2.9
Quality3.0
Difficulty53%
Would Retake110
Reviews53%
Would Retake
110
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
22
4
18
3
23
2
33
1
14
What Students Say
“I get an unfriendly vibe around her”
ECON002 - 2.0 rating“She is not helpful for studying for tests”
6E002 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
57%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.59 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON160
5.0
(1)MACRO072
5.0
(1)MACRO02
5.0
(1)ECON3370
5.0
(2)06E002AAA
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
PRINCMACR
5.0
ECN002
5.0
ECONMACR
5.0
ECONBBB
5.0
MACRO06E
4.3
Reviews (110)
She treats students like they have just graduated from pre-school. Very boring lecture...everything you need to know is in the book. Tests are pretty easy, some confusing wording on questions.
During lecture, she sounds like she is explaining to a four year old how to tie their shoes. Very annoying voice, its hard to listen and not get annoyed wit her. I wouldnt waste your time with her lectures
Ridiculous teacher. Treats every student as two-year-olds. Get's annoyed when students ask questions or have concerns over grading or annoying tests. She used to teach at UNI. Maybe this has something to do with her teaching habits? Avoid this woman at all costs and take the night class.
I feel like I am in grade school the way she talks to us. Also, her lectures are ridiculous! She physically writes down what you can read for yourself in the book. Spends all her time writing instead of teaching. Do not take a class with her! She gets annoyed when people complain over tests or grades or something. Don't take a class with her!
Looks at a computer printed note sheet in order to hand write the notes in class. Doesn't teach at all, simply reads from notes that are from the book. Tests aren't similar to the notes at all. I got a C and studied hard for the tests from her notes. Doesn't curve, which is insane since the test avg is a C-/D+ Everyone gets 100% on hw.
Teacher is horrible. Lectures are pointless to attend becuase she just copies notes directly from the book and spends the whole 75 minutes writing. Read the book and take your own notes you will be better off. Test questions are worded in a confusing matter. Overall she is probly the worst professor I have ever had. oh and her voice is SO ANNOYING
She is the worst professor I've ever had. She is definitely not qualified for teaching even at a high school level! She will not help you if you go to her office hours probably because she doesn't know the material! Lecture is word for word out of book so if you can't teach yourself out of the book; then take this class with someone else!
I enjoy econ, but Jennifer Fuhrman basically ruined that for me. She spoke to us as if reading a bedtime story and assumed everyone was a freshman and had no prior econ knowledge. I studied the book and her notes, yet ended up with a C in the class. Also, she should keep her thinly-veiled political beliefs to herself.
She is one of the worst lecturers I have ever had. She reads straight from the powerpoint, adding nothing. Discussion attendance is required, where the TA's are instructed to only take students through example questions. She doesn't test over the subject, she tests your ability to take an exam. Worst written exams I've taken, hands down.
Fuhrman is brutal. The material is not difficult to comprehend, however her tests are so difficult that almost nobody gets a B or A. Worst professor I've ever had.
Fuhrman is a spawn of the devil. She will spend 30-40 mins explaining a simple line graph then fly through information that actually matters. Test are absoulte BS, the information is easy but she somehow words the questions so no matter what you will fail, class avg on all tests was D and she said no curve because a few got 100% stay away from her!
Fuhrman seriously needs to be let go by the university. She would make a great economist for a company, but is useless as a lecturer, even though she calls herself a professor, she isn't. Do yourself a favor and take this class at a community college.
if you like sitting through a lecture where the leacher reads straight out of the book the entire class then ur gonna love her.
She is not good. If you have other instructors in your options, don't choose her. She is impatient to students who ask her questions, and what she did in leture was simply read the notes.
The material in this class is not at all challenging, however, the tests are worded in an extremely confusing, wordy manner for no reason and even if you know the material front to back you may not do well.
Fuhrman is a professor who understands what she is teaching. It's a class with easy material, however, you can know everything and do horrible on the tests because he one purpose in life is to confuse you with her questions. She likes to use run on sentences and test you on "real life examples". Oh, the class average on tests was a D and no curve
I think the University hires the most unqualified professors, with Jennifer being one of the worst, just to prepare us for the unavoidable idiots we are going to encounter and be forced to work with in the real world.
