2.7

Jane Friesen

Economics - Simon Fraser University

2.7
Quality
3.2
Difficulty
55%
Would Retake
95
Reviews
2.7
Quality
3.2
Difficulty
2.6
Helpful
2.8
Clarity

55%

Would Retake

95

Reviews

Rating Distribution
Official

5

14

4

19

3

18

2

23

1

21

What Students Say

She is a nice person with terrible terrible teaching

ECON381 - 1.0 rating

1/3 of the class failed on the midterm

ECON381 - 3.0 rating
Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

55%

Textbook Required

50%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
A+ (2)
Not sure yet (2)
Rather_Not_Say (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(2)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(2)
Based on 12 reported grades
A+: 2
Not sure yet: 2
Rather_Not_Say: 1
B-: 1
Common Tags
Caring (3)
Inspirational (2)
Amazing lectures (2)
Gives good feedback (2)
Graded by few things (2)
Participation matters (2)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
Accessible outside class (1)
Rating Trend

Improving

+0.90 avg change
Nov
May
Aug
Oct
Aug
Jun
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ECON435

5.0

(2)

ECON280

3.7

(7)

BUEC280

3.2

(5)

ECON381

3.1

(23)

ECON103

2.5

(55)
+3 more courses
Difficulty by Course

BUEC280

3.6

ECON435

3.5

ECON381

3.3

ECON103

3.2

ECON101

3.0

Reviews (95)
3.0
3.0
ECON103
Nov 4, 2002

No Comments

2.0
3.0
ECON101
Nov 6, 2002

Jane Friesen does not understand anything about economics but thinks she does.

3.0
3.0
ECON381
Nov 25, 2002

she is very very very lazy

3.0
3.0
ECON381
Dec 23, 2002

No Comments

1.0
3.0
ECON103
Jan 31, 2003

Makes the course confusing

4.0
3.0
ECON103
Feb 26, 2003

No Comments

3.0
2.0
ECON103
Feb 27, 2003

kinda weird.. yells stuff to entertain herself cuz she's bored in lecture

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 4, 2003

No Comments

1.0
3.0
ECONS103
Mar 6, 2003

No Comments

2.0
4.0
ECON103
Mar 9, 2003

TEACHES THE CLASS AS IF SHE IS TEACHING AN ELEMENTARY CLASS. NEEDS TO FOCUS MORE ON THE MATERIAL, AND LESS ON KICKING STUDENTS OUT!!!

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 11, 2003

No Comments

2.0
2.0
ECON103
Mar 13, 2003

No Comments

1.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 17, 2003

No Comments

3.0
4.0
ECON103
Mar 20, 2003

No Comments

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 22, 2003

She doesn't know what she is talking about

3.0
1.0
ECON103
Mar 23, 2003

She's an easy prof, but somewhat she makes teaching some econ concepts confusing.

3.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 25, 2003

She is MOODY and midterm was ok. She does not respond to emails but notes are helpful. I suggest u read the textbook cuz the textbook is very very very well written.

5.0
3.0
ECON103
Apr 2, 2003

No Comments

1.0
3.0
ECON103
Apr 8, 2003

No Comments

1.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 11, 2003

Ridiculous final, because she made her midterm too easy. Very inexperienced professor that is not fit to be a university prof.

1.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 12, 2003

No Comments

1.0
5.0
ECON103
Apr 12, 2003

SUPER hard stupid final!!!!!!! She should scale up!

5.0
2.0
ECON103
Apr 14, 2003

Not toooo bad, but final was significantly more difficult than midterm. She is very lazy and moody. Read text if you expect to do well. Bring multi colored pens for she will go mental on graphs. Overall not bad, try P. Kennedy :((

2.0
2.0
ECON103
Apr 25, 2003

the course material is easy so i guess she has to be mean and scale everyone down anyway she can

2.0
1.0
ECON103
Apr 27, 2003

Microeconomics is one of the easiest courses one can take in university. Unfortunately, this professor makes it overly complicated. Just read the textbook and attend the lectures when you feel like it.

1.0
5.0
ECON103
Apr 30, 2003

sigh.. she is super super moody. The only thing that she does is to confuse student. BAD prof.

1.0
5.0
ECON103
May 2, 2003

too easy midterm. Final is quite hard.

2.0
2.0
ECON103
May 8, 2003

Very poor teaching and a bad prof. Burns ppl on the final by making the midterm easy.

2.0
2.0
ECON103
Jun 5, 2003

Very bad lecturer. Her notes are a mess. Very quirky person. Otherwise fairly easy course.

