2.5
Quality2.3
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake84
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
84
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
14
4
14
3
9
2
17
1
30
What Students Say
“Hoffman is incredibly obnoxious and rude to his students”
PHIL101 - 1.0 rating“honestly the worst professor I've ever had”
PHI102 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.03 avg changeRatings by Course
RELIGIOUS
5.0
(1)PH102
5.0
(1)PHI350
5.0
(1)PHI414
4.0
(2)PHI415
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ALL
5.0
PHI000
5.0
PHI499
4.0
PHI111
4.0
PHI102
3.0
Reviews (84)
No Comments
Just do the reading and get an A, he drops the lowest test grade
insightful guy...kind too
Not helpful at all and very rude to all of his students.
very absent-minded!! tells me things today that he told me yesterday and doesn't even remember!
No Comments
His class is so boring, but he is a really nice guy. He even drops your lowest grade. There is tons of reading though.
This class was pretty easy. He lectured about things that had nothing to do with anything, and then we wrote papers on whatever we wanted. I got an A-.
He is the weirdest man i've ever known. he talks about absolutely nothing and you want to kill yourself the whole time you're there.
Very absent minded. Crazy guy. Writing papers was easy though cause we could do whatever. The site paper you could make somthing up if you didn't go and he couldn't tell the difference. He does drop the lowest grade. He did lose a couple papers though.
wrote one of my best papers ever in his philo of religion class. Last day ate free sushi and watched anime. scare tactics at first but over all ok. but he does go on tangents.
Very boring. The class moves slowly with him lecturing. Take it if you need Inter and writing emphasis courses.
Nice but sometimes is very arrogant. If you enjoy endless ranting about nothing take this class. It is an easy writing or interdisciplinary - but it is so boring that you will want to throw yourself out the window!
Professor is very unclear and apparently unable to understand where student questions are coming from. An enormous amount of reading with very little clarity given by the tedious lectures
I had 3 classes with Hoffman and you are guaranteed to meditate for one class period each semester. I'm still not sure what the direction any of the classes were going, but I got A's in all 3 classes.
You just read books the whole semester and wrote papers, easy.
A religious man with a Philosopher's facade. Very loose classes. Like EVERY philosophy teacher...crazy and worthless!
Class is one word: Torture. If you mistakenly don't read the book, it is so easy to make stuff up. Class is so boring.
Class is BORING with a capital B! Dreadful with a capital D! I'm only in the middle of the semester and I just want it to end! Tests are easy if you study. Too much reading though. Hey Prof: "How about some Quality...Not Quantity!!!
Nice but very absentminded. On week seven of classes, he showed us the same video and asked us the same questions just as he did before we had the first test. I just studied my Finance that period...He also lectures from his Palm Pilot...
He is the boringest human being I have ever met. Our test was org. scheduled for the 12th week and he moves it to the week we get back from spring break. I managed to talk him into us having it this Thurs. Don't ask me how I did this though...
definitely has issues with remember his own syllabus...needs to spend more time on the texts not on buddhism workshops...boring
DON'T. JUST DON'T. especially if you're not interested in Buddhism. Def. belongs in religion, not Philosophy
If any other teacher can me hypicritical...and be a buddist follower. then shoot me. this guy is horrible. ok here's the smack down..it's a discussion class right (circle seating).. everyday he tells us to get the desks in a circle for class...continue...
This man is out of control. I get sick and tired of hearing about his damn philosophy meetings. Dude wake up nobody wants to go.
Tests are ez, goes on for 1/2 hr about nothing then finally starts lecturing. Has an OUT sheet you must sign to leave the room. Assigns too much reading. Would've taken his 50 min. course if it was available. His 1hr15 Lec is torture! Don't do it. T-Ass.
His lectures are boring especially at 8 in the morning. He spends more than half the semester on Buddhism when there are more aspects to philosophy. Although he is a very nice teacher and is willing to help if it is needed.