Print out the notes online, and take them to lecture EVERYDAY. She adds to the notes with examples during class. Test material will only be what she lectures on/examples she does in class, therefore lecture is mandatory. Rarely opened my book and am going to end up with an "A". Voice can be annoying. Reading notes, going to lecture = "A" grade.
I went to lecture almost everyday, I studied atleast three days before every test, I studied a week and a half before the final, and got a D in the class. She doesn't believe in curving her outrageously wordy tests because one or 2 people get A's. Do not takea class with this woman.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS. She doesn't curve the tests even though the average is usually a D. (Apparently 80 people getting As on the "easy" test out of a class of 600 is good) Macro is confusing and easy to get switched around in and Fuhrman tends to just confuse you more. Textbook is useless and don't call her Jen.
Worst professor i've ever had.
For...the...love...of...God...do...not...take...a class...with...this...woman. You will not be happy if you do. Consider yourself warned. Read the other comments for details.
Terrible teacher. Can easily tell if she's having a good/bad day by the way she teaches that lecture. When one student acts poorly, she takes it out on all students. You will receive numerous emails regarding how disappointed she is towards the class.
I can't even begin to say how much I dislike this woman. I have aced every quiz and yet may still have to drop the class b/c of D's on the tests. She is ridiculous! She does not let u use a calculator on tests for some stupid reason& she makes every question way too difficult for the short time we have to finish. I promise you won't like this class
This teacher was by far the most degrading experience in college so far. The way she taught her class seemed like she was talking to a bunch of kindergartners. I thought my ears would bleed every lecture just from hearing her high scratchy voice. She is by far one of the worst teachers I have ever had, but unfortunately the only macro teacher.
Garbage class. Treated students like 3rd graders and would stop lecture at inappropriate times to yell. Very rude in office hours/lecture. Notes are painful. Looks like a mini corn dog nugget. I learned more about her dogs than Macro. Take at a CC. Not worth it.
Acts like a professor when she doesn't even have a doctorate in anything. Someone with only a masters in Econ (and not even from a very good university) should not be teaching a 300 person Principles of Macro Econ course. Avoid this class and take it at a community college, you'll probably learn more.
Avoid taking this class with her if possible. She talks extremely slow like she teaches kindergarten and some of her test questions are terribly worded and don't actually make sense.
Extremely easy class. Just: attend lectures, take notes, memorize concepts in the notes & do a few study guide questions. She is organized and clear. I love this class!
I felt like I learned more from reading the book. She taught like we were in kindergarten and it was very hard to stay focused in that class. Quizzes were easy because you could use the book
The class is very easy.
this women is the reincarnation of a short little toad. watching paint dry is better than going to lecture. do not take this class, you will regret it.
I HATE this class. she is horrible, i learned more about her dogs than economics. every, sentence, she, writes has, about five thousand, commas. all she does is rewrite the text book and rarely introduces new material. save yourself the pain and take this class at a community college.
I don't understand all the complaints. Yes, she's dry in lecture and not very helpful. But the class AVERAGE going into the final is 91%. She can be as dry as she want with those numbers, I'll happily take my A. EASY class. Besides the final, all of your grade is composed of online quizzes that you can use your book and friends on.
She's terribly dry and angry 90% of the time...Don't expect to enjoy lecture, ever.
She is similar in character to Adolf Hitler. Her hair is the color of Satan's fire. Her eyes are a prison cell that burns little children. When I picture her in lecture, she is 50 feet above me, looking down striking a javelin against her podium to seal my doom.
She is similar in personality to Adolf Hitler. Her hair is the color of Satan's fire. Her eyes are prison cells that burn little children. I picture her 50 feet above everyone in lecture, staring down at me hitting a javelin on her podium to seal my doom.
I don't know what you guys are talking about because I love jennifer! She's chipper, gives compliments, and is the right amount of weird that makes lectures funny.