1.0
2.0
ECON103
Jul 2, 2003

Very annoying person.

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Aug 11, 2003

the final is a nightmare, my grade drop from B+ before the final to C+ after the final. and she teaches too fast.

1.0
3.0
ECON103
Oct 31, 2003

Inimaginably bad. She know nothing about economics.

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Nov 29, 2003

She is NOT cool at all. Sure, she can make some shows during the lecture. But what she taught was not informative.

4.0
1.0
ECON103
Dec 10, 2003

I don't know what all you people are talking about. Found she was a good instructor. YOu just have to be a critical thinker and figure things out for yourself. Found to final quite fair, and it actually moved my mark up

4.0
2.0
ECON381
Dec 21, 2003

This class was one of the more interesting courses that I have taken as a econ major. I dont know why all the poor ratings below, maybe because econ is new to you. I thought she was a good prof. You just need to study the class notes.

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Feb 18, 2004

This woman encourages dancing, singing, cheerleading, throwing paper plans, and stripping in class! She does this persuade students to be nice to her during course evaluation. If she wants to be a full professor, she should just publish more!!

4.0
2.0
ECON381
Mar 12, 2004

i think this is one of the easiest upper level course in econ...and it was really interesting too!

3.0
3.0
ECON103
Mar 18, 2004

boring, and could use an attitude adjustment, but sometimes is clear on what she wants to teach

2.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 2, 2004

I have far more pleasure watching paint dry than sitting in one of her boring lectures. She constantly complains about noise in class, and has an incredibly annoying voice. Horrible experience.

4.0
2.0
ECON103
Apr 8, 2004

I think she's an excellent instructor and projects the course material well in lecture. Her tests are not always easy, but at least she is making an effort to scale where necessary. A good prof!

2.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 12, 2004

Frequently flawed test questions and lecture notes. Unprepared at times + Temperamental all the time!

4.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 15, 2004

Very hard; but she tried her best in trying to scale the marks to a reasonable marks for the students.

2.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 16, 2004

Let me just say, she's a horrible prof. Her exam questions are muffled by her own personal opinion and often can be answered in more ways than given credit for. Even if you know the course to a T, you still can't be guaranteed a good mark.

1.0
5.0
ECON103
Apr 19, 2004

Terrible teacher - her test material is totally different than her lecture/textbook material.

3.0
2.0
ECON103
Jul 21, 2004

her lecture is ok...at least tries to make it clear. But the midterm and final is terrible!!!

4.0
4.0
ECON103
Jul 24, 2004

Not an easy prof. A lot of materials to study. But she's very helpful and clear during the office hour.

2.0
5.0
ECON103
Nov 2, 2004

Made a million mistakes in her examples during lectures, very confusing. Whole class was practically failing. I hated this class and never done so bad at any course in my life.

2.0
5.0
ECON103
Nov 7, 2004

She wasn't thorough at all and seemed incredibly disorganized with her teaching style. I also felt she was unpleasant in conducting her class, as she was more concerned with reeming out people who were talking as opposed to teaching the actual material.

2.0
5.0
ECON103
Nov 9, 2004

Oh my gosh, never seen such a disorganised prof. Tough exams, bs all the time. Teaches little, but tests more than you know. Be careful. Be very careful.

2.0
4.0
ECON103
Nov 25, 2004

Spent more time yelling at students to stop talking than trying to convey the course material. Writing the midterm/final was like a blind man driving a car.

3.0
3.0
ECON381
Dec 9, 2004

Lectures are informative and interesting, and she speaks at the right pace. If you want an A in this class, you need to know BEYOND the basics that are offered in classes, such as combining theories to answer questions. She has an amazing wardrobe, too.

4.0
1.0
ECON103
Dec 9, 2004

She's a nice prof. Lots of people don't like her because she's disorganized and keeps telling students to be quite. Those I agree with. Besides those however, she's pretty good. She's also really good when you talk to her personally

3.0
2.0
ECON381
Grade: A+
Dec 24, 2004

The midterm is easy and similar to the assignment. (the class average is above 82%) The final is much harder. Remember NOT to buy the test book ...she hasn't use it at all.

1.0
5.0
ECON381
Jan 24, 2005

Very hard course. She is a nice person with terrible terrible teaching. Don't take this course unless you really have to..

3.0
5.0
ECON103
Feb 23, 2005

She was clear with the material that she was teaching, but that's because she the material was WAY easier than the material she puts on the tests. Test questions are tricky.

