1.9
Quality4.7
Difficulty33%
Would Retake89
Reviews33%
Would Retake
89
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
3
4
8
3
16
2
25
1
37
What Students Say
“This class ate my soul”
BIO2900 - 2.0 rating“A lot of information to learn”
BIO1108 - 3.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
68%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
1107
5.0
(1)BIO1010
4.0
(1)BIO1107K
3.3
(3)BIOA
3.0
(1)BIO2900
2.8
(9)Difficulty by Course
2010
5.0
BIO2010
5.0
BIOLOY2010
5.0
PHYCOLOGY
5.0
BIOLOGY2010
5.0
Reviews (89)
If you get stuck in his class go ahead and shoot yourself. You are on own for everything in this class he might as well not be there.
Do not ever take him during summer school, it will be the biggest mistake of your life! He gives way too much material in too little time.
Neinow is a godless monster, his class is the hardest thing imaginable. If it is between this class and being ritually sacraficed.. well you know what to do.
The absolute hardest class known to man. Way too much material in the amount of time given. The tests are the hardest things you do will in college. You will not get an A in this class and you are chosen by God if you get a B.
I had him as a freshman. Use his website notes to pass; the notes on the board are not thorough. Take my advice. Also, for extra credit on test, read ahead on the "special topics" in the book. I don't remember the titles but there like real-world applied science. Good luck.
This was a hard class, but if you study, take notes and ask questions then you will pass. Tests were mulitple choice. The final consisted of questions taken from the other tests. He gave us our tests to study from. He took time after class to help students who needed help.
To think that he would actually tell us that he did not think women belonged in biology. Well Dr. Nienow we will go on to make more money than you ever will in your life time in our Bio1ogy careers. God Bless you!
You have to be extremely smart to get a B. You should avoid him at all cost. Tests seldomly relate to topics in class. Multiple choice-- not a A,B,C,D choice... more of a A-G choices & hard essay questions. He laughs at you if he thinks your question is stupid, very unhelpful. Good luck if you do take him!
He is a good teacher but the class is super hard and you will have to bust you ass and memorize a**** ton of work... NO GOOD
I started out with him in this class when I first came to VSU. He is confusing as hell. I had not a clue as to where he was coming from at all. I say to anyone stay clear of him!
Don't ever take this class at any time. He is unhelpful. His tests are hardly ever over the discussed topics in lecture. For test time, just pray. Don't even dream of getting an "A" unless you are male and already know everything that he is thinking. A horrible Professor and Person.
This teacher = AWFUL. He's SO hard-you have to be a rocket scientist to be able to come out of there with a C. I took this class my 1st semester of my freshman year, and after the 1st test, i dropped it. It's extremely hard-STAY AWAY!
Hard as heck
Avoid this guy. Never take him.
terrible!
I cry everytime I take a test in his class!
OH DEAR GOD>.. help your self! i advise not to take the class really. He is a hardass. VERY MUCH! not that the material is hard to learn or anything, you will find your self devoting ALL your time in and out of the class room to the class. Make sure you get cool lab partners tho! ALSO.. if you can.. get ahold of any test you can! those can help. bU
He si so hard to understand! He goes off into talks about things you will not get tested on on most likely cool care less about. He does not try to make you understand what could possibly be on the tests. I actually had to drop the class. I never terrible or drop so that should scream something! RUUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!!
horrible teacher do NOT take him. what he teaches in class has nothing to do with what are on his test. His test were awful stay away from this man!
over half my lecture class is failing! no one understands n e thing he teaches! What he lectures about has nothing to do with whats on the test.it dont matter how hard i study or how much i get help form tutors...i do horrible on his tests! RUN!!!! i will NEVER take him again!
This ia the WORST class that I have ever taken. Going to lecture is a waste of time. Nothing he talks about in lecture will be on the test. He is not helpful at all, so basically you are on you own. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS!!!!
This teacher is extremely difficult.
I would not recommend taking this class you will devote all your time and effort and still feel as if nothing helps.
HORRIBLE! he does not care about his students at all, no matter how much interest you show. You'll have a better chance of getting hit by lightening than passing HIS class! WARNING: AVOID AVOID AVOID>>
great guy, but his lecture notes for test are kinda sketchy making it unclear for what to study on his tests
ESSAY TESTS....bad teacher..horible notes...dont explain things
He is verrryyyy hard! DO NOT TAKE HIM!!! He is old school and the tests are reallyyy hard...
Horrible. The test are impossible to pass no matter how much you study. Lecture notes are unclear. It is almost impossible to pass.