I'm not sure what all the negative reviews are at. I look forward to going to her class. She's funny, and always has an interesting perspective on things. Plus, the class is pretty easy if you put in some effort and attend lecture.
Terrible! Awful! does not know the material well. waste time by writing lecture notes on a piece of paper. Move exam times. Treat students like preschoolers. Tests are easy if you study. Test questions are also not insightful at all. Do NOT recommend
Rubbish class. I found her unbearable to listen to - only attended four lectures this semester. Taught myself everything from textbook/interwebs, expecting an A overall. Also, she is vaguely reminiscent of Dolores Umbridge.
Awful instructor. Has a class of 700 students and the average on the last final was a 68 and still refused to curve the class. I'm a good student, went to class, took detailed notes, studied, and still did poorly. I get an unfriendly vibe around her. Take this class elsewhere or with someone else if you can.
Although Fuhrman scared me, her class wasn't that bad. There are bunches of reviews here saying how awful she is, and her exams are ridiculous, however it is clear she enjoys the material she teaches, and she want's students to understand what she talks about. Reading the book and studying her notes are important to do well.
Her lectures were beyond boring; all she did was stand up there and type things on her laptop. Her tests did not follow the textbook and she refused to curve her class because she does not give students "free points" even though the average in the class was below 75%. She was not helpful in office hours either.
Named Fuhrman but much more similar to Der Fuhrer. Lectures are intensely boring, and she's very shrewd. Straight powerpoints literally every day. Her system of grading is totally ridiculous as well. Midterm and Final were the only grades that counted.
Very boring to listen to. The grading scale is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. It doesn't allow for any error. It is horrible for a core requirement class.
She's unwilling to help. The class is graded on a curve so the majority of students will get a C. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS FROM HER. I worked my butt off to get a B. She needs to redo her grading system.
Do not take this class from her. Awful teacher. She is unwilling to help you get a better grade, even if you're willing to put in the work. The only grades, the midterm and final, are tests designed not to test your knowledge, but to make sure she get's her little bell curve based off of a C average.
This class is a drag. She just types notes up on the projector screen and says them outloud verbatim. That's the lecture. The book is 0% required, all exam is from in class material. 2 40 point exams, and the way her curve is set up, you have to miss 8 or less between those two exams to get in the A range. Other than ridiculous curve, an easy class
Fairly easy class. Lectures are pointless. She says her lecture notes are important but everything you need can be found in the book. Discussion section is mandatory. If you show up and keep up on the very light homework its a pretty easy A or B
Her notes and clarity are good. But the grade you got is actually based on your own study. If you go over the notes and the practice problems she gave before the tests, you probably would give a good one. I would recommend you to attend discussion sections, but not the lectures.
Lectures= powerpoints with examples. You should study those to know how to graph & get the results, MEMORIZATION WON'T HELP. She is bland and states her inability to socialize with people so just expect it. She gets a bad reputation but everyone's personality is different and Fuhrman's doing her best with the subject. Book helps clarify but unused
This class kind of sucks. The only points you get are from attendance, hw, and the 2 exams. The class is not curved, just based on how many points you earn at the end. I hated it, but if you find Econ enjoyable, then more power to ya.
Did not open book once. Study lecture notes, examples, and discussion problems to get an A. Exam questions are tricky. Read each one twice and ask questions to clarify. I did not ask a question on one problem and I lost a point which ended up costing me an A+. She is an adequate teacher, you will get an A, but you will not enjoy this course.
Her lecture style is abysmal. She types one or two sentences at a time and stands there silently while people write everything down. Today I observed her (not a joke) reading the funny pages of the gazette in the middle of her own lecture. I wanted to shout out "are you going to be teaching today, or shall I find a legitimate professor?"
I loved professor Fuhrman her lectures were very helpful. she types out everything you need to know. just go to class and you should get an a
The ENTIRE class consisted of her retyping her own notes and rereading those notes as her "lecture". However, possibly the easiest class you can take.