4.0
4.0
ECON103
Mar 15, 2005

She did many pointless things(I mean what's the point of giving everyone 4 extra marks on the first mid-term and at the same time made the average 4 points higher as well?). Mid-terms = long and tricky.

4.0
2.0
ECON103
Mar 16, 2005

A very good prof (certainly not great, but okay). Even tho the midterms are quite challenging, she teaches her materials well. Her jokes are quite funny too!!

4.0
4.0
ECON103
Apr 11, 2005

onli her exams are quite hard, her lectures are quite good, nice notes ^^

4.0
5.0
ECON103
Apr 20, 2005

She's a good professor and has good notes. She makes horrible midterms and finals though where class averages are 45%, and are curved to 60% (which doesn't do much for you). Econ 103 is hard and like this either way, so this is normal I guess, but her tests suck.

3.0
2.0
ECON381
Apr 23, 2005

Midterm is hard, but the Final Exam is easy

3.0
2.0
ECON103
Apr 25, 2005

The mts were long, but the exam was okay, at least I had time to really think about how to answer the written qs. (Remember exam marks=85% of the total, if mts not good; so it's fair!) It's good she always reminds the class not to talk in the lectures so to minimize -ve externalities to others.

4.0
3.0
ECON103
Apr 30, 2005

Good Prof w/ Detailed notes. HARD/Long Midterms, but a fair final exam. Lectures were helpful, though the exams expected you to go above and beyond what was learnt.

4.0
4.0
ECON103
Grade: Rather_Not_Say
May 1, 2005

just had her last sem. she was nice but tough midterms. because the class average on the midterms was so low she made the final easier i believe. great notes and very clear.

2.0
3.0
ECON103
Grade: B-
May 6, 2005

Bad prof. Waists countless valuable minutes each class. Seems to have weak knowledge of material and is not very clear when trying to explain concepts. The textbook is much more of a help than this "teacher"

5.0
3.0
ECON381
Jun 9, 2005

awesome proff!!!!I learned so much in that class...though..it was a lot of work but was worth it.she knows what she is doing!lovedddddddddddd that course

5.0
3.0
ECON381
Oct 28, 2005

I really like her. She is a nice person. Her lecture notes can be confusing at times, but if you actually go to her office and ask questions, you will do well in this course.

4.0
3.0
ECON381
Dec 14, 2005

Hmm, she got a bad rating, but is a terrific prof. The course in interesting, but if you're not into it, I don't know how you'll do well. If you can relate this to the real world, you'll do fine. Lots of 'why' questions and stuff like essays.

5.0
2.0
ECON381
Dec 29, 2005

Some people said her text is actually helpful..I dont know... b/c in 381 there was only her note and these notes were really helpful and clear and easy to understand. Labour market is interesting and there isn't much work required for the course overall, except 1 actually research assignment

3.0
5.0
ECON381
Mar 23, 2006

1/3 of the class failed on the midterm.she doesn't respond to certain students' email and is very mean during office hour. I read each article that she claimed to be important at least 4 times. and still got a D on the midterm.

1.0
4.0
ECON381
Apr 12, 2006

i dun like her. she is not helpful

1.0
5.0
ECON381
Apr 16, 2006

hard course!!!

2.0
5.0
ECON381
Apr 17, 2006

don't take her class if you like to reads a lot of paper

2.0
3.0
ECON838
Dec 6, 2006

She told us on the first day of class that she didn't want to teach the course...she made it painfully obvious for the rest of the term. What a waste of time.

1.0
5.0
ECON381
Aug 13, 2007

No Comments

3.0
4.0
ECON103
Dec 17, 2010

She's alrite!

3.0
4.0
BUEC280
Jan 7, 2011

Class looked interesting, turned out to be boring. Lectures were decent, but she was unable to answer any student questions that weren't directly related to the slides. No real marking scheme, which wasn't really fair. She's not the worst, but she's not good.

5.0
3.0
BUEC280
Jul 12, 2012

She knows her stuff. You need to attend classes as her notes are quite different from the textbook. Do not skip tutorials as questions discussed there are likely to come out in the exams. Her exams are not easy but if you study her notes, you should be fine

4.0
3.0
ECON381
Dec 20, 2012

Her notes are complement to the textbook. Do the practice questions for the midterm and final. Recommended

4.0
4.0
BUEC280
Jun 23, 2013

she is nice but the stuff she teaches are really hard. the TAs are helpful.

3.0
3.0
BUEC280
Jul 17, 2013

The class was straight forward. The TA's were very unorganized and did not release assignment grades until the last week of class. Jane is kinda out there, but she's a nice woman. GO TO CLASS and ask questions. You'll do fine.

