Boring subject. Very high school. Stark is a nice nerd. I kind of felt bad for him sometimes. He's a bit of a pushover. But it's an easy A if you go to every class and takes notes. It's tough to do that, though, cause he NEVER takes attendance.

The class was better than what i had expected. The material is a bit difficult so you will need to study and attend classes since most of the material comes from lectures. Exams are worth only 50% of the grade and open book quizzes make up the other 50%, plus extra credit. He's a nice guy. I recommend taking Bio with him for your NS requirement!!

What a great guy. Took this course to fill NS requirement. He made it as fun and painless as 2.5 hours of bio can be. Highly recommend him. Completely fair, plenty of extra credit opportunity.

This class was easy, if you came to lecture and took notes. There are only two exams, but a quiz every week online. The quizzes are easy if you were at the last week's class, and they help your grade immensely, since being online they're open notes/book. He doesn't go super into detail, so if you're not a huge fan of science you'll survive!

Prof Stark is a great guy. His class is challenging if you have never taken BIO. Take notes, study, and prepare for online quizzes, midterm, and final (mutliple choice). Prof Stark is very fair if you put the work into his class and seehis assistance. Do not take his evening sections(too long and BIO can be boring when you are tired). I got an A

His class is easy IF you study! It is important that you take notes. Some tests will be based almost exclusively on the lectures. The book will be of little use in those cases. In all other cases, go through the study guide he gives and make note cards from it. It'll guarantee you an A. Overall, he's a really awesome professor! Clear and reasonable

This class was a piece of cake. He was a really nice professor and gave students numerous opportunities to do well in class. Just coming to class was 10% of your grade. Online quizzes were worth another 30% (you could use books, notes, the internet) -- Very easy Gen. Ed. class, take it to get the natural science requirement out of the way

excellent teacher - nice guy, humble, cares about making sure students are engaged with and understand the material. Great first bio class experience.

He is the easiest teacher that I have ever had. The trick to getting an easy A+ in his class is to pay attention during lectures and take notes you should be fine. Whatever he tells you is on the test is on the test. Only study what is on his review guides for the test. In the textbook only go over what he tells you.

This class was difficult if you've never taken Bio before. The average grade on one of the tests (out of about 400 students) was a 40%. He's a nice guy, but the tests are very in depth. Don't take this class if you are taking it as an elective because its very time consuming.

Very friendly and easy to talk to! Tests are always multiple choice including final.

Very intersting class and challenging. Tests are all multiple choice due to the size of the class, but still hard, so STUDY! :)

Had him for bio 111 and currently have him for bio 112, and can say he's one of the most pleasant teachers I had so far. He's very clear and does not diverge too far away from material in the book. Tests are all multiple choice and quite easy to prepare for. Just take all the notes he does in lecture and use the book and the study guide.

Starks is a veryy good teacher. I had him for bio 111 & bio 112. He is easy as long as you take notes and draw his diagrams. They really help. He givs study guides before test it really helps.One time there was a test and if you just studied the study guide u could of pass. He SCALES!! big time scaler too he rlly wants pple to do good!!

Excellent professor! Take notes, pay attention in class, and you will do really well, and will LEARN. One of the best lecturers I have encountered. Extremely clear. Do not miss his lectures. Test EXACTLY what was in the lecture. Easy A is you make a little effort. Great prof!

Most of his notes are written, so attending lectures is important. Very easy to get lost during his lecture due to such a large auditorium and his quirky pace. I did learn a lot, but it was a challenge to stay alert during his lecture. Clicker questions were fun.

Great professor! If you go to class and pay attention you will do well on the tests and learn a lot. Not to mention he's a really nice guy.

Professor Stark is one the nicest professors you'll ever meet at UMB! Gives out study guides, exams are straight forward and will help you if needed, however Lectures are written (horrible hand writing so that's a down fall) so attending classes is important to generally get all the material needed. Overall, study! you'll be fine. :)

He's a really nice human being and a great professor. If you go to class regularly then you won't have much work to do to have high grade in exams. If not, he has study guides which are very clear and helpful (though he does take attendance by clicker, 5% of class grade). At the end I've learnt a lot from the course.

