1.8
Quality4.3
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake141
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
141
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
6
4
11
3
19
2
35
1
70
What Students Say
“Didnt learn anything off the prof, 100% unclear and learned everything from the book”
ECON2010 - 1.0 rating“1010 would NOT recommend”
ECON2010 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.50 avg changeRatings by Course
INTROTOMICRO
5.0
(1)ECON20103150
4.0
(1)ECON
3.0
(2)ECONOMICS3150
3.0
(1)MACRO2010
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ECON2020
5.0
MACRO2010
5.0
ECON2010WWW
5.0
ECO3150
5.0
ECONO002
5.0
Reviews (141)
Worst prof i've ever had
I had him for "GOOD 'OL 3150"
Maybe if you memorized "Good 'ol Siklos" and "your good friend Bond" you'd get A
I had Dr. Riser for Economics 3150 and thought he was a good prof.
No Comments
No Comments
for "oh experts of good 'ol 2010 and 2020" - he may have been good. i hated him!
No Comments
Had for Distance Ed. Course is tough, and he's not bad for it.
nice fella, but very boring and very tough. tried to be helpful
No Comments
excellent! very fair.
he is stuck in the 70's. very boring. took a month to get back midterm.
all he did was draw diagrams...what was i supposed to study??? horr
No Comments
I hated him. Over 2 months to get the midterm back and hard final !!
No Comments
Poor teaching methods. Even worse as dept. head. Won't help you get courses.
No Comments
Lets go to the Breezeway!
Terrible, not willing to help students at all. Absolutely unfair, horrific, final exam, many students who did well on the midterm said that they guessed 70 out of 80 multiple choice on the final, my advise find another prof!!!
just draws graphs
He's brutal. The ugliest man I've ever laid eyes on. All he does is draw graphs. He's absolutely terrible.
No Comments
Poor teaching methods. He only teaches using graphs then fails to put any of the exams. His exams are brutal, totally unfair...Aviod him if you can--
only draws graphs, marks very hard, and his lectures are very difficult to understand. I definitely do not recommend him.
Don't take him under any condition, try to get somebody else
No Comments
This course blows. Do not take it, and if it's necessary for your degree program do not register for Gary Riser's class. Going to class is of no benefit to anyone and in fact, I personally feel that I am stupider for having absorbed the knowledge. BOO.
He is a nice man who is knowledgable. However, he makes the course difficult and the material unclear. Expect him to say about the exam "well i could ask you to tell me everything you know about the course". not much help.
Distance ed. Seemed okay. Fair marker....Answers to emails were helpful. Things can get a bit technical for an introductory course, so be prepared to put some time into it.
Ok so..it is 2 days after we are supposed to receive marks and..NOTHING! this man is not helpful, gives horrible notes and brutal tests.
write down everything he says in class. if you just write what he puts on the board, you won't have enough. know everything for the midterm and final cause he doesn't give any hints!
He's a really nice man, nothing against him, he knows his stuff, he is just so dry! Like stale granola! If you CAN attend all his classes u may get something out of it. Its hard to follow his line of thinking, he's all over the place! No help for exams!
excellent prof, boring classes though, still you should attend to get the notes if you can manage to suffer through
good notes at times, make sure you write down everything he says, most of it don't go on the board. VERY BORING prof
This man is a nut case! Don't leave his class early without telling him 'cause he will freak out!! Oh, and the marks were going to be given before the drop deadline... yeah... NOT!!
If you can, DO NOT get this man! If you end up getting him write down everything that he says in class (the stuff that he writes on the board is not enough info to pass the course). Test dates are set in stone and will not change even if he misses 3 classes due to illness. AVOID him!
midterm was absolute brutality. think of the whipping scene in passion of the christ.
You have to attend class and write everything that he says, not just what he writes. The multiple choice on his tests are brutal. Perhaps if there were more questions it would be easier. A full knowledge of the material isn't necessarily going to help you on his tests!
Booooooooooooring. He is so dry, gives horrible notes (the ones he does give), draws random graphs and doesn't label them. Pointless to go to class. Just read the text and do the questions in the study guide. Oh and don't forget the guns and butter. Ughh... stay away!
avoid if possible
The man can not teach and He gives hard test. I don't know how the man got a job with mun. Try to get another professor.
No Comments
my whole life i've never fallen asleep in a class, i fell alseep in this one more than once. One word for him - boring! If you want to do good on a test just memorize the graphs he draws, you get most marks for that.