Professor Fuhrman is an absolutely solid professor.She explains on day 1 how everything is laid out and how class will be ran and if you don't like the way she does it then you can leave. Yet, people still stay and complain how she does things. Great teacher, simplifies economics for easier understanding. Great teacher, highly recommend.
She's a good professor who cares about her students. Really nice and easy to get along with. Tests are tricky but just make sure you know how to do all the lecture examples and discussion problems and you'll be golden.
SHE IS A GREAT TEACHER. If you attend lecture, discussions, and do the homework the class should be no problem to you. I absolutely SUCK at Economics, and she made it understandable to me. People need to stop being so rude on here, and learn to WORK HARD FOR THE GRADES. YOU ARE HERE TO EARN YOU DEGREE, NOT HAVE IT HANDED TO YOU!
She is an excellent professor! I like her a lot. If you take all of the lecture notes down, finish your homework and attend the discussions YOU WILL BE FINE. Highly recommend.
Jennifer is great. I took Household Finance with her and I've never had a teacher be more clear. She told us word for word what the quiz questions were but changed the numbers. Attendance is mandatory because she doesn't upload her notes. Go to class and you'll get an A. She doesn't even use a textbook. Seriously best class ever.
Very organized, clear, and fair. Lectures are a bit boring since she spends a lot of time writing down definitions from the book, which I feel wastes time, but overall a great professor to have for this course.
Professor Fuhrman is absolutely the most clear and concise professor I've had. She gives you all the information you need in the lectures and applies that knowledge with problems in the discussion sessions. That being said, the tests are hard and account for a good portion of your grade. I wouldn't suggest looking in the book, use her notes.
I asked for help to study for the tests and she did not offer any solutions. She is not helpful for studying for tests. Her lectures are sentences taken straight out of the books, she does not clarify at all. Her lack of personality and enthusiasm do not make lecture enjoyable at all.
Go to the boring lecture and take all the notes. You definitely get A!
She is awful. If you bought the book and read it cover to cover you would learn more than you do in this class. Her class is strictly her own notes which are sentences she copies word for word off her Ipad. If she gave a hobo tho notes he could teach the class as well as she does.
HAVE to go to lecture. She writes notes from the textbook, and only clarifies them in class, so copying notes can only get you so far. Exams are VERY similar to lecture notes but DO require that you apply material. She doesn't give much help herself, but gives lots of online resources & organizes long study sessions with the TAs before the exams
Unfortunately, Fuhrman closely resembles Professor Umbridge from the Harry Potter books. She does not seem to like students at all. Staying awake in lecture is a struggle. The class is not engaging at all--I felt it was mostly self-taught. I recommend taking this class online.
Brutal lectures... And I'm talking BAD. She rewrites her pre-written notes up on the elmo by hand, reading a small sequence of words as she writes them with a feverish need to fulfill her obvious need for perfection. I'm a good student who has enjoyed all business classes prior to this (Including Micro that I loved and got an A in) and hated hers.
Lectures are incredibly boring but she lays out everything you need to know in the lectures so they are basically mandatory. Tests can be a little tricky but she basically gives you a third of your grade because its based on participation
Tests material is never hard (Principles of Macroeconomics) but she does find ways to make tricky questions that require concentration and close reading. Lectures are where she lays out everything you need to know. It sounds nice, but it's terribly annoying to watch her write out notes. Not the best, but certainly not the worst.
Tests are fair, but I don't think she is helpful in learning economics.
Very clear on what you need to know on test. The lectures are sometimes boring, but they are very helpful for the tests.
Professor Furhman is very clear on what you need to know. Go to class and you will do well, all of her test questions are based off lecture. So if you are someone who takes good notes and goes to class you will do fine. I like professor Furhman she is a straight shooter and tells you what you need to know. Also do not buy the textbook no need.
She is a very good professor, writing down everything in class. What you only need to do is to go to classes and take notes. Exams are pretty straight forward, read the notes three time before going to an exam and you will be fine.
Take Macro with her it is an easy class and you really do learn the material. Study the discussion questions and lecture notes, you will do fine.