Professor Stark is the most kind UMB Professor out there. He wants his students to succeed in class. Those who do not put in an effort, will lose out. Three multiple choice exams and he drops the lowest grade. Online quizzes are easy as the answers are within your notes.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.USES ICLICKER FOR ATTENDANCE 5% OF GRADE.USES BLACKBOARD TO POST STUDY GUIDES,FACT SHEETS, SLIDES,&COMMUNICATE W/STUs.WKLY OPEN BK QUIZZES ON BLACKBOARD,BEST 6/13.3 MULT CHOICE EXAMS, DROPS LOWEST.MUST TAKE FINAL, IS CUMM.DON'T USE TEXT BK MUCH.EXAMS ?S DIRECTLY FROM NOTES.SCALES EXAMS.VERY FAIR.EASY &INFORMATIVE CLASS.

Loved this class. Professor is very clear and his test reviews are really helpful. I learned a lot. Highly recommended!

This was one of my favorite classes. The professor is very passionate and enthusiastic about plants, which makes his lectures more interesting. He is open to helping students. He curves the exams and his slides aren't very helpful unless you attend class. I would take another class if he was teaching it.

Extremly nice guy, you can tell he cares about the topic.Fact sheets online will give you all the answers for online quizzes/good way to study. Attendance not needed, I got an A without the textbook.Tests are kinda difficult but lowest is dropped, he does everything through blackboard and replies to emails in a decent timeframe.

Don't listen to reviews that say this guy is a bad teacher. Some of the material can be difficult, but he does an excellent job at breaking things down and making them as simple and understandable as possible. Exams are hard but scaled, study guides and lecture slides available online. Come to class, listen and take notes and you'll be fine.

Honestly he is a great professor! everything is literally spelled out for you in the lecture fact sheets---he doesn't just give STUDY GUIDE and leave you to find the answers yourself…You can tell he loves the subject and he is really into it. Best Nutrition professor…LOVED THIS CLASS

He's knows his subject matter. I loved the class and he writes up study guides for exams and the final. Weekly quizzes but easy. If you put in a little work, you'll do well.

AMAZING prof! Always wants to help students, always gives the most opportunities he can, and on top of it all, he's REALLY easy to understand and really understands that NOT everyone taking this class is a bio major, and makes it really easy to understand for everyone. Take this class with him!!!

I had professor Stark for a lecture so I don't know him personally. He seems very nice and his lectures are co-taught by someone else. He teaches the plant side of Biology and someone else does the animal side. His tests are pretty tough and not given very often so make sure to study. It was generously scaled though so it's not that bad. Recommend.

Be prepared to take a lot of notes. He teaches a big lecture hall and talks for all of the class period. But he's charismatic and if you ask for help, he will definitely give it to you. Exams are wicked easy if you review you notes and the fact sheets he provides as a summary for each topic. I would say attendance is mandatory for the notes.

This was a good class. It was boring and it was sometimes hard to pay attention to him, but he knows his stuff. Posts notes after classes and use the fact sheets to study. The closer you sit in the front of the class the more you will get out of it and not get distracted. Attendance was not necessary. DONT BUY THE BOOK YOU DONT NEED IT!!!

I stopped going to class after the first exam. attendance isn't mandatory, notes are pointless. he gives us all the study guides and fact sheets that are 100% useful for the exam! his exams are straight forward and not hard at all, he is incredibly nice but extremely boring, definitely take him if you want an easy A; oh ya DONT BUY THE BOOK

He's a great guy and easy to communicate with. The topic itself is boring in 112, and it's very hard to pay attention to him. Scales all tests, so should be able to pass if you put in the effort. Great guy, just an extremely boring class.

Prof Stark is a good professor, because he knows that some students are taking the Intro to Nutrition class only because they have to. He gives out fact sheets for every chapter & gives out study guides for every exam. 3 Exams, a Final Exam, Quizzes every week on Blackboard, and he gives out extra credit quizzesopportunities. Would take again!

A class I took for my general requirements, the class got much better towards the end. Professor Stark is very helpful and makes things clear, organized as well.

I took this class for credit and although at the beginning it seemed like I was taking an intro to biochem, the lectures improved later on. He is clear and makes sure you get useful study guides. I don't recommend anyone to buy the book, I did not touch it once and I did well on the class.