One thing no one mentioned: He is very rude. Ontop of his rudeness, he's not a good teacher. He's boring and he does more talking about Buddhism to the point where I'm starting to think he actually looks like Buddha.
If you have a choice, pick someone else. He's a very nice guy, just that he is very picky and his mind wanders in all directions. Easy class, but he expects you to read at least 3 books in all of his classes. And yes, it is hard to stay awake.
Obviously the last few posts are from the same person. I have to agree, though. I dropped his class for many reasons, includng the overemphasis on Buddhism. I've also seen him threaten a student's academic career - he's a menace disguised as peaceful.
Need I say more?
Everyone points to the negative. Dr. Hoffman may be difficult to first approach. But once you do, he is patient and helpful and will go to great lengths to help you understand every last detail. Those who put effort in - will learn a lot.
Dr. Hoffman could be helpful..that is true. There was a special event he invited everyone to and said he gladly give someone a ride if they needed it. How more helpful can he be?
Had him last Spring of 2004. First 2 weeks you will learn about Gandhi, MLK, & all the other philosophers. After the second week...Be prepared to study Buddhism from that point to the final...& the Final consists of 62 Qs on BUDDHISM. Up side: You get to see him meditate at the end of his chair..lol
Dr. Hoffman isn't that bad. I took him for intro to religion it wasn't that hard. Easy A or B, he drops the lowest grade you have, and he only gives 4 assignments. 2 papers, a midterm and a final. The final was a take home test by the way, and both tests only consisted of 25 true/false!
Frank Hoffman.."You're FIRED!"
I would rate his teaching a ZERO and his PHI101 course a 1.5 out of 10. He droans on and on about Buddhism and his course is based on it. Has an In OUT sheet policy. Sadly attempts to teach students how to use Scantron Sheets(duh, we know already!) and once meditated on the edge of a chair...wierd..
Run Far, far away... I would rather saw my arm off with a butter knife then go sit in this man's class for three hours a week... sigh...
Buddhism Buddhism, Buddhism. Must every damn lecture be about BUDDHISM!? Don't expect to learn much about philosophy in this class. It's more like a religious class and all you learn is Buddhism. The final exam consists of 160 Qs ALL ON BUDDHISM. Stay far away from this prof if possible!!!!
Ok....so every class is about Buddhism.....at least it's an easy grade. Boy it was entertaining editing his book for him.
His class was like milk, it was good for 2 weeks.
No Comments
i find that he is an awesome man. he is very open minded to what other people haev to say and values their opinions. we do not agree on everything, but we respect the view giving by each person. i didn't mind learning about buddhism because i knew very little about it. so far, he's only spent a week on each religion. this had been very helpful especially since i'm considering going to seminary.
HE WILL BORE YOU TO TEARS!
He is a windbag. He isnt very helpful at all he doesnt really make hilself available to students. I tried emailing him a number of times and he didnt ever respond, he doesnt even give you his email you have to guess what it is. Also, hes very monotone and when you try to have an actual conversation with him he wont do it. He wears flood pants.
Pure Boredom=Hoffman
For the sake of WCU's students, RETIRE NOW!!!!
A complete and utter JERK! I couldn't stand the guy!!!He NEVER gives you a straightforward answer.He gets irritated when u ask 2 many questions about the same thing, but u have to so you can just get an answer.If he would just say yes or no-it would all be a lot simpler.He makes u feel stupid. He is so ethically insensitive,it is ridiculous!Ugh...!
You could learn more loitering in front of a Wawa than you can in Frank Hoffman's class. But if you don't give a damn about philosophy and are looking for a****-easy class to get an easy A in, this class is perfect for you.
Looking back, I can't believe I got stuck w/him. He was dull, boring, longwinded, & a complete waste of space. I fell asleep during one lec and he asked what I thought about a chapter we read. I made stuff up and he believed it! He's such a sponge! He also has an obsession w/Buddha. Kept offering me his Buddhism books. I turned them down. BORING!!!