It took him over a month to pass back the first midterm, OVER A MONTH!!! And why doesn't he have a website like every other prof on campus?? Online notes would definately make the material easier to undertand!
The COURSE is brutal! Maybe he's better with age, but his notes always seem very well labelled, but it does help to write some of the stuff he says! And its true, you can memorize the text, u still may fail the exam! He always offers extra help, and he missed 3 classes but is having a makeup class
This course is brutal man it took him like 4 weeks to give back the mid term, thats crazy!!! the course is very hard theres 4 texts and a manual he isn't clear and his exams are hard!!!! class avg was 59 in winter 2005 trust me stay away!!!!!!!!
yea he's a moron. if you want to pass this course without having to teach the entire thing to yourself get another prof. just don't do this to yourself
STAY AWAY FROM THIS MAN!! If the course is dry, this man is the gleaming ball of burning gas evaporating my soul!! Graphs. Thats all he does...everything else is up to you. Unless you want to teach the course to yourself...which you don't...stay away. Be wary of Gary! -hate-
This course is very difficult. Took both Micro and Macro at the same time, and the mark difference was over 30%. Don't do distance ed with this course/professor!
I think that this prof is actually pretty good. If some people would just put in the effort they would not be complaining about his teaching. If you go to class and study the notes he gives and the text, like you would any other class you do fine. He is always willing to help if you need it and always asks if anyone has any questions, good teacher
Stay away, He took forever to hand things back, when you go and ask him for help because the study guide is confusing he says that the answers in the book are wrong and the tests will be easier...theyre not...and he scaled only some peoples marks so that more people passed...not cool
Never take this course with him, he is your worse nightmare! Have you ever watch those movies where the teachers are killing the students with bordom, we he is one of them! STAY AWAY!
oh god
Another prof who gets a bad rap. What people who fail his courses never, ever do is write down things he says. That's all you need to do. Copy the graphs, and actually take some real lecture notes. His tests are fair, if long. A solid choice if you are going to advance in economics.
I actually like him, I think he is funny, and it's not his fault that the material is dry as hell. I copied down every word he wrote on the board and wrote down what he said, but still and all I was not prepared for the exam, I got an 83 in micro, but this is ridiculous. But for some reason I would still recommend him.
OH lord
If you lookin' for a course to teach to yourself, this is the prof for you!!! This man is boring, ignorant, and don't ever leave his class without asking... apparently its a crime!!
Terrible prof. So boring, and monotone. Is not willing to help, notes suck, and his tests suck. Take this class if you want to teach yourself.
take this course with this prof if you want to learn how to draw a graph...take this course with a different prof if you want to know what it means.
HORRIBLE! Only one word to describe him. Not at all what I was expecting. Course material was somewhat interesting, but could not comprehend it, no thanks to him. Seemed like he was testing one thing, and we were studying another. AVOID this prof at all costs!
He's one of the profs that destroy your dreams and make your life a nightmare...if you like horrible movies and like to be screwed up, I will give you a piece of advice, try this prof...
Despite what other people seem to be saying, he WILL help you understand SOME of the material. The essay questions are based almost solely on his in-class notes. The multiple choice questions almost always come directly from the study-guide that comes with the text. Prepare for exams and you will do well!
HORRIBLE prof. Teaches in class, expects reading from the textbook and tests on god knows what. The multiple choice on his exam are nowhere to be found in class notes or in the textbook. Very unorganized and lectures very scrambled and not easily understood. No wonder very few students major in economics. Avoid this prof and take Alison Coffin.
This prof sucks. His notes are horrible wiht nothing but graphs graphs and more graphs...making it harder to understand when you go to study. He doesn't give any notes along wiht the graphs just the graphs...i think it is baout time for him to retire!!!!
Ridiculous...It's like trying to learn from a video or TV...He's unbelievebly boring and uses dry examples...Doesn't answer questions very well, lazy, notes are HORRIBLE, only gives a mid term and a final, no assignments!! God help you if you have him!
Exams and notes make NOOOO sense what soever... you have to continously consult outside sources. No matter how much or how hard you study, with this guy, you still feel like you know NOTHING! AVOID, GET COFFIN!
meh, boring but if u go to class and listen you'll do alright, just alright tho
This Prof is horrible!!!...WASIT OF MY LIFE!!...if you get stuck in this class dont go..unless.."in efect" the "beloved government" tells you to....best off reading the book on your own and u will fail if u listen to him...class average for he first mid-term was 48!!!..I'm just sayin...and he plays with the lights every class when he comes in.
