2.4
Quality3.8
Difficulty34%
Would Retake124
Reviews34%
Would Retake
124
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
17
4
22
3
14
2
27
1
44
What Students Say
“The worst class I have ever taken”
EC314U - 1.0 rating“Nothing can prepare you for his quizzes”
EC314U - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.39 avg changeRatings by Course
MICRO201
5.0
(1)MICRO
5.0
(1)ECONOMICS
5.0
(1)ECO201
4.7
(3)MICROECONOMICS
4.7
(3)Difficulty by Course
314U
5.0
ECON314U
4.7
EC314
4.2
EC314U
4.1
MICRO201
4.0
Reviews (124)
Very fun and outgoing. If you get the top grade on the midterm you get a six-pack of home brewed beer.
teaches very fast,skip on topics,gives examples which are not very clear, in the sense he is very specific & which most people cannot relate to
He has some sort of complex from childhood, he is awful and I suggest avoiding him at all cost
group hw p/np. many tests, and they were hard. Not clear, goes very quickly. approx 1 hour lecture for every chapter.
Loved him. Different sort of teaching and I can see why some dont like him. But I thought it was refreshing. Forced me to learn. Absolutly recommend him
Great teacher, made eco. fun and understandable
he is good professor,makes his classes n lectures interesting,very helpful.
Has a stupid grading system; 20% A, 20% B, 20% C, the rest, screwed. Eventhough I did good, but it's obvious that he does not care about students and their success. Not recommended, but may be impossible to avoid if you have to take ec314.
Woods is definitely a good professor, he made econ. worth learning and can give you passion to persue it. I learned so much from Micro that Maco (diff. teacher) was a breeze, I didn't go, and got a B+ which says something.
Totally recommend having a class with this guy. It was better the second time around, but really first time's cool too. Lesson learned. P.S. Hope you like beer- He does :)
No Comments
Get in this guy's class if you want to learn something. He's always helpful and has a unique approach that keeps you engaged.
He runs through the material so fast that you can't follow and he doesn't spell it out in steps but uses Excel spreadsheets that don't show how he got from A to B to C. Doesn't assign homework from chapters but writes up a few problems of his own and doesn't return it until after the test so you don't know if you are grasping the material or not!
I do not recommend this guy. HE just runs over the material without further discussion.
Jamie is a funny and good guy. His teaching style and the way I learn are different I guess. I'm not a big fan of Econ and got a C in his class, even though I studied and did the homework. He goes pretty fast but is willing to go over things again. The very large class setting doesn't help.
definitely has favorites
His class really isn't that hard. All you have to do is understand money and math. He's very odd and keeps the class very interesting. For those who have complained, they are likely to be students who want to coast through a class but aren't bright enough to figure out how to do that with a course and that requires more than just showing up.
Insinuated that he paid someone $20 and a six pack to have a student beat up.
this teacher is very unclear, scatterbrained, and does not make his class easy to follow. this professor used spreadsheets in class to work through the math in the course. however he let us know we would be unable to use spreadsheets for the tests, and refused to explain the steps of how to complete the problems with a calculator. avoid this prof
Fun professor and I've used what I learned in his class a ton in my job. If you want to understand the value of money over time in your life and work, his class is a must.
Pro: Very good at teaching, though a bit fast (time crunch). Keeps it interesting, likes to get input from us students. Text is clear, notes are even better. Light on homework, realizes that this is a 2ndary class!... Con: None with teacher... Notes: Had first exam, a real clinchers! Grades on a curve. Attendance recommended, not required
Okay instructor. Grades on a curve mostly, doesn't always explain assignments, overall average instructor.
His class is easy to pass, as long as you go to most of the classes you don't even have to study for the tests. The curve is HUGE, a score of 12 out of 25 on the tests is average, about a low B to a high C he said. Basically no homework. Overall would recommend.