I took principles of macro with Fuhrman in spring 2015 and while she is very straightforward & gives you everything you need to know, it really doesn't help you learn the basics. As an econ major taking macro theory now I am pretty much re-learning everything which stinks. Shes not the nicest person but shes not totally mean.
Furhman was a good teacher, but I wouldn't take a class with her again.
Really dont know how people all dont get A's in her Household Finance Class. Homeworks take no more than 30 minutes (average of 5). The exams are just a lot of memorization ( A lot of T/F) and there are 3 guest speakers that are a big part of the grade. Just show up and the minimum you will get is a B, the bare minimum.
Horrible teacher. Lecture is her hand writing her notes out that are almost word for word from the textbook. So don't buy the textbook! There is 3 Exams with 25 questions each with some discussion attendance points. So if you are good test taker you will do fine, it not good luck!
Fuhrman is really straight forward. It shouldn't be hard to get an A in her course if you keep up and understand the material. Her tests are very similar to discussion problems. Also, she WANTS you to do well. People say she's really Umbridge-like...I think that's a little cold. She's got a lot of spunk and occasionally cracks a good joke. Solid.
I loved coming to lectures. She really caters to students needs and tells you exactly what is on every test.
Really easy to get a if you attend at all the discussion sections
The way she lectures with handwritten notes is hard to learn, but needed to do homework. Notes are not posted online. Exams are literally taken off discussion question worksheets, just different numbers and names. She can be a bit condescending, I'm in her honors section and she acts like there's a huge gap between ours and "regular". OK overall.
Old school goofy lady. She writes out all her notes and gets really excited at odd things. Lots of online busy-homework and assignments. Tests make or break your grade and you gott know the material or you will fail. Discussion sections are boring as hell and suck but mandatory even though only counts for 10% of grade.
She is an amazing professor. She is very helpful and enthusiastic about what she teaches. She did a good job of teaching everything without being confusing at all. A lot depends on the test, but she is very clear on the concepts that will be covered on each test.
Easily one of the best teachers I have ever had. Very energetic and easy to follow with. Lecture note are easy to write down and cover everything you need to know. This was a relatively easy class yet still very informative. Always take a class with her when you have the chance.
I'd say there are two methods for succeeding in this class: Go to every lecture, get her notes, and study them well OR never go to lecture and study the textbook religiously. I chose the latter and ended OK. I wasn't super happy with this course, but I like Fuhrman. She really means well and is kind of fun. Keep up with your Sapling assignments!!!
I found Professor Fuhrman's lectures to be unbearable. She would write lengthy notes in a notebook for fifty minutes and expect us to copy them down. She would sometimes fill 3-4 pages of just words throughout the class. Tests are literally straight out of her lengthy notes. You could have a great grasp on the subject and still do poorly.
Professor Fuhrman is the best professor I've had. She makes the notes that she handwrites in class, and students are expected to write these down. It's not a hard thing to do, and they are extremely helpful and clear when studying for exams. The discussion worksheets are also important because exam questions can be similar.
You don't need to go to lecture, just get the notes. You need to go to discussion, you get only 1 miss, but I recommend you always going. Make sure you know how to do every problem on the discussion problems!! She takes all of her tests from the discussion problems and some notes. Nothing on the test is surprising. She gives you everything you need
Lecture goes by fast with a lot of notes so be prepared to type or write super fast. Tests are from her notes (only given during lecture) or from discussion problems. Go to review sessions before tests, if you go for 20 minutes and know all the answers, then you'll get at least an B in the class. Gave EC for Evals so expect 1-2% EC to final grades
She gives example questions that are supposed to be examples of test questions, but the exam questions are much harder. She gives questions that are solely supposed to trick you. No curve.
If you have to take this class, do not take it with her. Extremely defensive when questioned in lecture and overall not a friendly professor- and she is a power freak as the department head. Take elsewhere, or with someone else.