Gary Riser is the worst prof I have ever encountered. He is boring, he doesn't write notes (only graphs), his tests are bull and he wears the same outfit everyday! "in effect" he SUCKSSS! Avoid this prof at ALL costs, It will make you hate Economics!
People give him too hard of a time. He is hilarious without even realizing it. He uses heroin as examples to explain theory, awesome.
absolutely terrible. awful notes, boring, makes the course harder then it should be. don't get into his class.
Holding all things constant, "ceterus paribus",.... this man is a complete LOON. Every time i decided to come to class, at the end, i felt like puting my head through a wall. Terrible notes, very boring, and insane tests/exams. If u "in effect" would like to fail horribly you would be, "in effect", making a GREAT decision by choosing this prof!
This guy is actually a fantastic prof. Everyone I knew seemed to had hated him, but if you were able to pay attention in his classes, the tests were easy, and so was the final for that matter. Always willing to help after hours. If you are going to pay attention in class, don't worry at all, you'll do fine. For sure an easy A.
This course was easy as anything. People complain he was a horrible prof, but he was excellent. Seriously, know the major topics, essay questions are blatantly easy to predict, MC are extra easy. Take this course with this prof!
These last two people don't know what they are talking about. I bet they're just doing this for a joke becasue this guy SUCKSSSS Please.. if you have him, Run.. don't walk, RUN away from this course and get another prof! it's too late for us, but save yourselves!
Well, it doesn't matter because he's tenured. I would suggest, going throuhg study guide, and even though his lectures might be boring, go to him after class and explain that you are finding it hard to understand (wish I had)
Horrible prof. I still managed to get my A but it wasn't because of him. If you have to take this professor, be prepared to teach yourself the entire course. Your book will be the only thing that saves your mark in this course, if you study u can pull off a 80 or 90. P.S. He loves to draw graphs, graphs... and more graphs. Read the book!
Wow where do i start..Take this prof and teach yourself the material which is not easy..or fail. Everything he does in class is not even on the exam, i could not believe how useless this man was. And what's up with all the graphs?..god they don't teach you anything, on our 1st midterm the class average was like 32%, and the highest mark was a 71..
His lectures aren't exactly crystal clear. Gary Riser is by no means an idiot, but I think he probably expects too much of his students. He thinks we should comprehend everything he puts in a graph. His notes are nothing like the book because he basically only draws graphs during his lectures. He will help you though if you see him after class.
No Comments
...read the book, his lectures are dreadful and his exams are hard. Class notes are useless. This man was happy when we had a class average of 56% cause it was high... If you study hard from the book high B or low A are quite possible
G. Riser is possibly the worst teacher I have ever had! He is monotonous, bitter and smells so bad. He fiends graphs and draws about 10 per class, which is why his notes suck. We go to class to be taught, but we only end up going home and teaching the course to ourselves. I am failing the course, and I am an A student. I wish this guy would retire!
Worst prof I've ever had. Worst notes, hardest tests, completely useless.
Very bad teacher.... He knows everything about Economics but don't know how to teach it.... when asked where the points came from on a graph he answerd "they come in peoples head", and started on the second graph... stay away from this teacher!!!!11111
Worst teacher ive ever come across, do not take his class....ever
Horrible teacher. Mid term average of 49 and he was laughing. All he does is draw graphs which means nothing when you go to study them. Better off not going to class if you are already in it. His tests are also impossible, even if you read all the chapters and do things in the work book. BEWARE!
Do not take. Attended every class read the book, does not help. The test are really hard, multiple choice, and essay. All he puts down on the board is graphs, no notes. Unless you write down everything he says, the tests are impossible.
if you enjoy life, do not take this course. he made economics absolutely terrible. he actually said the book was useless, and he sucked at answering questions. CAUTION: DO NOT REGISTER FOR THIS PROFESSOR!
This prof is terrible. Do not take any courses by this man. His incompetent teaching methods are completely useless.. Worst prof I've ever had.
HORRIBLE TEACHER. Do not, and i mean do NOT take any of his courses!!! or "in effect" you will fail
Not bad......don't attend classes..read your textbooks and...use the work book.and you should get a B or A....
If you want to waste $300 and fail then list in his classes. BY FAR the worst prof ever. DROP OUT of MUN before you have him as your prof.
I have no idea why He is still on MUN's Payroll!! He does not teach the course, you are responsible to teach it to yourself!!! "In Effect" His notes are Graphs; He Wears the same thing EVERY class, And EVERYTHING is Cetris Parbus!!Get out Before you lose your $ 300 like me!!