He has wonderful energy that actually gets you kind of excited about economics if you really find it boring like myself. Did suprisingly well in his class because I did soooo bad on the tests...I was thankful for the curve although I think maybe he should rethink his exams if so many people do so horrible on them. I recommend him!
Horrible teacher! Lectures are useless and unclear. He is an arrogant, egotistical, self absorbed "you know what". If your signed up for the Knowledge cluster take ANY class BUT his! Wish I would have taken something else ;(
The worst experience I've had in education. AVOID his class if you can. He quickly skims over boilerplate slides, sometimes explicitly identifying the material as boring or too difficult. Unfortunately, he expects you to understand the material (which he hasn't taught) on his scantron exams, which are confusing and contain many mistakes.
The test were tought but he grades on a curve it's an interesting class that is useful
He spend most of the class time jocking ,he is easlly distructed ,nonconsistant professor also he dont change his exam ,all are from the old exam ,his text is completelly useless ,If you have choice i would recommand to take EC314 from other professor ,Even thou I got B- prety much I dont know anything from his class
I took an 8 week summer class with him which was half online. The class moved fast, and if you hadn't gotten the stuff at the beginning you were out of luck. His curves are insane, I didn't buy the book and didn't study much and I got an A in the class. Calculators can do the grunt work of the class like PW and IRR, look for "finance" on your calc.
You need to read your material prior to each class in order to make sense of it all, that should go for any class of course. James teaches you what he thinks you should know, not a bad guy once you get to know him, but he talks much faster than most beginners can keep up with. I could have done so much better, my grade reflects my own efforts.
Very energetic, likable guy who obviously wants to be considered the 'hip teacher'. Unfortunately, you're going to have to teach yourself everything you need to know for this class (which isn't much). It feels a lot like going to a restaurant only to cook and serve your own meal, then plunk down $40 plus tip. Waste of time, effort and money.
I got the impression he made things more confusing on purpose so that he could "save" the class after making us suffer his quizzes. EC314 isn't about the correct answer, it's about whatever assumptions he's made when creating questions and what he feels is correct. Your job is to read his mind. Terrible experience, glad it's over.
Class is "Hybrid" (half online) which adds to its difficulty. Woods is seriously the funniest and most entertaining professor I've ever had. That said, I got almost nothing out of this class. You MUST self-teach before class (lectures consist solely of quizzes). But you get several times to attempt all quizzes, making it quite easy to pass.
Online class that was clearly just slapped together. The tests cover material not covered in the book or "lectures". The tests are full of wrong answers that students have to constantly point out. He refer students with questions to a Wiki (created by students) and is never available. So what are we paying for exactly?
Nice guy, but his material is scattered all over and he seems to delight in BS questions. Materials have lots of errors and he makes math assumptions that I guess fly in Eco, but don't match my experience. Have to have the class, suffer through it.
If you wanna learn ECON he is your guy he gives you so many examples, but not just any examples he gives you good example. Such as; all his examples are about the real world and how ECON is used in everyday life which makes you understand it more. And he writes all you gotta know on the bored and he breaks it down for you to clarify it some more.
I've always loved economics but he makes it a pain. Sure, he gives plenty of examples in class but they are not all helpful in the homework. His homework questions look like they're copied and pasted from a textbook with wording he's never used before. His idea of clarity is repeating the question to you, with no simple explanation.
He himself is a great guy and can make the lectures fun with interesting examples or jokes. BUT as a professor, he does better confusing his class than helping. The lectures don't feel like enough and although it was nice not necessarily needing a book set in stone for this class, having one may have helped.
Pretty much like everyone has already stated. He flies through material, jokes a lot and teases people to no end. Do not take this class if you expect to understand it. The people who are dominating this course right now are in accounting and economics, everyone else is screwed. The online wiki serves as an excuse for him to not teach thoroughly.
The quizzes cover material not covered in the book or lectures. The tests are full of wrong answers that students have to constantly point out. Don't take his class!