The class was crazy boring, but Prof. Hoffman was a pretty nice guy. I don't blame him for it being boring, it was the students' fault for never participating. He didn't let people act like morons, which is a nice change. The class was easy and would have been a lot better if everyone would participate instead of be lazy.
A complete and utter a**hole.Wastes class time.Took 15 mins to explain to us how to take a test using a bubble sheet.We've been using them since 6th grade,I think we can figure it out u idiot!Often embarrasses ppl in front of class.HE interrupts class if someone needs to leave the rm. bc he stops u & makes u sign out.I'm sorry, are we 7 yrs. old?
How would I describe Frank? Here are some words: windbag, boring, out of touch w/students (ex/useless scantron tutorial), lazy, hard to reach (rarely is in his office), 3rd grade teacher mentality (signout sheets), etc. Need I say more? Pray you don't have him...
Um..yeah, he's XTREMELY BORING! His most notable skills include: a VAST knowledge on BUDDHISM, an In & Out signage policy, picking on those who feign little interest in his Lecs, sitting on the edge of a chair meditating, and finally-->Focusing on 1 religion for 3 months & 2 weeks. I can't tell u how much fun filling out his Teacher Eval was.
Eastern Religions. Run away.BRUTAL. I am an A student who likes a challenge but this was unreal. He assumed a base of knowledge that is just totally unrealistic for an intro class. He has the serene aura about him and asks if there are any questions.So you ask and he goes bullistic, gone is the serenity.His face gets red and he won't answer any.
He talks a lot, so reading is not really necessary, even tho he yells when you don't. I was new to Philosophy, but really all he wants is opinions based on the subjects. As long as you do what he says, you'll get a good grade. No matter what tho, he's always going to favor Buddhism to the exclusion of all other faiths no matter what you say.
Meet Mr. Boring: Has no personality, has no ability to make his lecture material interesting, has an In and OUT sheet policy, provides 1/2 hr explanations for all Qs, and LOVES buddhism. It has been said that there will always be a prof we'll remember for the rest of our lives-& not for a good reason. Frank's one of them.
If you get less than an A- in his classes well they you are stupid. You barely have to give an effort.
He is a good person and brings up moving stuff in his discussions. The text material is great. If you follow his directions you will get an A. I would deff. take another PHI course with him. If you dont like reading, discussion, and intelluctual thought you won't dig his class. Otherwise take him!
he is the most annoying professor i have ever had, he is the definition of awkward, teaches you like you just turned 14, goes around the room and asks every single person if they have a question... its pretty easy.. but its a class ur dying to skip every time u have it... very dry class... bring ur computer... and fool around on the internet.
The bad memory of this class is still with me. This overrated windbag hides the threadbare nature of his insight behind a ton of jargon. Peel away the layers of his superadded bombast and you get very little, maybe a wimpering thought, a distant muffled howl, a cry for help. Blerg!
If you are interested in learning about world religions, this is not the class for you! Dr. Hoffman does not discuss or explain any of the world religions in any detail, so if you are new to the concepts of different religions, you won't find it in this class. Oh and it doesn't matter if you are a hard working student, it won't help you!!
good choice of reading material but incredible awkwardness coupled with constant condescending rants make the class unbearable
His nickname should be "The Wanderer."
Agreed with most of the ratings. Nice guy but very awkward and boring. The grade (at least in my course) was based more on how well you followed instructions than knowledge of content. To that end the class is fine if you want a decent grade but not fun to go to all the time.
you shouldn't question this man: he's enlightened. questioning someone who is enlightened will get you lots of bad karma and an easy F.
If "Being Boring" was an olympic sport, this guy would win a Gold medal!? He also encompasses all that is soleless and wrong. Run away..run away!
A professor should never say the following when administering a scantron exam: "The answer to your question is A." Shows you how bright this guy is...and for the record, he wasn't referring to the exam. He meant my report from a PHI meeting. What a moron..