Knows his stuff but is very old school and doesn't give any information on the midterm, but for the final he narrows things down.
As a person Riser is a nice enough guy, as a teacher however he is probably one of the worst,if not THE worst, teachers iv ever had.
He was terrible. A nice man, but the "material" he covered in class was useless. The book was never open in class, and I never missed a lecture; however, you were expected to know the contents inside and out if you wanted to be one of the 25% of the class who passed any of his midterms. I do not believe any "A's" were given in his class. Useless.
As a student who is proud of their great grades...I advise you NOT take this course with him online(or in class). SO amazingly unorganized. No focus to his course, too many resources, haven't learned a thing, expects you to study the book,websitse,a manual 7 the WWW. You could study for weeks & still do miserable.Worst experience at MUN.
boring, useless!
This teacher is the worst prof at mun. This is my second time taking the course and he makes you feel like an idiot. I have a 3.5 gpa and this course is the only one that i cannot pass. He does not help you out ,I've emailed him regarding questions many times. DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE WITH G.RISER ! waste of money ,and time!!!!
G.riser is the worst professor at memorial university. completely doesn't know how to teach or help students. If you ever take this course I suggest getting a different prof . class average both times I've taken this course with this teacher distance and in class were low 50's brutal exam and he gives no sample questions total waste of time /money
The fact that this man is paid to "teach" is absolutely infuriating!!!! He does NOTHING except provide a PDF of incomprehensible jibberish that sends you on a wild goose chase in search of supplementary material to make sense of the topic. Assignments are irrelevant to tested material and tested material is ambiguous! AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!
Mr. Riser was the dryest professor I have ever come across. His notes DO NOT help, nor do his so-called "guns and butter", Ceterus Paribus examples. If you value your career as a MUN student, I advise you to avoid this man. Study your book thoroughly. 30-40 paragraph-length multiple choice and 2 essays on the midterm exam, failing class average.
Avoid!! all he does is draw graphs. DRY
Very hard to understand...teaches with graphs...tests on theory...if you do this course read the text top to bottom....or avoid this prof.
He honestly isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be. Going to class helps a lot, but he doesn't give written notes, only graphs, so you need to write down everything he is saying and also draw the graphs, and you should do fine in the course! The course has a very low workload.
gary riser is the worst prof I have ever seen. if you can avoid being taught by him, do so!!!!! HE only talks about charts and graphs.
Worst teacher I've ever had! Can't answer questions, only draws graphs, and is overall extremely confusing. I studied for weeks for the final and failed with a 24! My 3.5 gpa down the drain.
If you have the option to take this distance class, don't. Out of the 50 students to start out, 27 of us are left. Over half of us failed the midterm, and the final was awful. No textbook, just a horribly written manual. (Guess who wrote it!) The art of the paragraph seems lost to this man. One big vague mess! GPA Ruined! But he still gets paid...
Awful course. Completely outdated and sometimes irrelevant information. No text, just a professor-written manual. I've never studied so hard for a terrible mark. It wouldn't be so bad if Riser put forth at least some effort. Failing class average. Unethical that the university takes our money for this course. Third time through, hopefully passed!
I managed to pass, but this course was ridiculous. No text book, and little guidance. We were provided with a poorly written online manual, and told to "Google" many topics. Basically this course was a nightmare. Do whatever you can to avoid this course/teacher.
Took the distance introductory econ course. Read the textbook and his posted notes and you will do well. Exam questions were occasionally broken or hard to understand grammatically. Final exam was long, but his marking was extremely lenient on both the midterm and the final. He definitely gets a worse rap than he deserves.
too old school and boring. take this class with another prof
worst prof of the semester, dosent care about students, just cares about the salary he doesnt deserve, DO NOT TAKE HIM
if clowns like him can get hired, i know i can be a teacher in the future
There is a reason why there is a failing class average. This guy can not teach at all. I regret getting in this class all because of this professor.
His writing is beyond messy just like his teaching style. He makes lectures confusing and does not give good notes. Your better off reading the book.
Good person. Willing to help. A little difficult to understand at times. Sometimes doesn't get to your question posted on the forum for about a week or so. He could brush up on his teaching skills. If he reads this, maybe he would consider online quizzes. It's like homework and would help more than 50 study questions posted 3 weeks before the exam.