If you're thinking about an Econ major this is the 201 you want to take. Woods NOT an easy A. Most of the people who hate him are business majors who want a nice elective. Woods makes a test that are literally the questions in the homework, but the homework isn't easy. To learn the answers you need to go to class. You don't need a text book!
Gets off on picking on students. Teases with option of not taking a final, but doesn't show proof of voting. Don't waste money on a book. Lecture notes and online research is all you need. Homework is fairly easy to do well on, but not because of lecture. Google and Khan more helpful. Final is all homework questions, but graded very hard.
Hybrid class. Wish I would have taken it full time, not because I like the class but because he runs through the material so quickly. Essential questions aren't difficult but very confusing. I'm an accounting major/econ minor and this class doesn't align with anything I have been previously taught. Oversimplified to the point of being wrong.
Took the hybrid class which I totally regret. The content isn't hard, but the way it is set up online is very difficult to understand. If you have to take the class take it in class. I'm an econ major and this class was unnecessarily difficult just the way it was laid out. Every time I do work in this class I wish I dropped this class.
Questions on the quizzes are nothing like what is in the book or in class. He is very long winded and a bit egotistical. Not helpful if you want to meet with him. He screws with you at the end the term by giving the essential questions at the beginning of class instead of the end so don't be late to this useless class! Solutions have lots of typos!
Curriculum is simplified down to the point of confusion. The whole class is based off quizzes to which he makes up the questions and tries to be funny. It results in poor quality questions and my grades suffered. I learned to not question any of his methods as he is GOD! Slow (>week) to respond to email and ignores questions at will.
This class was a huge disappointment. I am very interested in the content, however; this class was unorganized and a complete waste of time. He is completely obsessed with cheating to the point where quizzes are ridiculously hard to understand. The text is mostly useless so you are forced to navigate the class wiki for everything. Disapointing.
If you don't have time to study and review the material do not take this course. James has a very challenging teaching style, don't expect to be able to google the answers to the online quizzes. Take advantage if his office hours to get the most out of the course.
This class was an example of how not to learn anything. The quizzes were arranged in a way that you couldn't know which questions you answered wrong, therefor couldn't fix your mistake...Hell, you couldn't even find out what was right. Worthless teaching on an interesting subject.
I loved him, very enthusiastic and helpful if you ask questions. ATTEND CLASS! If you don't, you will easily get confused. His homework assignments are all conceptual and easy and the only main exam is basically a few of the homework questions again. I learned a lot of economic concepts in his class, not just memorizations.
This class was extremely difficult. When the prof says it takes 2 hours of studying every day, he is serious. When I met up with him, he was extremely helpful and reassuring.
James might be a fine economist, but he's a poor educator. As others have noted, be prepared to have quizzes returned without any idea of what was correct and incorrect. He, a numbers man, justifies this practice with scant, highly questionable evidence of its effectiveness. Poor instruction that isn't worth the investment of time or money.
This class wasn't too hard. Some of the concepts are highly simplified but Woods puts you in a position to succeed as long as you put in the work. I spent around 5 hours a week on this course (outside of class). Use the wikisite that he maintains for this course and watch the videos.
I feel like a lot of the class was less of Woods actually teaching, and more of him trying to prove how smart he was. He came off as pretentious in class, and was not at all helpful during office hours.
Interesting the reviews are so mixed, I thought he was a decent professor (at least for 201). There's about 3 or 4 homework problems a week, test Qs are directly from the homework, so pretty easy. Tough-ish grader, not terrible. Definitely cocky, but he seemed to know the stuff so who cares. I felt I learned the material, so he did his job.
Took Engineering Economics with him. The class itself was confusing, and while he did a decent job teaching, he is not a great educator. He is a very nice person, although he could be condescending. Very helpful during office hours, and if you ask for help. You won't get much out of the class, so be prepared to not really learn anything.
I feel bad for the engineering majors that have to take this course. As a business major I've taken several econ and accounting classes and got mostly A's in them. I have worked much harder in this class than any of those and I'm scraping by with a C.