Good Guy, test are difficult but if you attend lecture and take notes on what he says you'll do fine. notes are not useful if you only write what he writes. doing the explanations on the test allow you to do better on the test. do the outlines and all the labs are easy, they are a real grade saver. This guy really gets you prepared
DONT DO IT YOU WILL FAIL WE ALL DID
So this man told me that college was not for everyone. Well guess what Dr. Nienow- not only did I graduate with honors I got my masters degree in SCIENCE! HORRIBLE CLASS. I literally studied to get an F in the class. He made me feel like I was worthless! I almost dropped out of college because of this man.
Worst teacher alive! He mumbles when he talks and it's impossible to understand what he's saying! Then he gets so excited over his gibberish , that he completely goes off topic. Tests are impossible to pass and the notes don't cover anything on the test. I am utterly amazed that this man still has his job!
Freakin sucks! The test are multiple choice from A thru like..F and then you HAVE to explain the reason why you chose the answer..if you explain it wrong you get the whole question wrong! WTF c'mon somebody fire this man!
Dr. Nienow is a greatss professor. His test are very hard but almost all his material comes from his class notes. He is a challenging professor but in the end his class is extremely helpful later on because he makes sure you know the information. If you don't put your full effort into it you will fail but if you try, study and work for it you won't
I am going for my Masters in Microbiology. DO NOT TAKE THIS HIM. I always made A's and B's in Biology. When i took him I dropped him at mid-terms because I have a 46 F in his class. His test are OUTRAGEOUS and are mostly irrelevant to the notes. Not only that , he is always off topic in lectures. TRUST ME. Unless you were #1 in the class DONT.
Worst teacher ever! do whatever you can to get out of his class. the notes are dumb and they do not even relate to the tests. the tests are basically impossible to pass as well. He gives bad grades for no reason and can't even explain why he gives them.
Avoid at all costs. any teacher would be better then him. He can not teach and tests are ridiculous hard. He doesn't even grade fairly. unless you are the best student ever, you will more than likely fail his class.
The tests are impossible. He sometimes talks extremely fast and you can't understand him. He is not very good at helping you either. An A or B is possible as long as you study weeks in advance for tests.
He know what he is talking about but his tests are extremely hard. His notes online helped the most and if youre taking his class goodluck. it was the hardest class ive ever attempted.
HARDEST class i have ever taken in my life! bio majors changed their major after taking him bc its so incredibly hard! Made less than a 40 on all 4 tests. However, he is helpful for lab. Take notes, read the book, and go to class! he doesn't take roll but without the notes you're screwed. You dont need the book other than to study for tests.
Went into the final with a 61 and somehow came out with a C in the class. The final is all multiple choice. super easy compared to the tests. tests are all short answer and multiple choice and you have to explain your multiple choice answers. if you have him, and are failing before the final, there is hope bc i dont know how the hell i made a C.
It seems like this class is absolutely impossible. I love the subject and the way he teaches but even if you memorize word for word the notes you will still fail. He is incredibly smart but its an absolute waste of time to take this class. No matter how much you study, your grade never goes up.
DON'T DO IT!!! IF YOU WANT TO PASS THIS CLASS, DO NOT TAKE THIS TEACHER!!!!
THIS MAN IS ABSOULTELY INSANE!!!!! HIS TEST HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HE MUMBLES IN CLASS & YES (I SAID MUMBLE) HE IS THE WORST TEACHER IN THE HISTORY OF VSU BIOLOGY! WHEN YOU TRY TO TALK TO HIM HE IS RUDE AF! HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT HIS STUDENTS AT ALL!! IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF AT ALL REFRAIN FROM TAKING HIS CLASS! :)
His test are HARD!! they are all short answers and when we asked him to see the answer key he said its all in his head. Meaning if he think your right then your right. His grading isn't at all accurate. I wouldn't recommend any one to take his class EVER! The lab is the best part but even then he grades hard. Take him at your own risk!
THIS MAN WAS THE HARDEST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD. ALL OUR TEST WERE LONG ANSWER! I HAD TO WRITE A PAGE JUST RECIEVE A FEW POINTS FOR A QUESTION. WHEN YOU GO TO HIS OFFICE TO ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO TO GET BETTER GRADES HE WILL TELL YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR NOTES ARE THOROUGH. THAT SURE HELPS OUT A LOT! REALLY!
Like everyone is saying, his tests are really HARD! i made a 46 on the first one. his lecture notes are very unclear. he is a nice guy, but doesn't explain things very well. Maybe if you are very smart you will pass. I had to drop.
Jesus this guy is a tough one to please. Toughest teacher I've had yet. I could never seem to get much out of the lectures, and the tests are from nothing but that, so. Also his test questions are ridiculous and his style of grading is even worse. No curves on grades either. His class is kicking my ass this semester.