5.0
1.0
ECON381
Apr 24, 2014

very straight forward. no tricky questions in midterms. assignments are easy.

4.0
2.0
ECON381
Apr 25, 2014

she is really funny and her lectures are really clear. However, she speaks really quick. If English is not your first language, maybe you need 2 weeks to get used to her speed.

5.0
1.0
ECON280
Apr 30, 2015

Great lecturer. Fair marker.

5.0
3.0
ECON280
Grade: A-
Nov 25, 2015

Amazing prof! Lectures are very engaging... Exams are straight forward and very similar to assignment questions. Definitely take her class. Jane ROCKS! :)

1.0
3.0
ECON381
Jan 20, 2018
Wouldn't take again

all graphs

LOTS OF HOMEWORK
1.0
5.0
ECON381
Mar 19, 2018
Wouldn't take again

worst

5.0
2.0
ECON280
Grade: A
Apr 13, 2019
Would take again

T he best prof ever!!!!

Accessible outside class
Inspirational
Amazing lectures
5.0
4.0
ECON435
Nov 20, 2019
Would take again

ECON435 has been my most favorite class that I have taken at SFU. Jane's lectures are engaging, the assignments are relevant, her feedback is constructive and her grading is fair. The knowledge and skills I have learned in this class are extremely applicable to real-world problems. I would highly recommend this course to all ECON students.

Gives good feedback
Inspirational
Amazing lectures
5.0
3.0
ECON435
Grade: Not sure yet
Nov 24, 2019
Would take again

She's absolutely lovely. Definitely recommend for upper-div. classes. Her jokes will make you smile, class is always a comfortable learning environment, and her feedback is incredibly valuable for anybody planning on doing future statistical work/study. Thanks Jane!

Gives good feedback
Respected
Graded by few things
4.0
4.0
ECON280
Grade: C
May 3, 2021
Would take again

Jane is an amazing prof. Her course might be difficult. But she is very kind. Tries to help her students.

Lots of homework
Lecture heavy
Caring
5.0
4.0
ECON381
Grade: B+
Aug 8, 2021
Would take again

Course was graded largely on weekly assignments and quizzes, so you have to stay on top of things. That being said Jane is specific with what she expects from the assignments so its not hard to do well on them. Overall great prof.

Get ready to read
Caring
1.0
4.0
BUEC280
Grade: Not sure yet
Oct 25, 2023

The grading system for this course heavily relies on the Midterm and Final exams, which contribute 90% of the total grade.

Test heavy
Graded by few things
1.0
5.0
ECON280
Grade: Rather not say
Aug 9, 2024

This woman is a wolf in sheep's clothing I would avoid at all cost. She does not adequately prepare you for her exams and there are allot of trick questions. If you are forced to take a class with this individual, for exams identify all possible scenario's within all models and read the slides carefully for exact words in multiple weeks slides.

Tough grader
Participation matters
5.0
2.0
ECON280
Grade: A+
Aug 10, 2024
Would take again

She really cares about the students' understanding and makes the tests exactly what she taught in class. I didn't even need to study outside of her lectures and participation activities, because they were so helpful.

Participation matters
Amazing lectures
Caring
1.0
4.0
ECON280
Grade: B
Jun 4, 2025

The TA has to be the worst of the absolute worst.

Class Info

Online Classes

100%

Attendance Mandatory

55%

Textbook Required

50%

Grade Predictor

Your expected effort level

LowHigh

Predicted Grade

B+

74% confidence
Based on 8 grades
Most common grades:
A+ (2)
Not sure yet (2)
Rather_Not_Say (1)
Grade Distribution
A(3)B(2)C(1)D(0)F(0)A-/B+(2)
Based on 12 reported grades
A+: 2
Not sure yet: 2
Rather_Not_Say: 1
B-: 1
Common Tags
Caring (3)
Inspirational (2)
Amazing lectures (2)
Gives good feedback (2)
Graded by few things (2)
Participation matters (2)
LOTS OF HOMEWORK (1)
Accessible outside class (1)
Rating Trend

Improving

+0.90 avg change
Nov
May
Aug
Oct
Aug
Jun
Last 6 months
Ratings by Course

ECON435

5.0

(2)

ECON280

3.7

(7)

BUEC280

3.2

(5)

ECON381

3.1

(23)

ECON103

2.5

(55)
+3 more courses
Difficulty by Course

BUEC280

3.6

ECON435

3.5

ECON381

3.3

ECON103

3.2

ECON101

3.0

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