I have never felt like a teacher cared less about a group of students. this econ class is required for engineers and there was a HUGE jump in difficulty after week 3. your entire grade depends on quizzes, pre and post. he quizzes you BEFORE he lectures on the topic, expecting you to watch his videos and read his wiki which are marginally helpful.
I took 201 from him and had a great time. His grading style is fascinating: instead of points, he graphs the grades in the class and gives the top percentage of people As, a lower percentage Bs, and so on. Homeworks are 2 points possible, 1 for satisfatory completion, 2 for spectacular work, 0 for you flubbed it. Totally removes "almost got an -."
Don't take this class. At first the material seems to be presented in a clear way but when you begin the quizzes, it's like nothing he taught mattered. He's so obsessed with cheating that he makes the questions incomprehensible. Then when the quizzes are done you have no idea what you got wrong, it just gives you you your score.
This class is was very disappointing. James Woods seems very smart but is a very poor teacher. I have a strong real world business background spanning a few decades. I had hoped to learn something, sadly I did not. Expect to invest a lot of time and sadly you will not learn much from him. Return on Investment (ROI) for this class - not good.
The worst class I have ever taken. The test questions are far more difficult than the reading and there is no way to tell what you got wrong. If you want a really difficult class where you learn nothing, this class is perfect for you.
Unfortunately this is a class you need for Engineering majors. Not a class you ever want to take again. You study hard and go over his practice quizzes and many times his testsquizzes don't pertain to what you learned. If you read the book and HIS wiki, you'll still struggle. TEST OUT OF THIS CLASS IS YOU CAN!!
This class has been a terrible experience. The quizzes are poorly worded and very difficult. Even if you read through the book thoroughly and watch all the videos in the course wiki you will still be lost when you take the quizzes. Not only will you be challenged, but you will also learn nothing. Believe me you will get NOTHING out of this class
You will not be graded on your understanding of the concepts. You will be graded on your ability to understand his very poorly worded questions and the not so obvious assumptions he has made. Expect to be constantly confused and frustrated no matter how much you study. Nothing can prepare you for his quizzes. I could not imagine a worse professor.
Jamie was an alright teacher, just because the course wasn't too tough to begin with. He did his best to help the class, but he was easily put off. The weekly assignments weren't hard, but there are a lot of them.
Confusing, book useless. He grades on a curve which means he isn't efficient in giving and receiving the material from students. Most of your work is from ridiculous online quizzes that he doesn't prepare you for, but you have to go to class every time for one of his final exam ?'s. Not accessible person, not good educ. Never again.
The course EC-314U is so convoluted and is made arbitrarily difficult. You read and read and look at the videos and it doesn't relate to the quizzes that make up most of your grade. The subject is really interesting it's a shame there is so much disconnect between quizzes and lectures. If you can take an equivalent course elsewhere, do it.
Ugh this class. Dr. Woods is smart and seems like a good guy. The course is a mess. His lectures don't help at all when it comes to the tri-weekly quizzes. There is too much time in between feedback on assignments to be helpful. This class should be split into two 10 week quarters instead of rushing through the material. Take EC 201 first.
Dr. Woods's grading scheme was fairly ambiguous which caused some anxiety, but the format of the test was really relaxed, Google was available and the time limit was ridiculously relaxed (two hours to answer 8 mostly multiple choice questions). The E.Q.s are fairly easy to pass if you look over his examples and Woods is very accessable
I received a C+ in this class i do not have a econ brain so i was happy to do so. James makes it impossible to fail if you show up and do the work you will get a passing grade. He worked with me a lot and if i would have been better at memorization i would have gotten an A
He expects you to be responsible and honest about the work you do, but if you consistently show up, do the work and still don't understand the material he has a lot of options as far as office hours go. He responds to email on the days that he says he will and overall is a reasonable person. (and wasn't terrible on the eyes either)
Dr. Woods' requires student to take "PRE Quiz" before each week's new material and a "POST Quiz" afterwards. The POST Quizzes are not too difficult, as it covers material from the lecture. The PRE Quizzes, however, always cover material that is completely new to the student. This would be fine if they weren't a part of your grade, but they are.