HORRIBLE PROFESSOR!!!!!! h o r r i b l e ! TESTS ARE NOT MEANT FOR YOU TO PASS AT ALL ... DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR AND RUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Do not take his class. I took all of his notes, went online and studied all of his notes, and did all the work possible and ended up failing most of my tests. His tests have material we never talked about,and he blames the students for being confused and failing. He's a nice guy but awful teacher.
The hardest teacher I have ever taken. The only way to pass is to keep up with a detailed lab notebook, and to study the required typed notes inside and out until you can literally write down a summary of the entire units notes which should be about 30-40 typed pages of them, if not your not studying hard enough. class began with 75 ended with 20
This man is the worst professor in the history of professors. He doesn't do a good job teaching and he treats you like a fool when you ask questions. He should be avoided like the plague. NEVER TAKE THIS MAN FOR ANYTHING!!!!!!
This class is extremely difficult. A lot of time has to be devoted into this class otherwise you will not pass. The test were ridiculously hard. They were over a lot of information, and they were all long answer. If you take this make sure you do a lot of studying, and go talk to him about things you don't understand, he's willing to help out.
By far the worst teacher I've had at VSU. He taught the 1107 lab and he was the reason I made a C in the class. All the other lab class averages were in the A's and ours was a 71%. He will not help you out, and expects way to much from a freshman class. His class made me absolutely miserable. Do not recommend him.
By far the worst teacher I've ever taken at VSU. He expects way too much from a freshman lab. I was miserable every single day I walked into his lab. He is not willing to help you much, and he will expect you to know things he literally has not covered in class, and then will not help you with it. Do not take him for anything!!!
Great teacher, gives a lot of info and expects it to be remembered during tests. Challenging labs. No easy grade here but you will learn a lot of accurate information if you apply yourself. One of the best professors at VSU.
Took this professor for my bio 1107 lab class. He is a very nice teacher but explains thing in s very quick and unclear way. He gave a quiz before each lab on the previous lab and the labs are pretty difficult. You either know them or you don't. He is very will to help you with you grade though. Allows You to redo or make up homework assignments.
If you want an easy grade just don't take Dr. Nienow. He is one of the best things about VSU and will take your understanding of science (all fields) farther than you imagine, even for a life long geek. He's hard but fair. His test are word for work from lectures (essay style) and you will leave labs tired. If you want what you paid for, take him.
Hardest class and teacher ever. I believe 2 people out of the whole class made a B. I've heard of 1 person making an A before, but they said he focused all his time on it and really didn't take any other classes. Tests are HARD, LONG, MIND BLOWING. Lectures over so much material it's insane.
Taking this class currently. It's like everyone says, if you have a choice, do not take him. Grades the short answer questions unfairly, is unclear as to what content you should be studying for, and speeds by lecture material. Only positive about this class so far are the labs which are genuinely interesting and fair.
I am not good at Biology, but needed this class. I would go to his office hours for help and he would seem annoyed. He is an okay guy, but way too smart to be a professor. You will spend the majority of your time on this class. It is very rare to get an A, if you're good at biology and understand him B, but C's and D's are more common. STUDY!
This class ate my soul
A lot of information to learn. He doesn't lecture too well so you need to read the book. Review your notes RIGHT AFTER lecture and study at least a week out for exams. Very difficult exams.
I had him for 1107 lab. He is probably the rudest professor I have ever met. You have to majorly suck up to him if you want him to even be decent to you. The lab wasn't hard but he graded those lab notebooks ridiculously hard, so get as detailed as you can possibly get. He gave us two projects, I still have no clue had to came up with our grades.
He is a great teacher. Yes microbiology is a hard class, but if yo put in the effort it is easy to get a good grade in his class. He is caring, and tries to accommodate you if he can. I would definitely take him again, and would recommend him to anyone! He's awesome!
Took his microbiology class and made an A. Class wasn't too difficult because I had a strong biochem background, but I could imagine this being difficult for some. Would def. take his class again.
The pop quizes are not long so its important to be to class on time to have enough time to take it. Will allow you to turn in work to make up incase you missed a lab day. The homework is hard but the teacher is ready to explain if need be! Lab books are important to do labs.
This lab class was pretty difficult because he pushes you to actually know the information for quizzes and tests. The homework assignments were time consuming and hard because he does not explain the material in class but if you go to him personally, he is willing to help. Bring your lab manual to class every lab!!
Worst professor Ive ever taken. Clearly doesnt care if you pass/fail, very rude when asking for help, and loves to make you feel small and stupid. Lectures off PowerPoints that dont do any good for the test, not even sure where he pulls his questions from. Do not take him if you can help it
Honestly, do not take his class!! He is terrible, not caring, and pretty rude overall.
