his MANY trips to Belize. If you want to save urself the pointless lectures, do not take!
Dr. West is supportive when you don't understand the material but his lectures can be heavy and confusing. I found that getting lost in this course was a bit common. I would recommend you put time and effort into this class. It's not a hard course, you just have to be motivated to learn in the environment.
Honestly, if it weren't for the 60 he gave my 9 page literature review worth 45% of my grade I wouldn't be writhing this review. His lectures are incredibly boring and are dreadfully dense. Communicating with Prof. West, in person and via email is just as pointless as asking questions to a brick wall, however, the wall might give better feedback.
Dr. West's GEO 100 online class was extremely clear and straight to the point. He lists all of the expectations in the beginning of the semester and follows his syllabus to a T. It is not a heavy course load, and the assignments aren't time consuming. His class is fairly easy. I would recommend his class if you need the credits!
Do yourself a favor and don't take this class. Its just about boring stuff and his trips to belize.His assignments are the worst and he grades them very critically. Out of all my classes, this was by far the worst grade wise and lecture wise. This is the reason my GPA went down.
As a geography minor, I am conflicted on how to write this little blurb. Dr. West is very friendly and understanding in person, I quite liked him, but this class is A LOT OF WORK. I would not take this class if you're just trying to get prereqs out of the way, but if you're a GEO major or minor, it can be an interesting and fun challenge.
Took this class as a general elective. Most of what he talks about in class is not relevant to actual assignments, he laughs at half of his own words. Sitting in class as I type this ready to drop the course. This is the first professor I've had a hard time with. Doesn't know how to teach properly. Unless you're set on being a geologist stay away
The assignments on mcgraw hill were fine, but the chapter writing questions he personally graded were awful. He gives little feedback that is not helpful. For final paper wrote 2 pages, and was given a 0. His feedback was I didn't follow instructions, and it was "unfortunate". The instructions for final were gibberish. Would not take again.
Professor West was quite the character. He is a down to earth real guy. its lecture heavy, but the tests are all online. I thought the online tests would make it easier to pass, but let me tell you the answers are no where to be found. Chat GPT was more confused than me. Make friends in the class and have them sign you in and do the work online.
although he is good at teaching his work is unrealistic,the things he teaches do not line up with the test and quizs,and he also words every question to a point where it's not understandable,he is passive-aggressivelike says they want the best but make you seem like your wrong for not understanding something your learning for the first time.
This professor is so harsh on grading. How did I end up with a D- but an A+ in all my other hard classes?
He laughs at his own jokes constantly. Nothing seems so correlate between the assignments and what is said in class. VERY tough grader. The feedback is confusing. Very passive aggressive. Makes you feel slow if you don't immediately understand. Absolutely would not take this class again.
8 week async class. easiest class ive taken thus far but requires a lot fo attention since it's accelarated. Dr. West always gave good feedback but does expect a lot from students and grades a bit tough.
If you don't have a religion, get one. You will need to pray when he grades your assignments. In all of his feedback he comes off as passive aggressive. He grades his assignments based on the direct of the wind i can only assume, And if you get a rubric it won't matter because nothing you submit will follow it no matter the amount of effort.
Do yourself a favor STAY FAR AWAY! I can't even meet the sites guidelines describing him
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
91%
Textbook Required
80%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.71 avg changeRatings by Course
GEO270L
4.0
(3)GEO270371
4.0
(1)GEO270
3.2
(5)GEOGRAPHY200
3.0
(1)GEO
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
HIST101
5.0
GEO04
5.0
GEO260
5.0
GEO110
4.6
GEO270W
4.3