James Woods is the laziest teacher I've ever seen. The lectures are an absolute waste of time. Asking him any specific questions is a nightmare because he tries to dodge giving an answer, sometimes it seems like he doesn't know what he's talking about. This whole class is a complete mess, there is no structure, it's like a car crash.
Horrible.
This is the worst class i have ever taken in university. He is a poor, unclear teacher and I have a strong background in economics. Quizzes are difficult just for the sake of difficulty and not to actually help you learn. YOU WILL LEARN NOTHING IN THIS CLASS! AVOID!!!!
His wiki site is confusing and doesn't have everything you need, the book is dry and confusing. Each week there's two pre tests for the up coming chapter (you get the better score of the two that you take) and then a week later there's the post. Unfortunately, next weeks pre is due the same time the current post is. You will need extra help
Pretentious, arrogant and condescending. Likes to brag about his "illustrious career" and spends little time actually explaining the material. Engineering econ is a fascinating subject with tons of real-world applications, however this prof is painfully unpleasant, and this class is almost deliberately poorly designed. Would not recommend.
DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS. 1. The course is poorly organized - he created his own wiki that is confusing and outdated. 2. Quizzes are difficult - lots of trick questions, worth 80% of your grade. 3. Limited feedback - on one quiz the class average was 25%, so he accused students of cheating, and then refused to provide help on the difficult topic.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. IT IS WASTE OF MONEY AND WILL NOT LEARN ANYTHING.
A large class with assignments and quizzes online. The lectures were not clear.
You have no other choice but him for EC 314U. All the comments below are legit. Unfortunately for engineers you have no choice but deal with him.
Dr. Woods is a smart economist. That being said, he's a terrible teacher. His lectures are all over the place and if you ask him questions he consistently dodges them or flat out refuses to answer them. His quizzes are a nightmare, almost like he's trying to make you fail. Test averages for the class float around 50%. Worst class I've taken.
As a finance major, I can tell you that the material you learn from this class encompasses all the intro level accounting and finance courses (BA211, 303, and some from FIN 319 and ACTG 381). That being said, it would normally take a BA student 2 full terms to learn the same material and this class (a university study class, ironically) covers all
Best teacher at PSU. Very engaging and really prepares you for the final. The grading system is very different then what you'll be used to as you basically compete against your classmates but it'll make you work hard. Very funny and super energetic guy. I would take his class again
I'm not sure why this class is part of a university studies cluster. Woods said "none of these techniques are useful outside of the PE exam", which was basically a middle finger to those students not on an engineering track. A a finance major, other classes use much easier techniques for similar stuff. Stay away if not an engineer. Awful class.
Professor Woods makes you study a lot. Since this class covers lots of materials, preview well and use his class to review materials. If you study online quizzes and sample exams multiple times, you will do fine for exam.
Tough grader, hands not held but resources are available for you to be successful. This class simplifies problems for the purpose of the engineering exams. Lectures are fast but he's an expert.
Jamie is a great lecturer and he prefaces the class by saying that it is "like drinking from a fire hose" and he is right. There is a tremendous quantity of subject matter to master and you must be overly attentive to survive. Overall it just seems like it is must more difficult that a university studies (no prereq.) course should be.
Avoids answering students questions, structures the class so the majority of the students fail. The quizzes online wont help you with the exams in class.
Checks attendance by giving random pop quizzes in class. He is a very great professor, knows what he's teaching, and has interesting lectures. He does not grade on a traditional scale, but gives grade based on class standing. The content is a lot of math and accounting, tests average 50% because it is hard material but he teaches well.
I was one of the few econ majors in a sea of engineers so maybe I was just more familiar with the material, but I didn't find this course too difficult. I enjoyed Jamie's lectures and examples he would use from his life to illustrate concepts. If you don't know anything about accounting or finance, get familiar with it beforehand.