Meet Frank Hoffman: The only man on earth who would provide a half hour explanation for a question that requires a simple Yes or No response. Frank, by answering with a Yes or No response, do you realize how much time you'd be saving us???
LOL... I came into his class thinking itd be so hard judging by the comments posted. His class was a piece of cake. One thing though, you have to be at least a little interested in philosophy. One thing I didnt like was that it was an intro course and most of the time we learned about buddhism. Thats cause he is a buddhist. But I got an A, easy.
Extremely knowledgeable man. Really helped me to jump into the world of Philosophy and find my own voice. If you have any interest in Eastern/Asian thought then take him, he has an unbelievable amount of information on those subjects. He may come across as boring, but listen to what he is saying! Much of it is really interesting.
easy but boring
Dr. Hoffman is so knowledgeable, he just does not know how to get his knowledge across in an interesting way. He is so boring, especially at 8 am. A lot of reading, but only 2 papers, a midterm and final. He drops the lowest of the 4 grades. If you don't HAVE to take the class, I wouldn't recommend it.
Dr. Hoffman loved what he teaches and will try to make you love it if you arnt interested dont take him cause you'll go nuts from his enthusiasm. we had 4 books to read which was a little much for me but i got through it and have no regrets about taking him
I took this class because its required as an Interdisciplinary Course as well as a Writing Emphasis Course. Dr. Hoffman has yet to give any of us any help or guidelines on what material we will be tested on. He simply assigns books and expects us to memorize even the most minute detail. Rediculous. He needs to understand this is not our only class.
I took this class because it was Writing Emphasis and Interdisciplinary... Worst Decision of my life. He doesn't teach us, he assigns SO much reading for a 100 level class. Every class is him calling out people making us share our favorite stories from the additional books he makes us read in addition to a 400 pg book. I cry before every class...
It is not difficult to get an A or B in this class, however he is an extremely confusing teacher and you do have to show up. His assignments are often unclear or the wrong dates are given and when you ask him to clarify he never gives a straight answer. Lots of reading assignments, true/false quizzes and 2 papers. Overall the class wasn't horrible.
Extremely knowledgeable man! I really like his attractive talk! always brings up moving stuff in his discussions.
Very interesting class, especially if you are interested in Buddhism or Asia philosophy. Dr. Hoffman is so knowledgeable and insightful. Also a kind guy. I like his meditation way~
He is very enthusiastic about philosophy, and he tries to get the students into it as well. Sometimes it's awkward when he says philoso jokes and nobody laughs or when he opens the floor for questions and nobody participates, but he generally cares about students getting the work done. Tests are simple, everything is straight from the book. Easy A.
Dr. Hoffman is a great professor, he is extremely knowledgeable and is more than willing to help you with anything as long as you ask. Most of the reviews are from PHI101's. Remember: teaching boring classes is worse than taking them. If you can, take him for an eastern PHI course. He is an expert and is extremely enthusiastic in the subject.
I appreciate my classes. I go to class, I participate and I respect my professors. It was hard to respect Dr. Hoffman. I don't think he realized how rude he was to the students when they were asking reasonable questions or trying to understand the material. His lectures were pointless because we were only tested on knowledge from the confusing txt
honestly the worst professor I've ever had.
Dr. Hoffman is incredibly obnoxious and rude to his students. Despite it being an incredibly easy A sitting through his dreadful lectures made me reconsider why I decided to enroll in this course. PS if you need to leave the room he will interrogate as to why you are leaving and will rant about how he refuses to let people disturb his class
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.03 avg changeRatings by Course
RELIGIOUS
5.0
(1)PH102
5.0
(1)PHI350
5.0
(1)PHI414
4.0
(2)PHI415
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ALL
5.0
PHI000
5.0
PHI499
4.0
PHI111
4.0
PHI102
3.0