I thought he was great compared to other instructors. he actually gave clear answers to questions asked. usually within a few hours. gave a nice list of questions to review for final well in advance.
just hate that extremely ambiguous manual that he made. donno why he refuses to follow the textbook and use a stupid "home-made"material instead.
This is a tough course, but professor was clear on expectations and what would be covered on exams. I did this by distance in winter 2012, which was a challenge as you didn't have the day to day class interaction, but professor was online most days and relatively quick to respond to questions. Exams were as advertised. Important to know your graphs
The notes painful and incomprehensible. Answers provided are not clear.Over all a horrible experience.
Terrible instructor. The course notes are completely useless - they are written for economists, not for introductory students. Painful to read. The exams are really tough (60% class average? Something's not right) and there are no assignments, just exams. Exams focus on small details, not overall concepts, so know the appendices and sidebars well.
Terrible, terrible, terrible course! I've had good experiences with distance courses to date however this course completely lacked structure and organization. There was no textbook and the manual provided was garbage. The material did not adequately prepare you for the exams. No sample problems were provided. Do not take this by distance!!!
Didnt learn anything off the prof, 100% unclear and learned everything from the book. "In terms of".
This is technical course. You are required to arrive at percentages for analysis of some graphs. It will require a lot of your time. Best tip I can provide you is to study the learning objectives for each chapter and carefully analyze the figures (graphs). Dr. Riser is great professor and he promptly answers questions online.
I took Gary Riser's class my first semester at MUN with. Without any exaggeration, he is a terrible teacher. Hardly anything he did in class was on the tests. Tests are long and difficult. In order to pass his class you must teach yourself from the book and study guide and use my econ lab. If you can't study or teach yourself material dont take him
Gary Riser is in no way a good teacher. I have no doubt that he knows what he's at(where he's been at it so long) but he is very unclear in lectures. Instead of pointing out useful tips or giving little side notes, he just keeps drawing graphs. I'm finished his course and can say that I literally did not learn a single thing because of his teaching
I took the online class with him in Winter 2012/2013 and found the course easy and fair for an online course. Read the textbook and do the practice problems in the solutions manual, the midterms/exams are entirely multiple choice and similar to problems in the SM. I found this class quite easy and the Prof ok regardless of what everyone says here.
Horrible. Very monotone, hard to pay attention in class. Does not answer questions effectively, even over email. He beats around the bush and makes you even more confused than before you asked the question.. Exams are painful.
An all around terrible class. Boring, misleading lectures followed up by heavily weighted, difficult exams. Please avoid, under all circumstances, taking his class - you will regret it. I will say, however, that he can be helpful if you catch him in his office hours for some extra clarification (this is imperative because lectures are useless).
1010 would NOT recommend. Also graphs. Lots and lots of graphs. I didn't learn a thing.
Perhaps one of the worst professors out there! He is useless, his lectures don't make sense to anything that will be on your tests! Honestly I would run from his class, never learned a thing! All that was received were graphs... lots and lots of graphs, no actual notes.
Took the course online this semester. Tests are easy, study the study guide. MC answers are right out of that book. Also gives a list of questions to study which are very helpful. He lectures graphs because the ENTIRE course is based on graphs!! There are only a few to learn, easy A if you study! He's a sweet man, willing to help you anytime :)
Horrible. I wish I never took a course with him. All his notes are graphs and doesn't explain anything. His exams are brutal. Would defaintely not recommend him to anyone. He is also VERY boring to listen to.
Biggest waste of money. Worst professor iv ever had. Draws graphs all class and doesn't teach you anything that will be on the exams. Do not recommend.
Gary is so sweet and nice but his methods are terrible. There are so many random graphs on the board and the tests are brutal. The multiple choice is unfair. Two answers can be correct but you have to choose the 'better' one. I barely passed. Get the textbook, it's the only reason I did pass.
I found his explanations to be very clear. I found him to be very helpful in general. Read the textbook. I also found the Study Guide to be important for getting good grades.
Worst prof I've ever seen, can't understand a word he says and all he does is graphs and you have to teach the course to yourself, then his mc are so hard you fail anyway.
Gray was a very difficult marker, didn't post any online lectures and his tests were insanely difficult. I wouldn't recommend him.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
0%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.50 avg changeRatings by Course
INTROTOMICRO
5.0
(1)ECON20103150
4.0
(1)ECON
3.0
(2)ECONOMICS3150
3.0
(1)MACRO2010
3.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ECON2020
5.0
MACRO2010
5.0
ECON2010WWW
5.0
ECO3150
5.0
ECONO002
5.0