Attendance is mandatory for the many pop quizzes. Professor Woods is very knowledgeable of the subject but caters to engineering students, as this is a economic engineering course. I would not recommend taking his class if you are an economics major.
Smart guy - not a very good teacher. His 'teaching' style is having confusing information on some slides talking about it for a couple minutes, showing the answer, no explanation on how he got there, and then some long story about he was on a board of some sort and how he is the smartest. I wish I would have checked RMP before taking this class.
Wouldn't take for any intro course with. Speaks with lots of jargon and lecture slides are like refrigerator poetry and not very explanatory, Math problems not practiced or taught in class, but are assigned for homework. Would be better to take with more knowledge in subject area. Nice funny guy, just not the best professor in my opinion.
Great teacher. Clear with everything. Exams are easy.
You'll get a short (2-3 questions) quiz every class, covering previous materials and these quizzes are very helpful to study for midterms and final exam. Professor's handwriting is atrocious and it may be hard to understand new concepts without being able to read what he writes on the board. However, he can answer your question promptly on Slack.
Grades on an extreme curve so its not hard to do well. Still, his method of testing is incredibly confusing. You have to figure out which questions have multiple answers, as theres never a Both A and B are correct option. Doesnt seem to care that his handwriting is illegible and his markers are out of ink. Overall an unnecessary headache.
There is a quiz every class. 2 midterms and a cumulative final, with HW due every Friday. Grades are based on class rank so it is not your average grading system where 90+ is an A etc. That's the only reason I passed his class. He moves fast throughout concepts. His class is designed to weed out slacks and skippers.
Class test scores are relatively low, but bc of the curve students pass. Quizzes every class, if you miss 5 you get a 0 on every assignment after. No sympathy for any excues even if valid. I took him for 201 & 202 bc his tests/ quizzes are similar. If you didn't have him for 201, I don't recommend him for 202, you'll be lost and frustrated.
I took Woods for 201, and things were relatively the same. He started a new thing this term where if you miss 4 quizzes (there's one each class), you fail the course. His quizzes and exams are multiple choice but there may be multiple answers (good luck figuring that out) his slides are a bit confusing. I'd recommend staying for the entire lecture
horrible! don't recommend at all.
all quizzes are repeated in the midterms and final, so those are easy points for you. try to be as good as your classmates and you'll end up with an A or B. amazing teacher, so funny. highly recommend him!!
Says to get the book, but then doesnt follow it at all. Lectures are confusing. Would not recommend.
James is really confusing to follow in lectures and speaks with a lot of jargon. I highly recommend choosing a different professor!!!
Lectures usually consist of recycled jokes and confusing slides. Quizzes every day with purposefully vague wording that doesn't follow the lectures or the textbook. Do yourself a favor. Find a different class to take. Not worth it at all. Huge curve on all tests because everyone is equally lost in the sauce. Nice guy. Terrible professor.
In the beginning it was established that a textbook was needed however, professor woods does not follow the textbook at all. Furthermore his notes are hand written on a tablet and are illegible and unexplained, the was forced to turn to alternative resources (khan academy) to learn what we were being tested on because we weren't learning in class.
James is a great guy and does want you to learn, but the way he teaches is not great. The class its self isn't very hard, but the fact that I learn more from a 20 min vid on youtube than this 1hr and 50 class says something. He got sick like 3 times and canceled class and couldn't move the mid term even though we missed so much. Don't take wit him
-Has a midterm on 2 lectures because he missed 2 -pops the same stupid jokes -likes to laugh and make fun of people a bit too much -Office hours weren't helpful -Only reason I would say to take his class is if you know how to study well you will get a good score, the top 25% in the class all get A's so even if you get a C+ on the test you'll get A
Do not take this class if you're looking for a comprehensible, followable course. James Woods teaching style is scattered, based off of his chicken scratch notes. He will quiz you every single class with 2-3 questions on much harder material than he has presented in class.