Professor Stark is really understanding and cares a lot about his students. His lectures can be boring at times and u might zone out, but his topic outlines are very detailed and helpful(STUDY THE OUTLINE AND YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY GET AN A, the textbook is unnecessary). Also, he's always willing to clarify points and answer questions.

Easy to understand. First exam is clear and straightforward if you read his notes, slides and outline he posted. Answers your emails pretty quick. Biology is easy to understand if he's your professor - you'll just have to listen and don't take advantage of the non mandate attendance

He gives extremely detailed outlines after every lecture so you don't need to buy the textbook. In my opinion, his tests really weren't that difficult, & I didn't own the textbook & only showed up to class when there was a test. I only studied his lecture outlines for tests & did well on them. He gives about 15-17 points extra on tests which helps.

He clearly loves the subject and provides multiple avenues for learning- video, audio, text. Class is not mandatory and all his lectures are filmed. His tests are multiple choice and are fairly easy *if you understand the material*. I found watching the lectures, taking notes and copying over his outlines enough to ace his tests. Labs are fun.

No attendance or homework He scales his tests and drop the lowest one out of three. Just had finals and it's good. No problems with him at all since he records his lectures and he pretty much writes our notes for us since he got study outlines which is the main source of all his tests. Seriously he doesn't require anything at all but do your part!

Very nice, don't even have to show up because he records all of his lecture. He is very friendly, if you understand what he is teaching you will be fine

He seems really passionate and knowledgeable about science. The class is pretty easy to pass if you do the quizzes and don't skip lectures, but if you must, watch the lectures online, everything on his test are pulled from his lectures (lecture notes).

No need to go to class I just watch the recorded class since the first day but I still got an A. No need for extra credit because he scales his exams (2 best scores out of 3 will count). Even his final exam grade is scaled just have to study that's about it otherwise it's your own fault not his

Absolutely incredible lecturer: I had a ton of fun in this class just from listening. Very exam heavy, but he tells you everything that will be on the exam both in lecture and in his study guide. Very brilliant professor. As long as you take good notes in lecture and use the study guides he posts online, you'll be fine.

Stark is an awesome professor. He cares a lot about people passing his class. His exams are very important. There are three and the lowest one will be dropped along with a final exam. He records all of his lectures, posts all of his slideshows and handwritten notes on blackboard. Read the book! It helped me maintain an A for the entire course.

Prof Stark wants you to learn and will share his knowledge throughout the semester. BEST NUTRITION class I have been! He records his lectures and already wrote a topic outline for our class to study. No surprises in the exams since it is all written in the topic outline. I will take him again in biology classes. He knows the book is expensive.

Professor Stark is so kind, funny, and quirky. He really cares about what he teaches, and he's very clear in his lectures too. He also posts all his lectures online alone with topic outlines that have his lecture notes. Study those topic outlines and you'll be okay! He also doesn't take attendance (which is a BLESSING) and he's very considerate.

You learn a lot in his class but he puts everything online and if you have questions he is available for help its an easy a if you pay attention and study his outlines

This class is extremely easy if you read over his lecture outlines and study guides. He does not require attendance, which is a blessing because he can be boring. Overall, very nice guy and understanding. The exams are scaled, depending on the bell curve. Side note: I am a Biology Major but this class is simplified as it can be; so do not worry.

Don't get the textbook! You really don't need it with him, I didn't use mine at all. He gives topic outlines and study guides. All the information you need to know for the exams and the quizzes are on the topic outlines (with the extra credit questions coming from side readings that he gives). It was an easy A if you actually read the outlines.

He gives clear outlines of all his lectures and he gives study guides. Those are the only things you need for an easy A. Don't need the textbook. Just make sure you actually read and STUDY the lecture outlines!!! All the info for quizzes and tests are on there. 25% quizzes, 50% exams (best 2 of 3), and 25% final exam.

Great professor. his lectures are recorded. 3 exams (drop the lowest) and 1 final. all his exams multiple choice about what is covered in lecture. No homework! easy, clear lectures. if you did not understand anything, you can go to his office and he is ready to lecture the whole class again! respond on emails and accessible anytime you need him.