Just take this class not with her and you will save yourself the headache. She's really defensive when you ask questions and the discussion problems are way easier than the ones that are on the exams. The TAs kinda make you feel like you're done. I survived, but if you can take this elsewhere I would recommend that.
Fuhrman is overall a good teacher. She's very organized and has all assigments and exams on ICON from day one. The book and homework is all online, and you have unlimited tries on the homework. The discussion problems are super helpful for studying, so make sure to look at those. She is nice enough but isn't afraid to stamp her foot down.
The class is all lecture base. She handwrites all her notes the entire period and quite literally never stops talking for even a second. The discussion is pointless, wouldn't have gone once if it wasn't attendance based. Would highly recommend taking this course online.
She makes you copy down everything she writes and most of her tests are based on her notes. Online homework that honestly serves no purpose, nothing like the test. The only study material she gives you are discussing problems that you do in discussion and are easier than the exam and the notes you take. She told me to drop,
Jennifer is one of the best professors I have ever had the pleasure of being taught by. She always is very cheery and bright in class. She puts the stress of having to struggle to keep up with notes away by always writing down the material she wants the class to take away from the lecture. 10/10 I hope to have her again as a professor.
Maybe the worst professor I have had at Iowa so far... her tests are near impossible and I typically do not struggle a ton to do well in a class. Her lectures are boring and she talks way too much about herself. Imagine a grade school teacher but with college level material. Just all around avoid taking a class with her at all.
Rough health right now, she has been so accommodating and kind. She's quick to respond and genuinely cares about her students. (Just don't talk during her lectures!) Lectures are engaging and she's really funny. Tests are the hardest I have EVER had though:/
She is a very uninteresting professor. Lectures are awful, and the exams are the hardest thing I've ever done. After countless of hours of studying for exams, it feels almost impossible to understand. Unless you study everyday of the semester, you won't pass.
You only get to see your grade like 4 times a semester. No live grades on ICON, ridiculous. Just a bad class all around. She gives lectures by writing on a notepad under a doc cam, which is nice, but she uses so many filler words and her formatting is terrible.
Tests have nothing to do with the text readings she assigns. The material itself isn't too tough, but the tests she writes seem to make it tougher. Not greatly-written tests. Lecture is her writing each bullet point very slowly with more words than she needs. If you study hard and go to lecture, probably get at least a B-. I've had worse
I wouldn't recommend this with her. She takes bullet by bullet notes of what to write down. Sometimes it's hard to understand the background of the notes. Make sure you stay up with study week by week because it is a lot of information. Exams are extremely difficult so don't skip class. Focus on doing well on the first exam, since it's micro review
Professor Fuhrman is a great professor. She makes note-taking easy to follow and has a few good jokes in lecture here and there. Lectures can sometimes run dry, but that's just the nature of the material. Discussion is a great place to do review and see what you need to work more on, and the discussion questions are great to study for the exams.
okay started off decent because the first exam was micro review so really try not to screw that one up but the second exam no joke every failed the highest grade was a low B and got super mad at us. your grade is basically all exams & you can only see your grade like 3 times a semester to sucks and you NEED to go to class otherwise you'll fail 100%
1st midterm was unnecessarily difficult considering it was supposed to be just Micro review. Almost everyone did poorly on Exam 2 as well. I know Covid-19 has made classes difficult, but Prof. Fuhrman is my only professor that did not record lectures online. Discussion helped minimally, lecture attendance was not taken, but discussion was.
I loved Fuhrman as a prof. so funny/down to earth. Just a wonderful lady to be around, reminded me of Leslie Knope. Although her class is very test heavy, like nearly 75% of your grade heavy. But People were really hard on her this semester but tbh I studied and I did ok, just don't take this for a gen ed, if you're a business major you'll like it
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
57%
Textbook Required
62%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.59 avg changeRatings by Course
ECON160
5.0
(1)MACRO072
5.0
(1)MACRO02
5.0
(1)ECON3370
5.0
(2)06E002AAA
4.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
PRINCMACR
5.0
ECN002
5.0
ECONMACR
5.0
ECONBBB
5.0
MACRO06E
4.3