Do not take this class if you're looking for a comprehensible, followable course. Professor Woods teaching style is very disorganized, based on his teaching style and his ineligible notes. He will quiz you every single class with a few questions on much harder material than he has presented in class. You would just be wasting your time.
My previous review of Jamie Woods was really negative. But, as I've gotten older, I've realized he really was preparing us for the harder classes in our junior and senior years. He preached good habits like good attendance and studying every day. ngl he really prepped me for my higher-level quant classes so please respect this man. he's memorable
Despite the majority of opinions here, I enjoyed prof woods. His writing is terrible and he moves quickly but hes willing to help if youre willing to engage/ask questions. If you dont study or dont know how to study, this class isnt for you. Studying the chapters before the lecture helps tremendously. And ASK QUESTIONS during lectures!
I was kind've taken aback when I came to these reviews expecting better. I really like professor Woods teaching and grading scale. To be honest, I did not do much reading at all because this class isn't important for my future, but I was able to learn more than what I expected by attending class. If you attend class it should be easy to get an A
I took the online microeconomics class. There are no tests. Your grade is based on the number of modules you pass on the textbook/homework website, achieve. You can pass them with a lower grade if you attend class. Jamie is also a very nice and wholesome person and I enjoyed his lectures. I highly recommend this class and professor!
James Woods was not good at explaining anything. He would go off topic frequently and call out people for no reason. He does not care if you have other responsibilities outside of school, it took him hours to respond to many students' messages about homework assignments, and then would blame us for not turning in work with a rude attitude.
Prof. Woods was my professor for EC201 until he had to drop out due to being sick during week 6 (fall term). He is a very good professor. He never gave us quizzes or a midterm. He is very tech savvy, used slack to communicate. We used pear deck in class and all the slides were very detailed. He also explained things well. He also had a zoom option.
He's smart, funny, and does care about teaching however he's the worst instructor I've ever had. Extremely unclear on what is due and when. His deadlines are useless since he makes them weeks after they're actually due. All the assignments are timed tests and the class is horribly structured.
Energy Econ class. -Term paper (15 pages, the only thing he really cares about). -Textbook (dry AF) -Group work where you rank who contributed the most. -midterms/final -Cancels class every other day -communcation sucks -cant follow his own deadlines Woods is a likeable person but is not suited to be a professor at all. Avoid this class/prof
EC438 Energy Econ: Professor had to take leave halfway through term, however the things discussed beforehand were enough to help me land a job in the energy industry. The energy industry is a bit of a different game. If you're interested in a career in any part of the energy industry, his class is invaluable. Most schools don't have this option.
Great professor! He does a good job of engaging students in class discussions while also not putting them on the spot to speak in front of the entire class. The grade you get greatly depends on how much of the online homework you complete and how many class discussions you engage in. He is also flexible with emergencies as long as you communicate.
Professor Woods had some organizational issues, but the content covered in this energy economics class was still valuable. Using Unstuck AI and the free textbook helped me stay on top of the workload.
Pros: Likable guy. Relatively enjoyable lectures. Cons: The class setup in canvas was messy and unorganized. Didn't respond to ANY of my emails. Got extremely behind on grading and always made excuses for it. Uses his own weird confusing grading system, I've never seen anything like it. I didn't know what my grade was most of the term.
This is the most time I have ever spent on homework in my life. The assignments are difficult, but you WILL learn the material. His lectures are engaging and he is very funny, but he has little lenience for life circumstances. His assignments are consistent and instructions are clear. Mostly Khan Academy and ChatGPT but still very difficult.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
71%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.39 avg changeRatings by Course
MICRO201
5.0
(1)MICRO
5.0
(1)ECONOMICS
5.0
(1)ECO201
4.7
(3)MICROECONOMICS
4.7
(3)Difficulty by Course
314U
5.0
ECON314U
4.7
EC314
4.2
EC314U
4.1
MICRO201
4.0