Prof. Stark gives all the resources possible to help students succeed! He has great outlines posted. He records all of his lectures. And even though his exams are pretty difficult, he gives students a lot of help by scaling the grades, and by dropping the lowest exam grade. Online weekly quizzes account for one exam. Would take him again for sure!

I personally loved professor stark. he is so sweet. You do not have go to lecture. 2/3 exams one gets dropped. READ THE TOPIC OUTLINES that is all you need to pass the class. the quizzes are posted on blackboard answers can be found int topic outlines or on chegg!!

This class is relatively easy in nature. I personally am an A student but somehow got a B in this class. Could not score above an 80 (without the scale). He does scale very generously though!! So you would not have to worry too much about failing. All you need to do is come to class/watch lectures. Don't buy the book.

Absolutely great teacher. Don't have to attend class he records it but I would recommend attending lecture and taking notes. A six question quiz every week thats easy if you paid attention. Three 50 question tests and your lowest score is dropped. Study his topic outlines and you'll be fine. He gives you everything you need to be successful.

Taking plant life 328/329 during COVID times so its all online. Prof Stark went above and beyond did more then any other professor I had this semester. He had a guest speaker online. He had all lectures recorded on blackboard for us. Gave us generous time window to take test. Really good guy. Would recommend prof to anyone. He is the man.

Just finished up Plant Life and can honestly say its my favorite class and Prof Stark is one of the best professors I've ever had. His lectures are informative and easy to follow, and he prepares detailed study guides, though exams online are open book. Answers all emails in a timely fashion and treats everyone with respect. Very nice person.

Took this class to fulfill my natural sciences requirement and I learned ALOT from this professor. His lectures show his years of experience and he has learned to pace his lectures to cover all his topics by the end of the last week. Each week he posts these amazing topic outline that summarizes the lectures. Read those and attend lectures for an A

Professor Stark was amazing. His experience showed in his lectures. His quizzes are not that hard, but his tests are hard. You definitely should study from the lecture slides and notes. Highly encourage you to rewatch his lectures and definitely revisit his lecture slides. Love him, but I wish I could have paid more attention toward tests and final

He made the material very easy and fun to understand. I am not so good at Nutrition, but I got an A. I never used the books all his exams are based off lectures so as long as you go to them you'll do fine.

For Nutrition, you do not need to attend class. He does post participation but gives you 24 hours to complete it and post the lectures on blackboard. Just read the note outline and you will pass all the quizzes and the exams. He drops the lowest quiz and exam grade.

All class material is made accessible via Blackboard, so attendance isn't mandatory. He gives you everything you need to know for the exams-- lecture recordings, lecture slides, lecture outlines, and study guides for each exam. He's really knowledgable on the material he teaches, and actually cares for his students to do well.

Professor Stark is super nice and his class is an easy A. The lectures can sometimes be boring, but as long as you take notes, you'll pass. He doesn't take attendance and also don't buy the textbook, he says you need it but I literally never used it. 3 exams are open note and he drops the lowest one. Final was not hard, it was also open note.

Test once every week, 3 exams, as long as you pay attention to the lectures, youll pass the class

Professor Stark delivered his lectures with passion and knowledge about nutritional science. I was looking forward to taking this course because I LOVE food. His weekly quizzes and exams were very simple with multiple choice up on Blackboard. Also, he gave me tips of how to study for upcoming quizzes and exams. Overall, I highly recommend him!

The class was big so I got no one on one, but he answered all questions in class and was attentive to students outside of class. Honestly, just do the quizzes and the tests, get above a B on all and youll be fine. You dont even have to attend.

Very easy class. Tests and quizzes are online with notes that are posted on Blackboard. You can literally not go to class and still get an A.

James is the sweetest, most kind professor you could ever have. He truly loves what he does, and it shows through how he treats his students. Lectures are not mandatory, but they are very enjoyable. Weekly online quizzes that are very manageable, and monthly online exams. I HIGHLY recommend Professor Stark.