This is probably the worst class ever! Im use to passing everything, I can you tell you now that I have failed every exam he has given. The exams are so unclear and hard to understand what he is asking. He will tell you he gets his questions from the powerpoint and that may be true but not all the questions are from the PowerPoint. NO EASY A!!
This professor was terrible. The assignments are not on the sylbass so you have to keep up with every assignment he posts through blazeview. Due to the Coronavirus, his class was taken online but not the lab which made it extremely difficult. Even if it was in person , I still feel as though it be hard as well. Would not recommend taking this.
I took professor Nienow for Microbiology. He is a good professor and will allow late assignments. His tests are hard and long but his labs are easy and fun to do. He always replies back to emails quickly. The material is a lot and his test are timed so you must know the information and cannot look up all the answers.
During lecture, focus on more of WHAT HE SAYS than what's in the PowerPoint. My class is partially online so he recorded the lectures for us, but I definitely recommend recording them if it does back fully in person. His tests are worded weirdly so you have to critically think. I wouldn't say he's the worst, but he's not the best.
Professor Nienow is challenging to say the least. If you happen to get stuck with him however, DO THE HOMEWORKS. They literally saved me from his IMPOSSIBLE tests. On his tests, he gives 80 questions with a short time to do them. No one ever finishes them. The questions are also nothing like the lectures. Don't let my A fool you. It's HARD.
I would not recommend taking his class. His test have nothing to do with what he teaches in class. If you do get unlucky and have to take him passing the homework is the best thing for you to do to pass the class.
The tests in this course were hard! I often made Cs on the tests. Im the type of student to normally achieve As in subjects but I struggled making a B. Honestly dont choose this professor if you can. If you have to, just make sure you do the homework since that will save your grade some, but you will NEVER know how to study for his exams. AVOID
There was at least 2 homework assignments every week. He gives 75 minute tests that are 75 questions long. How are students supposed to do well on tests when theyre rushing. 10/10 would not recommend!
I would have to say his class is very challenging. Take advantage advantage of all the homework and lab assignments. I studied like 3 hours everyday for his class. I think he is an amazing professor. Visit his office hours, he is willing to help. Rewrite your notes in your own words. Use the textbook for better explanation. Go to tutoring.
I barely learned anything from this class. He is a NICE PERSON, but a terrible professor. He does not give out extra credit and his tests are ridiculously hard. I would not recommend taking him because you will not understand what is going on and will want to drop the class. The highest grade I ever got on an exam was never over a 60.
Although his lectures dont go along with the test; the homework should help. The labs are fairly easy.
Honestly, microbiology is a hard course. A lot of the people complaining on here are upset they didn't put in the extra time to study the material. Getting an A is doable. Professor Nienow is awesome and willing to help, but you must be ready to set aside time to study!!! I loved this class and the labs were fun, but definitely challenging.
I loved this class. He's not the type of professor that you can zone out on and then go back and read the power points. You have to record the lectures and pay attention to what he is saying. I loved the labs theyre are super fun. I made flashcards for every test and I made an A on all of them except the final. The homework and quizzes kept my A
This class is hard as it is. its four times a week, and attendance for lab counts does not include lecture. Lectures do not matter because he literally reads straight from the PowerPoints, doesn't explain his lab exercises clearly, and expects everything to be perfect. gives alot of assignments and grades them as if it were for a job application.
This was the worst teacher/professor in all my 14 years of schooling. He does not take attendance for lectures bc he just reads off his PowerPoints, makes exam questions EXTREMELY difficult, does not give a rat butt's about extra credit, and expects everyone to know every little thing about his slides. DO NOT TAKE HIM! HE SUCKS!!
This was the hardest class ever, too much information in too little time. He talks to his students like they already know what is going on. The test have so much information that we wouldnt know unless we have been studying this for years. The powerpoints require you to add more information onto them so what is he really doing?
AVOID Tests are extremely difficult, expecting you to know every little detail, and dont even bother going to him for help and asking questions he's completely useless and will most likely tell you to look over the powerpoint, which you basically have to fill in yourself. However, I did enjoy the labs, which were the only thing keeping my grade up.
Heck no. Run
I've never left a review for a professor, but this one I will. Take this as your warning: you will fail. It should be a crime and a mandatory refund for all the poor souls that have wasted their time and money on this class. There is no set textbook, only PowerPoints that have no correlation to the exams.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
80%
Textbook Required
68%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.60 avg changeRatings by Course
1107
5.0
(1)BIO1010
4.0
(1)BIO1107K
3.3
(3)BIOA
3.0
(1)BIO2900
2.8
(9)Difficulty by Course
2010
5.0
BIO2010
5.0
BIOLOY2010
5.0
PHYCOLOGY
5.0
BIOLOGY2010
5.0