Professor Stark is amazing, he is so kind & enthusiastic about plant biology. He is happy to help students and has an abundance of knowledge on everything plant biology. Lab was very enjoyable mounting plants & a few times we went on walks around campus talking about plants and ecology. He makes my heart happy, he is so wholesome 10/10 I love him

Professor Stark is the most caring professor ever. He doesn't want you to fail and will help you the best he can and reach out to you. He is very passionate about Nutrition and if you can't make lecture, he will have resources available to you on Blackboard. Truly a one of a kind professor and person.

Professor Stark was really kind, knowledgeable, and easygoing in class. Lectures are based on his own slides that he goes through and discusses thoroughly, making sure everyone understands. Only a weekly quiz, a few simple multiple choice. Exams were online and are exactly what he taught. Would definitely recommend!

He was very flexible and accommodating. Interesting lectures and a clear passion for the subject. His grading and tests were very reasonable and the class wasn't very stressful. As long as you do the work you should be fine. I would definitely take it again. The textbook is helpful but not really necessary if you don't want to break the bank.

One of the best professors. HIs teaching is very clear and everything is very straightforward. Quizzes and exams are all based on lectures.

If you want to learn nutrition, he will teach you nutrition. His exams are not hard at all if you study the quizzes. You can tell that he is passionate about his lectures.

This guy is the man, would recommend this class

The professor is a very nice man, and my section was a rowdy bunch, however, he relies heavily on the presentations and it's annoying. And he can be quite monotone. I would still say take the class though because he does a great job at explaining things.

Cares about his students. Very passionate about his work and will allow you to be flexible. Do not take to just get an easy a, but definitely recommend his class just due to his passion for teaching and his class demeanor/abilities.

As long as you pay attention to the lectures and take notes you will be fine. He records all the lectures so you don't have to go to class, but I would suggest going. The quizzes and tests were online and open note. Overall he gave great lectures. He is very caring and super super helpful. I Would highly recommend him!

This class is a low maintenance class. The quizzes which you are able to take multiple times, are a great way to earn and prepare for the exams. The exams are all take home and based on lecture and quizzes. Lots of information but great class

Don't worry about textbooks - quizzes are easy and can be re-taken, exams are also super easy. All of them are online and you can just be open-book. The lectures are fine but honestly most people don't go and still get a B+ and up. There ARE like in-class polls but it's not mandatory. Super easy class, super nice prof.

so easy, you can take the quizzes again and again and the test is the same exact questions as the quiz. Nice guy and you can tell he is passionate about this subject.

Professor Stark is amazing. This class is an easy A in my opinion. You can do it completely remote if you choose to; including the final. The only homework given is a quiz at the end of each week, which he gives you a week to complete with unlimited retakes (only about 10 multiple choice questions each). All quizzes and exams are open book.

Super manageable course. Professor Stark gives amazing lectures, if you go to his lectures or even readd his presentations, you'll definitely succeed

Extremely easy class, I only attended the first lecture and afterwards just looked over the slides before the online exams, which were all open note.

He's a very kind professor and the majority of the materials will be on the tests/quizzes. As long as you put in the work, the class is an easy A. The only thing is that sometimes he'll go off of his agenda and forget some information that will be important for the test/quiz, but you will still get an A regardless.

Honestly one of the nicest professors I have had in such a big class. Not a lot of people show up for the lectures, but they're helpful. There are only 4 exams, and if you pay attention and do the retrieval quizzes (assigned once a week) online, the exams will be doable.

loved him, he is very into what he does & one of the nicest profs i've had. graded on 3 exams &a final (and lab). exams avgs not that high w/ 50 multiple choice. would recommend the lab as it isnt too hard and had a semester long plant collection project which was simple (but he doesnt grade lab until the end).

Prof. Stark's BIO108 is a manageable course with great lectures. The open-book quizzes and exams make it an easy A. unstuck ai was also helpful for prep.

Prof Stark is one of the nicest professors I've had. He's caring and loves what he teaches. He's flexible and helpful. If you don't like late classes, don't take his evening class because you can get very sleepy during lecture hearing his voice (it's almost like asmr). Content can be interesting, sometimes a bit mundane. Overall, Stark is awesome!

Tests are easy if you just keep up with the lectures. There are no trick questions on the tests. Very nice professor. Enjoyable lectures. Would take again. Records his lectures and posts them online if you're unable to make the class you can just watch the lecture and catch up.